NICOLE'S POV

          It's 3 A.M.,  And I am wide awake. How can I sleep with this woman beside me? I try to toss and turn on this unbelievably soft bed, but still, my eyes decide to stay awake. When I feel the bed move, I immediately notice that Ava turned her front to face me.

My heart starts to pound like crazy when her hot breath hits my shoulder. Jesus Christ, she's going to be the death of me! With her wearing such sexy attire, how can I sleep like nothing's going on! If I knew this was how I would react, I would never have agreed on sleeping in the same bed.

Come on eyes, sleep! I need to be at the university the first thing in the morning. This is not the time to fantasize about how soft her skin is. But seriously though, would she wake up if I brush our skin against each other? Hold on, what am I saying right now?! I am completely losing my mind.

          Not long after, I hear her phone start to ring. Ava seems like she's dead asleep, too, and that ringing starts to annoy me to the core. I decide to reach for her phone and look at the caller ID.

Veronica?

          I accept the call and talk to Veronica. "Veronica?"

          "Nicole? Good. It's you. Open the door please. I'm outside your house."

          She's outside the house, at this hour? She hangs up before I put on my silky night robe and go to the front door. I wonder why the maids didn't open the door for her.

          When I open the door, there she is looking like she had too many  drinks. She is about to fall when I manage to catch her body.

Immediately, the smell of alcohol invades my nose. "

          Seems like you had a little too much."

          She laughs while I lead her to the living room couch. I never knew she was this heavy! Veronica slumps on the couch while covering her eyes with her arm.

          "What's wrong? Love problem?" I ask when I sit next to her.

          "You can say that. We broke up." She abruptly leans into me and looks at my face with a confused look on her face. "How do you manage to live with my strict, stick in the butt sister? She's rude you know."

          I lean back while covering my nose. Damn that breath! I never liked alcohol before, and this smells like something died in her mouth.

          "Never mind. Don't answer that. She probably lured you with gifts and sweet words. I mean, her last relationship was based only on that. Her being the next head of the family, people tend to be ..... "  She doesn't get to finish her words when she passes out on top of me.

          "What is she doing here?" I hear Ava's voice behind the couch.

          "She's drunk." I try to push her to the side, but somehow, she's getting heavier. "Ava, please help me."

          She chuckles before she easily moves her sister's body from me.

          I stand up as she tucks her sister to sleep on the couch. "Get the blanket for her from the laundry room."

          I do as told before I go to the living room again and  see her caressing her sister's hair. That's kind of, weird for me to see because, well, I never seen her out of character before.

          "When She was a little girl, she always came to my room to sleep because our parents didn't come home much." Ava places the blanket on her body. "She was a cry baby." We Both chuckle. "Now that she's an adult, she's still a cry baby." Ava wipes the tears from her cheek. "What happened?" She asks.

          I explain to her about her relationship status.

          Ava replies with a hum.  "I told her many times that he's not a good man to be with. She just ignored my warning." Ava stands up. "Shall we go to sleep. I'm sure your tired since you haven't gotten a blink of sleep yet."

          How did she know that? We both go back to our room, but she doesn't walk to the bed like I thought she would.

          "Where are you going?" I ask.

          She points to the loveseat. "Get some sleep. I know you're uncomfortable with me beside you."

          What? No! I grab onto her wrist before she goes any farther towards the loveseat. "Nonsense. Just come and sleep in the bed, please. To be in such a huge bed alone, that's rude of me."

          "But ..."

          "No buts. Just come here, and sleep with me!" I accidentally raise my voice, but she immediately goes to the bed afraid I might raise my voice even higher.

          "Good night." She says when I removed my night robe.

          "Good night." I smile before I lay my head on the pillow next to hers. Not long after that, I hear her soft snore again while I .... still can't let my eyes go to sleep. Seriously, what is wrong with these eyes? I try to close my eyes, but the only image that comes to mind is Ava ... in that lingerie ... I shake the thoughts away and try to think about something else. When my attempts are futile, I open my eyes and look at myself on the mirror that's on the ceiling. So, she's the type of person who likes to see herself go to sleep huh?

