Summary: During a Beaumont Bash in her honor, Jade lets her insecurities take the best of her once again.
Jade sashayed through the halls of her estate in Valtoria towards the ballroom, where Maxwell and Bertrand decided to throw a special edition of the Beaumont Bash for the honorary little sister. She stopped by the door, checked her outfit through the mirror and nodded to the guards, who opened the door for her.
The usual glamorous chandeliers were exchanged to flashing lights. The room was dim and there was smoke everywhere, but she could see booths, a DJ playing at the stage and the bar was fully stocked with drinks no one will ever find during a court event. It was like she was in New York again and just stepped into the newest hot nightclub.
“Jade!” Maxwell beamed. “Ah, red suits you so beautifully,” he took her hand and twirled her around.
“Thanks, Max. I love what you’ve done here.”
“I thought you might want to lose some steam before the trip to Madrid,” he said, gawking her expression.
“I really do. Thank you for the moral support,” she gave him a sad smile and they shared a hug.
“Hey, no sad faces on a Beaumont Bash,” Maxwell nudged Jade.
“I second that. In fact, let’s lighten up and get this party started drinking these babies,” Juliet chimed in with a tray of Flaming Lamborghinis.
“I remember those,” Liam enveloped his arms around Jade. “The minute I saw her drinking it without putting out the fire, I knew she was trouble,” he smiled and kissed her neck.
“Yet, you liked it,” Jade winked.
“My baby brother may look like the responsible one, but he was always attracted to danger,” Leo smirked approaching the group.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Jade beamed.
“Of course you would,” Juliet rolled eyes and smiled. “Come on, let’s drink up!” Everyone took a glass, clinked them together and put out the fire before drinking, except for Jade and Leo. “You’re both looking for danger, aren’t you?”
“Oh, you have no idea,” Leo put his shot glass on a table nearby and went to the dancefloor.
“Join me for a dance?” Maxwell offered his hand to Juliet.
“Only if you can keep up with me,” Juliet smirked, walking towards the dancefloor.
“I like her,” Maxwell declared before following her, leaving Jade and Liam by themselves.
A wrinkle formed between Jade’s brows as she looked at the dancefloor.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah…” She answered quietly.
“Jade…”
“It’s all right. You have that videoconference in a few minutes, you should go. We can talk about it later,” she said adjusting his tie.
“Are you sure?” he lifted up her chin, studying her features for a moment. “I know you want something. What can do you for you, my queen?” he asked, locking eyes with her and kissing her knuckles.
She bit her bottom lip. “Do you still have time for a dance?”
“I can always have time for a dance with my beautiful fiancee.” A slow smile played on his lips as he spun her around, guiding her hips as their bodies swayed together.
…
The night had deepened at the grand ballroom of Duchess Jade’s estate in Valtoria, many nobles were already too wasted and the second DJ just started his setlist. The Beaumont Bash was going strong and the hosts were pleased to know their fame for throwing legendary parties was still intact. Not so thrilled? The guest of honor.
After many glasses of different cocktails and very few time on the dancefloor, she sat at the bar sulking at the partygoers. “Hey, what are you doing here by yourself?” Maxwell nudged her.
“Nothing,” Jade shrugged.
“You’re the guest of honor. You should be dancing and celebrating,” Juliet gave her an encouraging shoulder pat.
“It’s okay, Paloma is keeping me company,” she replied taking a sip of her grapefruit and tequila cocktail. “I’m fine. Really. You guys should go have fun. I know you both are dying to go back there.”
“Well duh! But not at the expense of leaving you here by yourself. If you’re not dancing, we’re not dancing,” Juliet sat on the stool beside her and called the bartender. “Hey there, can we have two more Palomas and a glass of water for Duchess Jade?”
“What? Why?” Jade whined.
“You’re reaching the sullen phase of your drunken mood, Little Blossom. And Liam told me to keep an eye on you while he’s on the phone talking to the Australian ambassador.”
“He did?”
“No, he said I should keep an eye on her and on you,” Juliet smirked.
“Potayto, potahto…” Maxwell shrugged.
They laughed and thanked the bartender as he placed their orders on the counter. Jade pursed her lips but picked up her glass of water, clinking glasses with her friends.
“Hana with all the timidity and sweetness is wrapping the bad boy prince around her finger in that killer dress, huh?” Juliet commented.
“What are you talking about?” Jade furrowed her brows.
Juliet nodded towards the dancefloor, where Hana and Leo danced in a corner. Hana giddily shimmied her hips in synch with Leo’s, his hands wrapped around her waist pressing her back against his chest.
“What the hell is that about?” Drake sneered and took a seat next Maxwell, placing his whiskey glass on the bar.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Jade replied with a scowl.
