"Where the hell are you Ashley Bennet?" Stella scolded through the phone.

"I'm tired, I want to leave now." I ended the call giving my manager no chance to protest.

I just couldn't stand being in the same room with the person I hate the most. It's been years since I've last seen him. Many things has changed for me in that amount of time, and for sure he as well.

I thankfully finished my school years as an Eres graduate but many things have changed back then, I suffered a lot in the past. I even had to change my whole life set. I searched a new path that I never wanted. I had to give up my dream, I gave up myself.

From all my hopes and dreams I had from when I was young, none of them turned out as planned. All I wanted was to be successful, living a peaceful life where I can be myself, but fate had different plans. Now the whole world knows me, as Ashley Bennet. I remembered how sad I felt when the modeling agency said that I couldn't use my first name as a title. When I started everyone called me Ashley, I found it weird and unusual, Although it's my second name I still felt like it wasn't me. It wasn't Paige.

But as the years went by, I got used to it. As time passed I learned to accept it, and now I can say that I'm fine with it. This life may not be the life I've hoped for or the life I've planned, but here I am now, I've gotten this far, and I survived. That I'm proud about.

Seeing Blake once again brought back all those memories, funny how all this time, we never came across each other until now. Even so, I hear a lot of news about him, it's hard not to miss it since aside from his well known family, we also have a lot of connections since we're both from the same school.

"Wow after 8 years you finally meet again." Aicko laughed. "It's bound to happen."

I frowned at Aicko, she was searching her phone for a resort venue for our class reunion. It was a mistake that I told her about my encounter with Blake the other night coz now instead of inspecting the resort venue she's more interested in gossiping.

"Didn't you hear?" Aicko crossed her arms. "He's now the CEO of Carlisle group."

"I don't care." I said coldly.

"Well he deserves it, I heard he studied really well and took on internships while in England." Aicko continued. "He's so cool, even if his father was so strict and was always scolding him, look at where he is now."

I turned to Aicko who was watching my facial reaction closely after what she said.

"Cut it out, I said I don't care." I warned her. She just laughed.

I fully moved on from him after I learned that He and Gia became a couple right after our break up. Ever since then, I strengthened myself and moved on.

I found it funny that he repeatedly denied it only for me to find out that they were an official couple all over the news. I felt hurt but I was the one who let him go. It just sucks to know that he could do that to me. He even repeatedly said that he loved me. Or did he really? But that doesn't matter now, I've made my way in life, I won't interfere or care about his anymore.

Throughout the years of us not encountering each other, I slowly lost my feelings for him, and I'm sure that the same goes for him. It's better this way.

"Hey, I like this resort, what do you think?" Aicko showed me her phone.

"It looks great." I said without looking at it.

The next day, I woke up early to go to the gym with my trainor. We spent 2 hours at the gym, afterwards I had a shoot for a swimwear brand.

"You're a natural, Ashley." The photographer praised me when we finished the shoot.

When the stylists helped me change into a robe inside the dressing room, my phone buzzed.

[Is your shoot done yet? I need help] Aicko said.

"I'll be there, we just finished."

[Alright, hurry up.] She ended the call.

I kept my phone and slumped in my vanity chair while stylists worked on me.

"Ashley Bennet." Stella's authoritative voice called.

"Yes Stella?" I turned to her.

"The rumor about you having a daughter is getting wilder and wilder." She frowned. "Can't I just clear it up?"

I sighed. "No need, just keep it that way." I stood up and got my designer bag. "I finished my sched for today, I have an event this afternoon so I'll have to get going." I smiled at her before walking out of the room.

When I got outside of the studio, I hopped inside my car and drove to the venue. Aicko sent me the location so I didn't have a hard time finding it.

When I go to the resort, the whole place was already decorated and prepped for our batch. It's still early that's why our other batchmates aren't here yet but I promised Aicko that I would help her that's why I came early.

