Felicity's POV.
At that moment, something inside me finally fell into place. It felt like my heart had been waiting for him all along. I didn't say the words out loud. I didn't need to. Not yet. Not while Mia's shadow still lingered. Not while the storm between us had fully passed. But deep in my chest, the truth beat strong and clear. I love you, Christopher. And somehow, from the way he smiled down at me like I was the only girl in the world, I had the feeling he already knew. I smiled back as we walked toward the bar, hand in hand, stepping into whatever chaos came next. Because even though the kiss was real, the storm wasn't over. Not yet.
The after-party at the bar was already in full swing by the time we arrived. Music pounded through the speakers. The bass vibrated through the floor and into my shoes. Fairy lights blinked overhead like tired little stars, casting a warm glow across the college garden. Laughter filled the Autumn air, mixing with clinking glasses and the occasional tipsy yell from someone who had clearly had too much.
The courtyard glowed warm and golden, buzzing with music, laughter, energy, and just the right amount of college fun. Everyone was there. Penelope, rocking a ridiculous feathered crown and dancing like she owned the night. Mia, off to the side, sipping something sharp and eyeing us like she was studying every move. Christopher's friends were loud, half drunk, and already well into their third round of drinks.
Then Penelope spotted us. "LOOK WHO DECIDED TO SHOW UP!" Penelope shouted across the courtyard, waving a bottle of apple cider. I laughed and waved back, feeling a strange mix of excitement... and nerves.
And then I saw them. Alex and Noah. My heart skipped. Alex stood across the bar with a drink in his hand, talking to someone, but his eyes were locked on me. No, on us. More exactly, Christopher's hand was resting around my waist, it belonged there. Noah was sitting at another table with his supposed girlfriend, even though Chris once told me Noah liked me. Both of them were looking at me, or maybe at us, and suddenly I felt awkward.
The second Alex saw it, his grip on the glass tightened as if he might actually crush it. His jaw tensed. His shoulders went stiff. Jealousy rolled off him like heat waves from the road. Without thinking, I gently moved Christopher's hand away from my waist. Guilt? Maybe. Panic? Definitely. But whatever it was, I suddenly felt far too visible, like everyone in the bar could see us. Chris noticed right away. Instead of stepping back, he leaned closer to me. Part of me felt safe beside him. But I also knew he wanted Alex and Noah to see.
And oh, they both saw. Alex was glaring at Christopher's hand like he wanted to set it on fire or burn it off my waist. His face was tight with anger. Noah saw it too. He sat very still at his table, his eyes fixed on us. The look on his face was different from Alex's. Not angry. Just quiet and heavy, like he was trying hard not to show how much it bothered him.
Chris's fingers tightened slightly on my waist, as he felt it too. Like he was silently saying, Yeah, mate, she's with me now. But the way Alex was looking at us was not just anger. It was something deeper. Something sad. It looked a lot like heartbreak. And in that moment, I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.
Then, out of nowhere, a small voice in my head whispered something I had not thought about in a very long time. Back before Christopher. Before Oxford. Before all the chaos and drama, there had been another boy. Not Alex. Not this mess. His name was Theo. And the way Alex was looking at me right now brought back that old ache. It reminded me of Theo. Of heartbreak. Of the quiet what ifs. Of the boy who once crushed my soul.
Chris leaned in close, his breath warm against my ear. "Relax, love. They're just jealous. Probably regretting the dumb thing they didn't do that made them lose you."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you really have to say that?"
He grinned, completely unbothered. "Absolutely. It's part of my charm."
Penelope crashed into us before I could fire back something witty. "Okay, you two are ridiculously hot right now like someone snap a picture before the moment melts! Anyway, I need drinks, drama, and a dance-off in ten minutes, so wrap up the couple thing, swoony eye-staring, and join the madness. Chop-chop, lovebirds."
She grabbed my hand and twirled me dramatically, like we were in a ballroom and not a grassy courtyard full of half-drunk undergrads. Then, leaning close, she whispered in a singsong tone near my ear.