“Damn, look at those dance moves,” Juliet marveled at Leo and Hana dancing. “I seriously doubt a prince is taught to do a body roll.”
“Leo had several dance lessons of different music styles with best teachers in of the world during his royal training as Crown Prince, but I taught him that,” Maxwell boasted.
“Is that so?” Juliet turned to the side and touched Maxwell’s biceps. “Care to show me what you got?”
“Happily,” Maxwell extended his hand to Juliet and guided her to the dancefloor, leaving Jade and Drake by themselves.
“How long has this being going on?”
“I’m not sure, we haven’t talked about it yet.”
“Shocker. I’d be surprised if you’d have time for anyone but yourself,” Drake taunted.
“Said the guy who said he wanted to support the kingdom and keeps running to the hills when things get rough,” Jade rebuked.
“Hey, can we not talk about this now? The point here is why Hana is with Leo.”
“She’s not with him.”
“Then what is that all about?” Drake pointed to Hana with her eyes fluttering shut and one hand on Leo’s neck as the prince kissed the spot right below her ear.
“That piece of shit is going to deflower my best friend!” Jade bellowed.
“Deflower? What is this? A cheap erotic novel from the eighteenth century?”
“Oh, shut up and help me do something.”
“Like what?”
“Come dance with me. We have to break them apart.”
“No.”
“Drake, come on! We’re doing it for Hana.”
“Yeah, but I’m not doing that.”
“It’s one dance, for crying out loud!”
“I hear you and the answer still is no.”
“What are you answering no to?” Liam chimed in as he placed an arm around Jade’s waist.
“To your fiancee trying to get me to dance with her.”
“Oh, yeah, he’s definitely not going to dance with you,” Liam acknowledged before whispering to Jade. “You’d need to get him drunker than that to pull it off, my love.”
“I heard that,” Drake chided, but the couple simply chuckled. “Ugh, you’re getting as annoying as she is, Liam. I need to stay away from both of you,” he took a gulp of his whiskey and walked away.
“Do you still want to dance or that was just for Drake?” Liam asked with a cheeky smile.
“I always want a dance with my favorite dance partner,” she replied, encircling her hands around his neck as he guided her to the dancefloor.
“Favorite?!?” Liam jokingly exaggerated his shocked face. “I cannot believe you had others!”
“I’m sorry, I should have told you sooner,” she dramatically looked away, placing the back of her hand over her forehead as he pulled her closer. “But yeah, that was Maxwell, Hana, Rashad, that cute Turkish diplomat who’s a friend of yours and Drake. I taught him a few steps during his birthday party.”
Liam chortled. “You’re shameless.”
“I know,” she winked. “And speaking of shameless…” Jade scanned the room looking for Hana and Leo.
“Everything okay?”
“Not quite. I don’t know where Hana is.”
“She just left with Leo.”
“She left?!?”
“They probably went outside. Why?”
“I don’t like that, we have to look for them.”
“Jay, I’m sure they don’t need us meddling on their lives.”
“I won’t meddle. I’ll break them apart. He’s married and too old for her.”
“He’s getting divorced and she doesn’t seem to mind about their age difference.”
“Well, obviously she doesn’t. She’s inexperienced. He’s a womanizer. She doesn’t know better.” She noticed Liam subtle disapproving look and glared at him. “Why are you siding with him on this?”
“Siding with him?” Liam cocked an eyebrow.
Before they could say anything else, Jade spotted Hana and Leo coming back to the dancefloor and pulled away from Liam.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll rescue my friend from your predator brother.”
Liam merely shook his head watching Jade marching towards Leo and Hana. He knew it was pointless trying to stop her, but he also was curious to know what she was planning to do.
“Hi,” Jade unapologetically walked between the two of them and laced her arm with Hana’s. “I borrowing my best friend for a couple of minutes, I hope you don’t mind.”
Leo shrugged smirking.
“Err…” Hana looked at Jade confused.
“Girl emergency,” Jade said.
“Oh, sure,” Hana turned to Leo. “I’ll see you outside later?”
“I’ll hold you up on that,” Leo winked to Hana, who responded with a coy smile.
Jade glared at Leo, but her threatening stare only made him chuckle. “Hana?” Jade called her in an arrogant tone.
Hana smiled to her friend and the two of them walked away from the crowded room, heading to a balcony upstairs.
“What the hell did you do this time?” Liam asked as he approached his brother and gave his glass of scotch.
“I don’t know… Is she still mad at me because of the third bachelor party?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Are you sure? She looked pretty pissed that day,” Leo grinned.
“Yes, she was. Thank you very much, douchebag,” Liam glowered at his older brother.