"Hi." I greeted the girl in the lobby.

When she looked up at me, shock was plastered on her face. "A-are you A-ashley Bennet?" She stuttered.

I suddenly felt awkward. "Oh...yes." I smiled.

"C-can I have a picture?" She asked shyly.

"Sure." She went closer to me and pulled out her phone. I smiled at her camera.

More employees came to me and asked for pictures as well. Before, I found this tiring and annoying but now I've just gotten used to it.

"Paige!"

I turned to Aicko who was walking to me excitedly. She clung her arm on mine and faced the employees. "That's all for now, go back to you're jobs."

She dragged me away from the lobby and into the hall.

"That was mean."

She laughed. "So what do you think about the resort I chose?"

My eyes roamed the resort. It's interior was beautiful and was indeed fancy, surely it would live up to the standards of the royals. I eyed the glass windows overlooking the golden sand and turquoise water, while palm trees stood proudly.

"It's beautiful." I said in awe.

"Glad you like it."

Aicko pulled me into a huge suite. The suites interior was also breathtaking. I threw myself on the couch to rest my feet.

"When are the others coming?" I asked.

"They'll be here soon." Aicko went to suite's fridge. "Hungry?" She handed me the resort's menu.

"No thanks." I shook my head. "I'm on a diet remember."

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Aicko's shoulders shrugged. "Sucks to be you."

I just laughed.

The door of the suite suddenly opened, and in came running was a small girl in a cute pink dress and pig tails.

"Mommy Peggy, Mommy Koko!" Hana ran towards us.

"Hi Baby!" Aicko opened her arms and greeted Hana in a huge hug. She then went to me to hug me as well.

"Why are you here cutie?" I squeezed her cheeks.

The door opened once again and Shari entered, she was wearing a long sleeved dress that ended above her knees, a bag was on her shoulder. "Sahana, what did I say about running?" She scolded.

Aicko and I chuckled and looked at Hana.

She looked down and played with her fingers. "I'm sorry Mama."

"Hey, loosen the reins, you just got here." Aicko laughed. "Don't be too harsh on the kid."

"Yeah." I held Hana's hands. "Our little baby just wants to have fun right?"

Hana laughed. "Yeah!"

Shari sighed. "Fine, but be careful ok?"

"Yes, Mama." Hana giggled.

"You're lucky you're these two are on your side." Shari gave us a bad look making Aicko and I laugh.

Hana looked up to Shari. "Mama, can I please have a lollipop?"

Shari opened her bag and pulled out a pink lollipop. "Just one okay?" She said before handing it to Hana. "Now go and explore the suite."

Hana did as told and explored the huge suite with a lollipop in her mouth.

Aicko turned to Shari. "Mama can I have a lollipop please?" She mimicked Hana's voice and stretched out her hand to Shari.

"Cut it out, you're not my daughter." Shari moved Aicko's hand away and sat down beside us.

Aicko laughed.

"Why did you bring her with you?" I asked. "Your husband's in abroad at the moment?"

Shari nodded. "I don't want to leave her at the house with the babysitters so I brought her along, by the way, thanks Paige for taking care of her the other day, it means a lot."

"No problem, anything for Hana."

"Wait, you're not going to thank me? You might've forgotten, I took care of her for a whole week while you and your husband were on a vacation." Aicko folded her arms.

Shari laughed and hugged Aicko. "Thankyou."

Someone knocked on the door again and in came Eloise.

"Eloise!" Shari rushed towards he and pulled her into a hug.

"Your highness." Aicko bowed.

"What's gotten into you?" Eloise raised her brow.

We all laughed.

It was Aicko's turn to hug her. "I missed you so much."

I rolled my eyes. "As if we didn't hang out last week."

Eloise chuckled. "Oh by the way, where's Hana?"

"Oh wait a sec." Shari turned around. "Hana! Come say hi to Mommy Loisey.

