After their conversation, silence reigned between him and Leonard. Leonard led him on a secluded pathway in the gardens. He didn't know what the secrecy was for, but he just followed.

Upon reaching a certain juncture, Leonard asked him to look through the small partition between the garden's hedges. Then he saw her. He missed her so much that he doesn't even remember why he broke up with her in the first place. Anyway, before he can take a step forward to get where she was, Leonard held him back by the shoulder.

"Do you see that?" he pointed.

That was when he saw Geoffrey not far behind Serena. He wondered what they were doing alone in the garden unchaperoned. Anyway, he chose to observe, He and Leonard were near enough to see them clearly but far enough not to hear their words.

Charlton did not know what to think. Yes, they have broken up, but did she have to move on to Geoffrey in just over a week? He could not hear their words, but he saw Geoffrey's beaming smile. Why would he smile like that if not for Serena's words? What did she tell him?

Does he even need to find out? It was over. What was between them was over and done with. However, instead of feeling defeated, he felt his anger simmering. Did Serena do everything deliberately? Did she really just use him? Was everything a lie? Did she laugh at his words when he sent her all those letters? He bared his heart to her. He was willing to give up and throw away everything just for her. And this was what he got in return? Were all those nights he spent in agony over his guilty conscience mean nothing? Never in his life have he felt so much betrayed.

"Now, do you understand? Even if you try, Geoffrey will never agree and…" Leonard was to continue when Charlton stopped him.

"Don't worry, in case you don't know, your sister and I have already broken up. I was here in hopes of getting her forgiveness. However, I see that there is no need. Also, you don't need to remind me in the future. I understand and won't make a fool out of myself any longer."

Leonard wanted to defend his sister but felt that this was good too. Let him think that way, saves him the trouble. He does feel like he was sound kind of an antagonistic character trying to break them apart.

After that, no words were spoken as he guided Charlton out of their ducal home.

--

After Geoffrey left, Serena went up to her room. Not long after, her mother went inside to join her. She was grinning from ear to ear.

"So… how was your talk with the crown prince? Should we now pick a date?" Celine teased her daughter. A part of her felt happy that Serena's arranged marriage seems to be working out. Although she liked Charles' son, the crown prince was still the best choice for her daughter.

Serena's eyes widened as she choked on the water she has been drinking. "Mother, that's…"

Celine took her reaction as something positive, so she laughed. "Alright I won't tease you anymore. So, what do you think of him?"

"Ah… I'm not sure. How about you mother? What do you think?"

"Hmm… I can't say much, but based on what I saw, not bad at the very least. He is the crown prince and he also seem sincerely enamored with you, so I'm quite satisfied."

Serena can only nod along. She could not blame her mother for coming to that conclusion. Geoffrey, after all, was the male lead and the crown prince. With the way he is now, if it were her own daughter marrying him, she would also feel satisfied.

--

The days passed slowly as Serena waited for Charlton to at least try to contact her, but sadly, she did not receive anything from him. She replayed his words from that night over and over in her head, and she quite understood where he was coming from.

Although a part of her was still angry over what happened, she was the older person between the two of them. She should be more mature and forgiving. Besides, Charlton may not even be at fault.

However, the past few days gave her time to think, and perhaps the time away from him gave her a clearer perspective of things. If she were to be practical, them breaking up was for the best. Not because she was still angry over what happened, but because she herself was already engaged.

Now, although what happened between Geoffrey and herself was a momentary lapse of judgement on her end, she would be a hypocrite to say that she absolutely felt nothing. The moment she kissed him, yes, she did not feel anything but regret. But now, she admits that his attention was like a soothing balm over her broken heart and it somehow made her happy.

Thus, she was confused. Should she really give Geoffrey a chance? It will be the easy way out. Life will be easier and everyone can live happily ever after.

But what of Charlton? Whenever she sees their photo together, it was like a needle was prickling her heart. In the end, she still loves him so much. Whenever she thinks of living in this world without him by her side, she felt like life has no sense and meaning.

At some point, she thought about coming clean to Geoffrey regarding her relationship with Charlton, but the way he was acting now made sure that she could not.

She never did address the issue before because she always believed that Geoffrey would break their engagement. She never thought that the plot would go haywire, and Geoffrey would fall for her instead. Now, if it were to be revealed to Geoffrey that she and Charlton were in a relationship, she does not even want to think of the consequences. He was, after all, the male lead.

In the end, after all her pondering, she came to the conclusion that the best way to address the issue of her engagement was to wait it out. What she has was time. Geoffrey and herself were not getting married for at least 3 to 5 years and things can still change. What she learned in her previous 72 years of life was that things that you thought were set in stone, was never actually set in stone. Time changes everything and nothing is ever permanent except death and taxes.

Now, that brought her to wonder, will her feelings for Charlton be permanent too? How about his feelings for her? She doesn't know the answer to that, but right now, she was sure that she loves him and wants to be with him.

In the meantime, she could just tell Geoffrey that she wanted to focus on her studies and her career. She knew that it was unfair, but it was the best course of action.

Anyway, all her pondering might even prove to be useless. She doesn't know what Charlton thinks and she can only hope that by the start classes, he would still want to get back together with her.

--

TBC