I don’t own any of these images, their rights belong to their owners
Important – My MC is Viktoria Petit and my King Liam is called Istvan.
Rating – this chapter’s not NSFW, there’s relationship talk, but nothing explicit
Disclaimer – Characters are Pixelberry’s, sadly not mine (with the exception of Cassie and Giselle) – I don’t make any money from my fics, it’s just for fun.
Holy shit I hear you say! She’s actually finished something! I know dudes, can’t quite believe it myself 😂 @tmarie82 all this chaos was your fault lol! 😉
—
The group began to congregate in Olivia’s grand dining room the next morning. Kiara and Penelope were deep in conversation, a gasp or giggle escaping into the echoey room every so often. Hana and Giselle were sipping on coffees as Giselle stroked Hana’s hair whilst discussing their travel plans for the journey back to New York with Istvan and Viktoria. Cassie skipped through the large doors holding a trailing, sheepish-looking Drake’s hand tightly as she trilled,
“Good morning everyone!!!”
Viktoria smiled over at her,
“Hey guys, we missed you down by the lake last night. It was beautiful.”
Drake stepped beside with Cassie, squeezing her hand as she beamed at Viktoria, the excitement so pent up inside of her, Drake grinned at his friends as he told them,
“We got sort of caught up doing our own thing last night…”
Cassie couldn’t contain herself any longer, she squeaked and bounced up and down as flashed her hand to the group, the response coming in a round of squeals of delight! Drake started to laugh as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, dwarfing her petite frame, placing a kiss on top of her head,
“Heh, so, Cassie has agreed to be Mrs Walker…”
Cassie was quickly swallowed up by a swarm of hugs and kisses as the girls gathered around her, wanting to see her engagement ring and hear the proposal story. Istvan crossed the room to his best friend, a surprised but delighted look on his face, he shook Drake’s hand as he wrapped him in a warm embrace,
“Congratulations my friend, I’m so pleased for you both… But, you sly dog, you never said?”
Drake chuckled,
“I’ve had the ring for a while, but it’s taken me some time to get up the nerve… She is everything to me, Ist.”
Istvan, clapped his friend firmly on the back,
“I know she is, she’s the loveliest girl Drake, you two have something really special together…”
Istvan turned to embrace Cassie who was back by Drake’s side, he kissed her gently on the cheek as he grinned,
“I was just telling your fiance, that you’re exactly what he needs Cassie. I have known Drake Walker my whole life, and never have I seen him so at ease, so full of hope and happiness as he’s been since you came into his life…”
Cassie squeezed Istvan tightly as she winked at Drake,
“I guess it was just meant to be.”
Olivia approached the happy couple and Istvan, a grin across her face,
“Congratulations, you two… Lythikos Lodges’ first romance story… I’m matchmaker. Who would have guessed?”
Drake started with a confused look on his face,
“Heh. Cassie and I already live together, how does that make you a match-”
Cassie nudged his ribs, raising an eyebrow at him,
“Olivia thank you so much for inviting us this weekend, it has been just wonderful and so romantic…”
Olivia beamed,
“We can do some PR for the resort. You’re quite pretty Cassie, and Drake’s not un-photogenic, if you like that sort of thing…”
As Cassie tried to stifle a giggle, Drake huffed,
“Thanks, I think…”
Olivia ignored his tone as she drew her hand in the air, as though the was setting a scene for them,
“Lythikos Lodges and Spa Resort: A destination for the heart and the senses…”
Drake rolled his eyes as both Cassie and Istvan nodded in approval looking to the rest of the group for input, at which point Cassie questioned,
“Where’s Maxwell?”