"Ok!" Hana came running towards us. "Hi Mommy Loisey!" She greeted.

"How's our little baby?" Eloise kneeled down to Hana's level and hugged her.

"I almost forgot, is Aiden coming?" Aicko asked.

"No, he said he's busy right now so he couldn't come."

We all gathered in the bed and continued talking there while waiting for the reunion to start.

"It's so tiring being the CEO of your family's business." Shari sighed. "I barely get a day off."

"What about mothering? Is it just as stressful?" Eloise asked Shari.

"No actually," Shari shook her head. "It's actually quite fulfilling and it brings joy indeed. You all should try it."

"Hard pass." I immediately said.

"Doesn't any of the three of you plan on getting married? Hana would need a playmate you know." Shari sighed.

"Don't ask us, ask her." Aicko pointed to Eloise. "She's the one with the ring."

Eloise's mouth formed a smile, she showed us her hand with the engagement ring. It suited her perfectly.

"But here's the real question." Shari turned to me. "When do you plan on getting a boyfriend?"

I shook my head. "I've no plans at the moment, I'd like to focus on my career."

"C'mon, you could date and model at the same time, besides ever since you broke up with Blake you've never been any other relationship."

"I don't have time for it." I answered.

"Hey Paige Ashley Bennet." Aicko scolded. "You're not getting any younger better make up your mind and do something with your life."

"Wow, you're sounding so much like my Mom." I laughed.

Aicko smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"C'mon girls, lets just let her be." Eloise said. "It's your life Paige, your choice."

After a while of talking, we started fixing ourselves to get ready for the reunion since our other batchmates are arriving.

I wore a light blue dress that had small puffed sleeves and ended above my knees. I fixed my long wavy blonde hair and let it down on my back. I partnered it all with a pair of heels and I was ready.

"I'm done, are you all ready?" I asked the girls. Shari and Eloise were all set.

"Wait! Girls, what dress should I wear? This one or this one?" Aicko showed us two hangered outfits.

"Some things never change." Shari whispered.

I chuckled and turned to Aicko. "Take the one on the left hand and get ready faster, you're the party planner lest your forgot."

"Shit! I almost forgot." Aicko rushed back to change.

"Hello ladies!" The door once again swung open. "So this is where you're all hiding." Khrysie chuckled.

"Glad you all could make it." I bowed at them. I even let out a smile to Nile, Diana, and Isabel.

"We wouldn't miss this for the world." Nile smiled.

"Oh Lonnie couldn't come, she's busy as usual." Isabel added.

"She's a very busy Empress to be, it's impossible to make her go anywhere away from the Roman palace." Khrysie sighed.

Diana crossed her arms. "If only she'd think about getting a boyfriend."

"But how about you Paigey?" Khrysie wondered. "How's love life?"

Here's this question again. "Sorry, don't have one." I said honestly.

Before Khrysie could say anything else, Aicko came out from the bathroom. "I'm all ready."

We all followed her out the suite. The resort was already filled with most of our batchmates. Since it was afternoon, the golden sunset was displayed on the view of the beach.

I smiled as I kept seeing familiar faces. Those people that I used to see at Eres Academy back when we were still studying, the groups of friends that I see back then is still the groups that I'm seeing now. It feels nice to see us all come together, somehow I feel like I'm being brought back to those Eres school days when we'd attend classes and spend every afternoon at Elite square. Oh how I miss those times.

Me and the girls went out to the beachside, we sat down on some lounge chairs by the palm trees.

"Have you heard? Blake returned from England." Khrysie started, "And he's back for good."

"What?!" Shari exclaimed. "Now that's new."

Diana crossed her arms. "Well at least he's home now right?"

"Did you know about this Paige?" Shari asked.

I saw how Aicko tried to stop herself from laughing that she had to look away.

"No, I didn't." I lied. "Why should I know that?" I raised my brow.

"Wow, that was harsh." Aicko laughed.