"Oh, also, Mia's here. She's pretending like you don't exist, which means she's absolutely up to something. Possibly your downfall. Definitely emotional. Most likely a meltdown, a scandal, or some tragic attempt to win back her dignity. Probably all three, with glitter."
I groaned for a split second, then forced a smile that probably looked steadier than I felt. My brain was juggling too much. Fantastic. My fake-almost boyfriend who felt a little too real. My enemies who were definitely not pretending. A room full of people who either disliked me, wanted to be me or didn't know what to think about me anymore. All crammed into one glamorous party. What could go wrong? A night full of secrets. A prince pretending to be normal. A jealous friend who was almost a lover, but never really was. A jealous friend who might have once been something more. And Mia… being Mia, which usually meant drama was dangerously close.
The air grew thicker suddenly, like the entire courtyard was holding its breath. My smile faltered for a moment, just barely. I was not about to give Mia the satisfaction of seeing me flinch. Not tonight. Not when Chris's hand was wrapped in mine, steady and warm, like a promise neither of us was ready to break. I laughed awkwardly and turned to Penelope, giving her a weak smile. But my eyes drifted back across the crowd again. I could not help it.
Alex was still staring across the bar. His eyes burned at first, sharp and searching. Then something changed. The anger faded. What remained was quiet, almost thoughtful. As if he wanted to say something, as if maybe he should have said it a long time ago. I looked away quickly, then back again. There he was, still watching, still intense, still completely unreadable. His eyes locked on mine as if he could feel it too, the pull, the tension, the unfinished business. I blinked and turned toward the crowd, but the weight of his stare stayed with me, like the calm before a storm. Heavy. Familiar. Dangerous.
Noah was watching too. He sat a little apart, his expression hard to read. Not angry, not jealous, just careful, like he was trying to figure out what I was feeling, what Alex was feeling, and what it all meant. I could sense him thinking, waiting, trying not to show how much it bothered him. Chris's hand tightened around mine, and I leaned into it. Safe. Yet the pull between me and Alex, the lingering tension, the unfinished words, they stayed. Even with Noah quietly watching, Mia doing whatever Mia does, and the music and laughter around us, I felt it all.
Chris's hand brushed gently against my cheek, steady and grounding as always. His touch lingered for a moment, soft but sure.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
I nodded, lying through my teeth. "Totally fine."
But inside, everything felt like it was falling apart. Nothing about this night was simple anymore. Maybe all of us were on the verge of breaking. The truth? I was not fine. I was standing in the middle of glitter, gossip, and lies, wearing a smile that fooled everyone except me. With a crown no one could see but one I felt pressing hard on my chest. The only person I truly trusted was the boy standing beside me, a prince hiding in plain sight. His kisses tasted like home, and his smile made the whole world fall quiet.
Chris studied my face for a moment. I exhaled shakily as he leaned closer. "You sure?" he murmured. "We can leave. Just say the word."
Gosh. His voice. That voice that could command kingdoms and still melt just for me.
I shook my head and steadied myself. "No. I want to stay."
He studied me again for a second too long, then nodded and brushed his lips against my temple. And suddenly, for one brief moment, I wasn't falling apart. I was just a girl at a party, dancing with a boy no one knew was royalty under fairy lights and secrets. And for now, that was enough.
>>>>>>>>>>>
Alexander's POV.
She walked in and I knew it was her. I had already suspected it before. I felt it in my chest the first time I saw her on campus. That spark. That strange feeling of knowing her even though I could not explain it. But when I heard her name, when she said it out loud, I froze. Felicity Paddington. The name hit me like a punch to the gut. I stood there, shocked and completely caught off guard but I didn't let it show. And now she was here. That laugh. The way her hair shimmered under the lights. The way she bit her lip when she was nervous.