Drake shrugged his shoulders as Istvan gave Viktoria the side-eye while Olivia became conspicuously silent, suddenly quite interested in her perfectly manicured fingers… Viktoria, sensing Olivia’s discomfort, decided to help her friend out,
“I think he probably slept late… You know Maxwell when he’s been drinking cider…”
—
Upstairs in Olivia’s guest room, Maxwell had just woke up. He’d come back with Olivia rather than heading back to his lodge. After their kiss on the frozen lake last night, they wanted to be together, away from the others. They’d sat in the lounge talking half the night. Maxwell rolled over hugging the soft pillow, smiling to himself. Last night he’d chipped away a little at that brick wall Olivia had spent so long putting up. They’d sat close to each other on the sofa, he held her hand as he opened up to her, he told her that when she allowed herself to be just a little vulnerable, Maxwell could see the real Olivia and it intrigued him, “No one gets to see ‘you’ Liv… I caught just glimpse the other night and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you… I want to get to know you Olivia…”
Olivia had been taken aback by Maxwell’s words; his observations were frighteningly astute… She never let anyone get close for fear of being hurt: she’d been betrayed and abandonned by her parents and her aunt. She found it hard to really trust and let anyone in. Over the years she’d cultivated a perfectly snarky, prickly exterior… And she couldn’t believe that of all people, Maxwell Beaumont was the person she was choosing to let in… But somehow, there was something about him, in these strange moments they had shared over the past days that spoke to her heart… Maybe Maxwell understood her defence mechanisms, because he was a flipside of the same coin; she was certain that he didn’t always feel as carefree, lighthearted and sure of himself as the face he showed the world… They were more similar than perhaps either of them had ever thought…
Maxwell grinned as he recalled that first kiss on the ice; it had stoked a fire in his heart. When Olivia had melted into his arms, it just felt so… So right… How could he not want to pursue that feeling and get closer to her? Before they’d finally turned in for the night, Maxwell had walked Olivia to her bedroom, he stepped closer to her as she leaned against the door with a small smile on her lips. One hand slid round her waist as he breathed in the fragrance of her hair, whispering in her ear,
“Goodnight Liv… I would really like to do this again…?”
Olivia responded without words, biting her bottom lip, then cupping Max’s face in her hands and pulling him into a tender kiss before whispering goodnight to him as she closed the door behind her, leaving him in the hallway grinning like a fool.
—
Hana and Giselle, who had the longest trip back from Lythikos, left before the rest of their friends to head back to Cordonia’s airport for their transatlantic flight. During the crossing, Hana recounted her conversation with Viktoria to Giselle, about talking to Lorelei and Xinghai and introducing them to her partner. Giselle was, as always, sweet, supportive and didn’t pressure Hana towards any particular course of action: she knew this was a huge deal for her girlfriend. Giselle thought about her own mother and how accepting she’d been of Giselle’s life and choices throughout; she was fortunate to have someone as open-minded and non-judgmental, not everyone was so lucky. They held hands across the seat as they both attempted to get some shut-eye during the long flight home, only awakening for the breakfast service. The air hostess chirped bright at the couple,
“Newspaper with your coffee or tea ladies?”
Hana smiled as she accepted the tabloid, absentmindedly unfolding it as the stewardess walked on to the next travellers. She looked down at the front page, gasping as she read the words ‘Eros CEO West Charged Over AI Ethics Breach’. Nudging her girlfriend to get her attention, Hana scanned the article frantically as the words started to sink in: dating agency front, experimentation and torture, unsuspecting romantics ‘matched’ with robots, unethical attempts to weaponise AI… Giselle and Hana’s stomachs lurched, they looked at one another in a state of utter confusion. Giselle’s voice trembled as she pushed her glasses up the slope of her nose,
“Hana? Are… Are you…?”
Hana swallowed hard as she shook her head,
“N-no. Are you??”
Giselle shook her head rapidly,
“No!!”
Hana flipped over to a double-page spread with photographs of a familiar looking woman in her twenties, Kai Park… Was she Nadia’s sister, or cousin? There was certainly a resemblance… Kai was giving an exclusive on her experiences with Eros and introducing her ‘Match’ Hayden, a devilishly handsome Latino chap who had a real snappy sense of style! Kai was busy telling the world that Hayden was more ‘human’ than half the non-robotic people she’d ever met, and that anyone involved with Eros should call the information line number to seek support and guidance: she acknowledged that both she and Hayden had time to get their heads around this, but knew this could be unsettling for those involved. Hana worried her lip between her teeth as she and Giselle looked at each other. Giselle broke the awkward silence,
“Should we call the number when we land?”
Hana nodded: it was going to be a long hour til they were back on the ground…
“Eros Incident, Information and Support, Judy speaking, how can I help you?”,
the monotone voice was frankly robotic and inappropriate for the situation, but that was a whole other issue. Hana relayed the scenario to Judy, who asked for both Hana and Giselle’s Eros ID numbers. Hana relayed hers immediately, it was the date of her mother’s birthday, she’d smiled about that at the time,
“Client 517 for me, hold on I’ll get my partners…”
Covering the handset she whispered to Giselle,
“What’s your number?”