"If he's back here then who do you think he's dating now? I mean he's like the American bachelor." Diana said.

"Rumor has it, that he's still with Gia Merrit." Isabel said.

"What?!" Khrysie exclaimed. "Do you mean that slutty supermodel?" She said in disbelief. "She's not even that pretty, our Paige beat her in the dust, in looks and in brains."

"Stop it girls." I said in a serious tone. "I no longer want anything to do with him."

"Ok, ok, we'll stop." Aicko said.

I sighed. I've been feeling uneasy since a while ago, I needed to be sure. "H-he won't attend right?"

"Of course he won't." Aicko answered. "He declined my invitation."

"He won't attend don't worry." Khrysie said. "He's a very busy man and extremely hard to contact or to even meet up with, even for a royal myself."

"So you have to relax." Eloise patted my back. I nodded.

After a while, Aicko, Shari, Eloise and I left Khrysie with her girls at the beach and we re-entered the resort building.

Eloise and Shari went around to explore the resort while I accompanied Aicko as she greeted guests.

"Hi there thankyou for coming."

"OMG I missed you!"

"So glad you could come."

These were the words that Aicko's been saying every time she greeted guests. Every single time we'd come across our batchmates, Aicko would stop by to talk to them, at first I'd talk with them too but I got tired and kept distance with them while scrolling through my phone.

While Aicko chit chatted, I was reviewing my schedule for the following day.

"Hey!"

My eyes widened when my someone jumped right in front of me.

"God." I held my chest.

"Haven't seen you in a while Paige." Ram laughed. "Or must I say, Ashley Bennet?" He teased.

I punched his shoulder. "That's unnecessary."

"Wow, you haven't changed, I thought Ashley was different from Paige but from the looks of it, they both like punching shoulders."

I laughed.

"By the way, do you still make cakes?"

I suddenly stopped laughing and sighed. "No, I haven't baked in so long."

"Oh." Ram looked down. "That's bad, I wanted to show you how good I am now in baking." He sighed.

I laughed. "I'm sure you're good."

"By the way." I looked around the place. "Who are you with?" I asked even if I was sure that he'd probably be alone.

"I'm with-"

"Ram." A voice from behind us called. I turned around and my eyes widened when I found out the owner of the voice.

I immediately bowed.

Kile stood there behind Ram.

"Unfair! I'm a prince too, how come you only bow to him?" Ram complained.

"Sorry." I apologized.

"Fine, you two catch up, I'll just roam around the beach, catch you guys later." Ram walked away.

I slowly looked up at Kile. "Wanna take a walk?"

He nodded. "I don't see why not."

We walked together through the resort's hallways.

"So you're the crown prince now." I said remembering the news. "Congrats."

"Thankyou." He said.

"How was the Knight school? Excalibur? I wondered. "I heard that it's very hard to study there, how did you cope with it?"

He was silent for a moment.

"Yes it was hard." He admitted. "But I actually loved it." He smiled.

"Really?" My brows scrunched. "Good for you."

"How's modeling?" He asked.

"It's ok." I admitted. "Something I've gotten used too."

He nodded.

"Well how's life? I asked. "Are you happy?"

He thought for a moment. "Yes, I am," He turned to me. "You?"

"Same." I said plainly.

"That sounds like a lie."

I sighed. "The truth is, I don't know." I played with my fingers. "I'm not sure."

"You'll find it someday." He looked at me. "Happiness."

I smiled. "I hope I do."

"You will."

I took a deep breathe and turned to him. "Thankyou Kile."

He gave me a smile. "I'll see you around Paige."

I bowed to him before he walked away to find Ram.

After all this time, I'm just glad to know that Kile's doing well, he's found happiness, maybe in his job, or in a person, or maybe in himself. I wish I could say the same for me.

Suddenly I felt my phone buzz. I answered it.

[Hey, come out to the beach, everyone's outside, we'll be starting the games.]