“What? I didn’t know her well back then. I had to test her limits to see if she really has a backbone. Now I know she’s feisty and I like her.”
“Couldn’t you just try talking to her like normal people would do?” Liam scowled.
“Yeah… But my way was more fun,” Leo smirked.
While the brothers chatted, Jade and Hana stopped at a balcony, on the second floor of the Valtorian Palace.
“Are you okay? Do you need an Advil or something?” Hana asked.
“No, I’m fine. It’s another kind of girl emergency: girl talk.”
“And is it an emergency?”
“It is because we haven’t had a girl talk in a while. What’s up?”
“I’m fine.”
“Just fine? Really?” Jade nudged her friend.
Hana smiled shyly.
“Come on. You know you want to tell me…”
“Okay,” Hana beamed taking Jade’s hand to sit down on a couch nearby.
“I’ve been hanging out with Leo these days. And oh my goodness, he is so sweet and daring. The way he talks about his trips to Santorini, Monte Carlo, Nepal, Cape Town, Maldives, the secluded places he found in all these cities and how he’s not afraid to explore it… It’s like a whole new world.”
Jade swallowed hard, trying her best to keep a smile on her face.
“And he’s so fun much.”
“Really? You do know he’s still married and has children.”
“I’m pretty sure his lawyers are handling it. He said Ava and Emma are moving to Cordonia in a week. He already bought the house next to the beach.”
“Huh…”
“He asked me out yesterday. Like a real date. Not that the other dates we had weren’t real, but he said he has been planning this one since he returned. I’m really hoping something special,” Hana’s face gleamed with joy.
“Why?”
A bright shade of red bloomed on Hana’s cheeks.
“Wait… Are you going to have sex with him?”
“I don’t know… Maybe,” she bit her lip.
“Is he pushing you to do it?” Jade’s eyes widened in fury.
“No. But you know all the stories about him, he really likes it. And I think maybe I should–”
“No, you shouldn’t,” Jade cut her off.
“But–”
“You can’t do it just because he wants it. You have to want it too. Don’t do it until you’re completely sure you want it. Tell me you won’t do it,” Jade commanded.
“Jade, I–”
“Tell me!”
“No!”
“You– what?”
“You heard me,” Hana lifted up her chin. “I know he’s older, I know he had more life experiences than I did, I’m not stupid. He’s not forcing me to do anything I don’t want to and I know how to stand up for myself. You should know that since you’re the one who helped me to toughen up.”
“Hana, Leo just got out of a broken marriage. He has children. He’s not ready for something serious right now.”
“You don’t know that!” Hana shouted.
“Well, do you?” Jade yelled.
“No. But who is there to say I want it? Maybe I don’t any anything serious. Have you thought about that? Maybe I don’t want to wait until the date. Maybe I want to do it tonight!”
“Are you completely out of your mind?!?”
“No! It’s what I want! Jade, you are my best friend! You were supposed to help me, to support my decisions and give advice, not forbidding me from doing things I want to do.”
“And as your best friend, I’m advising you not to rush it! Hana, this is your first time! You don’t want it to be meaningless. I’m just looking out for you.”
“But you’re not! You’re bossing me around when you know you can’t tell me what to do!” Hana snapped. “This is why I left my parents’ house and you don’t get to treat me like a child!”
They glared at each other.
“Hey… Is everything alright here?” Leo looked at the ladies, faking smiles as they turned to find the King and the prince standing beside them.
“It is. But it will be much better once we get back to the dancefloor,” Hana hissed lacing arms with Leo, smiled to Liam and walked away.
Still forcing a smile, Jade watched her friend descend the stairs without looking back.
“Are you okay?” Liam asked softly.
“It depends on how much you heard.”
“If Hana thinks you’re treating her like a child, I assume your meddling didn’t go as you expected.”
“I wasn’t–” she trailed off shutting her eyes and clenching her fists.
“Jade, she’s fine. Weren’t you the one encouraging Hana to explore her options and have new experiences? If she wants Leo as a company, there’s nothing we can’t do.”
“But what if he’s toying with her? What if he breaks her heart?”
“What could possibly make you think he would do that?”
Before she could answer, tears began to stream down her cheeks.
Liam furrowed his brows but soon he pulled his fiancee into his arms, soothing her as she sobbed against his chest,
“I’m done with this party.”
“It’s okay. We don’t have to stay here any longer.”
“Don’t we?” she sniffed, brushing the tears away.
“You stayed here long enough and we have a flight to catch in the morning. Maxwell will understand,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head
“Thank you,” she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
With one hand around her waist, Liam escorted Jade back to her room trying to understand why would she be against Hana dating his older brother.