Giselle rummaged though her purse before producing a card that said ‘Client 591’. Hana was put on hold while Judy went off to check some details… She gave Giselle’s hand a squeeze as she whispered,
“No matter what she says Giselle, I still love you and want to be with you…”
Giselle nodded and kissed Hana’s cheek,
“Same.”
What seemed like an hour later, Judy came back trilling down the phone like a different person,
“You know Ms Lee, you are the first case I have spoken to since this whole debacle went viral whose life I haven’t turned upside down. I can confirm from looking at the files Eros held on both you and your partner, you are both all human, there’s been no foul play by Eros in your case at all. It seems Ms Lee, that you both approached the facility less than a week apart, and your profiles were, remarkably, so perfectly suited, that Eros must have decided against wasting any of their very expensive tech and resources on supplying you both with AI partners… Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
Hana dropped the call as she pulled Giselle into a warm embrace, tears rolling down her cheeks as she relayed the good news. Giselle kissed Hana deeply, smiling at her beautiful girlfriend as she admitted,
“I know the whole world hates Eros right now, but I kinda still love them!”
—
That evening Viktoria and Istvan piled into the back of the car that Istvan had arranged to collect them and take them back to the Palace. Vik wrapped Olivia in a warm hug, squeezing her tightly as she thanked her for a wonderful weekend; she did debate mentioning that kiss on the lake, but decided that she’d hear about it all in good time… As the royals settled into the car, Vik’s head lolled onto Istvan’s shoulder. She sighed contentedly as her love stroked her soft cheek,
“I’ve loved this weekend with you Istvan. I just wish we got a chance to do this more often, truly get away from it all, you know?”
Istvan smiled as he twirled her ponytail between his fingers,
“Everything has been so busy since the wedding. We’ve hardly paused for breath Vik. This weekend has been a real tonic… And that is why, I’m putting a stake in the ground right now. Cordonia can live without us for two weeks per year. You are my everything Vik, we need to make that quality, private time for each other.”
His wife beamed at him as she nodded happily, she had never been more happy than she was, loved and content on their way home, wrapped up in Istvan’s strong arms.
—
Penelope and Kiara had decided to stay on at Lythikos for another few days with Olivia. Neither of them had to rush back and Kiara had taken quite a shine to the ski instructor at the resort, so much so that she had booked a block of lessons with Thierry, despite already being a fairly accomplished skier… When Olivia raised an eyebrow as Kiara mentioned her refresher course, she chuckled to herself as Kiara blushed and made an excuse about needing some expert guidance to work on her carving technique… Penelope had received a call from Zeke the night before; he was planning on coming home over the holiday from university, he was looking forward to seeing her and said he’d missed her very much. Penelope’s heart had stopped as she thanked her lucky stars that she hadn’t pursued any sort of encounter with Maxwell Beaumont over the weekend! She had flopped back onto her cloud-like bed in the lodge, content in the knowledge that there was no lady vet muscling in, and that Zeke was still carrying a torch for her.
—
Cassie, Drake and Maxwell were the last to leave. They tossed their bags into Maxwell’s shiny black jeep, making sure Thor was settled and secure before they took off. Maxwell had missed the whole engagement announcement earlier that morning and was listening to Cassie’s starry-eyed recall of the events of yesterday as she admired her glittering prize in the sunlight, she grinned as she murmured
“Mrs Walker, Mrs Cassie Walker…”
Drake snorted,
“Like Bond, James Bond?”
She rolled her eyes and messed his hair as she gasped,
“I need to call my Dad!”
Drake chuckled,
“He’ll be glad to know I finally built up the nerve to ask… He can stop giving me that ‘did you ask her yet’ look he’s been giving me since I asked for his blessing…”
Cassie’s mouth dropped open,
“Dad knew you were going to propose?? You guys talked about it?? And he didn’t tell me??”
Drake shrugged,
“Would have ruined the surprise wouldn’t it?”
Maxwell listened to their voices blending into the background as he was sucked into his own daydream… Thoughts of the conversation he had with Olivia as Drake and Cassie filled the car… She was going to be back in the Cordonian capital in the next couple of weeks meeting suppliers for the resort, and she’d agreed to let Maxwell take her on a date while she was there…
Maxwell turned up the stereo as soon as he heard the opening strains of ‘Country Roads’: nothing had changed and everything had changed over the course of the weekend in Lythikos.
—
End – VP 💖
