Playing Perfect

26. Partir

26. Partir

To Leave

Finn's words rang through her ears.

It seemed like his voice echoed in her mind more often than usual these days. Her mind had been preoccupied with him all week. During her lessons, she had to fight to focus on the words in front of her rather than the words drifting through her mind.

Nevertheless, the moment her head came to a rest on her pillow, the words returned—you always have a choice.

That's not true, Alice thought to herself as she sipped on a glass of champagne. Not entirely.

She didn't have a choice when her parents squeezed her into a pretty dress and sent her to schmooze a roomful of people, like tonight—like every night. She had no say in her etiquette lessons, or extra curriculum activities, or deportment classes... or her future.

Across the room, Finn smiled, chatting to a group of men Alice recognised as the CEOs of a small communications business. His brows raised in interest at the perfect moments, his jokes were delivered to eager ears, his eyes lit up with laughter. He'd really improved since they were children.

Since he'd stopped attending the parties his parents forced him to.

Alice blinked. That was just it, wasn't it? She did have a choice. As usual, Finn was right. She hated that he always seemed to be right these days.

Her life had been planned out for her since birth, but that didn't mean she didn't have a choice. No, Alice thought bitterly, her lip twitching in a frown, you have a choice. It's just not going to be easy.

She wondered what Finn's parents had done to him when he'd made his choice, when he'd stopped attending social events and networking. What had their reaction been? Was that when his father had started barging into his room unannounced?

Suddenly, a hand slipped around her waist and a hot breath wrapped around her ear. She jumped away from him, glancing around the room to ensure no one had seen them.

"Finn," she hissed.

"Not looking very Travers-like tonight." He grinned, lifting a brow.

She blinked, morphing her bitter expression into a classic Travers smile, and forcing feign interest to grace her face.

"Apologies, Mr Cauley." She smiled, her voice a paragon of politesse. "I must have briefly forgotten myself. I do hope you're enjoying yourself this evening?"

His grin twitched into a smirk and he narrowed his eyes into fox-like slits. "It is a lovely party." He leaned closer. "Although, I would much prefer to be doing something else."

"Oh?" She arched a brow and quickly scanned the room, ensuring no one had noticed them tucked away in their little corner. "I suppose I should get myself a refill."

She raised her empty glass and turned away from him, slowly crossing the parlour towards the kitchens. It was nearing the end of the party. They'd already eaten, and drank, and danced, and laughed.

Most guests had already left, so it was fairly easy to walk through the room without being pulled into a conversation. She reached the kitchens without a glance back at Finley, though she suspected he was not far behind.

The kitchens had been cleared of most staff, and the remaining two servers were dismissed with a wave of her hand. She walked to the far end of the kitchens, pouring herself a glass of water. A minute passed, and then another.