It was Felicity. My Felicity. And now here I was, standing across the room watching her. The girl from back then. The girl I left behind. The girl I never stopped thinking about. The same girl I knew in high school. The one I hurt. The one I turned down and pushed away because I was too scared, too proud, too much of a damn coward. Now she stood across the room with him at this party in Oxford. His hand rested comfortably on her waist as he owned her. Like he had the right to touch her like that. Like I had never once dreamed about holding her the same way. My fists clenched at my sides. Christopher bloody Blake.
Once, a long time ago, the place beside her could have been mine. If I had been brave enough. If I had not pushed her away. But I did. I left. I disappeared. And I let her believe I was gone for good. Now she was only a few steps away from me. Laughing. Smiling. She looked happier than I had seen her in years. And the worst part was this. She had no idea who I really was. To her, I was just Alex. Not Theodore Owen. Not the boy from her past. Not the one who broke her heart. Just another face in the crowd.
I had a new name. A new life. A fake smile. And a heart that had never stopped beating for her. I was born and raised in Wales in the United Kingdom. But we later moved to America. That was where I met Felicity and we became best friends. Then everything fell apart. After everything that happened with my family, the scandal, the press, and the whispers, I could not take it anymore. I had to leave. I had to disappear. It was not just the headlines. It was what people said behind closed doors. Whispers that turned into screams when no one was watching. My father's dirty deals exploded across the news, and suddenly being Theodore Owen was not just complicated. It was dangerous. The humiliation followed me everywhere. My name became a stain. My life was swallowed by scandal and shame.
But the worst part? It was not just about the money. He was not only cheating on my mother. He was living a double life. Another house. Another woman. Another child. A secret family hidden away in the countryside, or so they said, like something from a twisted fairy tale.
When the truth came out, the media devoured it. Everything blew up overnight. My mother found out through a news alert, not even a phone call. The press loved it. "Tech Tycoon's Love Child Revealed." Photos. Interviews. Angry arguments in public. It was everywhere.
Everywhere I went people were talking. Whispering. Pointing fingers at me. Looking at me like I was part of the scandal too. School became impossible. Friends started acting strangely. Some felt sorry for me. Others just wanted the gossip. I couldn't go to school without hearing whispers. I couldn't open social media without seeing my last name trending.
And Felicity saw it all. The betrayal. The broken family. The chaos. She stayed beside me through everything. She stood by me when everything else fell apart. But what did I do? I did the unthinkable. I let her down and I pushed her away anyway. I told myself it was to protect her. That she didn't deserve to be dragged into the mess my life had become. But the truth was simpler. I couldn't bear for her to see me like that. Broken. I couldn't handle being seen that way. Not by her.
When she asked me to the prom, I should have said yes. I wanted to. But instead, I let her down and humiliated her in the worst way. I took another girl and cut ties. I watched her walk away without looking back because if I had stopped her, I would never have survived it. Everything spiralled after that. I dropped the name Theodore Owen as it burned. New city. New university. A new name. A fresh start. At least that was what I told myself. So I disappeared. I changed my name. I moved back to England and became Alexander." A clean slate. A chance to lay low.
Now I go by Alex. People assume it's short for Alexander. It's not. It is simply easier. No past. No weight. Just a name I could hide behind. I told myself it was for a fresh start. But the truth was different. I ran from my name. I ran from the scandal. And most of all, I ran from her. I just couldn't face her. Still, no matter how far I ran or what name I used, the past didn't really let go. And tonight it stood right in front of me. Wearing glitter sneakers and glossy lips. Felicity.
The girl I ran from. The girl I never stopped thinking about. But more than anything, I needed to get away from her. Because seeing her back then, watching her look at me like I'd shattered her, ruined me. The last time I saw Felicity…she looked at me like I'd broken her. And maybe I did. I never said sorry. I never explained. I simply disappeared. And now she was ten feet away. Pretending not to see me. Pretending we had never mattered to each other. Pretending like we were strangers. I couldn't take it anymore. So I started walking toward her.