          I can't help but to think about what Veronica had said to be earlier. About Ava's past relationships. Is Fiona in the same category? Did they had some special relationship together? If so, why did Ava break up with someone like her? She has a bodacious body ... unlike me. Would she leave me for somebody else in the future? Hold on, why do I have these thoughts lingering around? This is getting annoying even for me! Have I finally fallen for her? If so, how is that even possible? Is it because of the money she throws at me or it's the matter of the heart itself? Why ... why do I become jealous if she talks with anyone who has the potential to steal her away from me? Why?!

***

          It turns out I never got much sleep last night. I finally had fallen asleep at 5A.M., but ... my alarm started to go off at 6. I am tired ... so tired.

          "Were you at a nightshift?" Ava makes fun of me.

          "Ha ha. Very funny." I sigh before I place my head on the countertop. "I'm not sure if my presentation will go right today." I express my worries.

          "Don't worry. I know you can do it." Ava places a plate of bacon in front of me. "You need a balanced meal." She says before placing a bowl of salad in front of me, too. "I recommend wine to go with it, but, you and alcohol don't mix at all. So ,I just prepared juice."

          She prepared that?

          "Morning bitches.... my head ... I'm dying." Veronica takes a seat next to mine.

          I notice Ava's just staring at her little sister. "You went out drinking last night?" Ava asks. When Veronica doesn't reply to her question, Ava slams her hands on the countertop.

          Veronica is surprised before she lifts up her head for her sister to see. "Yes ... i went out drinking last night.... a couple of drinks.. that's all."

          Ava takes a wine glass from the cabinet above us and pours herself a glass of wine. "Do you know what's on your schedule today?" Ava asks before taking a sip. "You have a fitting and rehearsal for your next runway show. Get yourself ready. Your PA will pick you up in a few minutes."

          Veronica sighs heavily. "Sis, don't you know how sad I am now."

          Ava scoffs. "I warned you many times before about that man. Did you listen to what I said? No, you didn't. Now get yourself ready for work."

          Was Ava always this cold before? She seems to show a lot of tough love when it comes to Veronica.

          "Fine fine..." Veronica takes one of the bacon pieces from my plate and eats it.

          "Veronica!"

          I let it go.  "Don't. It's fine."

          Veronica smiles at both of us.

          "You should be a little more get going like Nicole."

          She drinks half of my juice and runs before Ava can get angrier at her.

          "VERONICA!"

          "BYE!! THANK YOU FOR OPENING THE DOOR LAST NIGHT." I hear Veronica shout.

          "Calm down. She just got dumped. Anyway, do you have to work tonight as well?" I ask.

          She thinks for a moment. "You'll be staying at the dorm correct? If that's the case, maybe I'll just stayed in the office. I have a lot of unfinished business to take care of."

          She's going to stay at the office? Don't tell me she just comes home when I'm home.

          "Besides, I have to take care of the dinner preparations. My parents want to officially announce my position in the company. You can invite Mary as well."

          "What kind of dinner is this?"

          "Formal corporate dinner. Mostly attended by old farts, business acquaintances and, of course, the staff." She explains.

          "I'll let Mary know. Wait, hold on. That's not the real issue here. Are you really going to stay in the office? What about your meals? Clean clothes? I doubt that you have any spares ....."

          She smiles. "I built a room for me to stay in. What's the point of having all the money if you can't even make your office as your second or third home?" She chuckles. She has a point there but still.

          It won't have the same feeling right? I sigh. "Do as you wish." I let it go for now. She seems like she's having fun as she's staring at me.

          "Are you annoyed by any chance?" She asked with amusement.

          Like hell I am. "Nope. I am not annoyed. Why should I be? I'm not the one who runs this household, right? You are." I take a sip of my juice as she laughs.  Wow... that's the second time I've heard her laugh like that.

          "What a cute wife I have here. Don't worry about me. I'm used to stayed in the office by now. Even when I was a model, the office was where I slept and ate." She looks at the time. "I think it's almost time for you to go." She taps on her wrist watch.

          My eyes widen when I realise I'm late! I am about to go when she grabs my wrist and shows me a set of keys.

          "It's time for you to ride in style. I bought this Bentley for you to use. You know it's fine to be a snob once in a while. You deserve it." She's right.

          I grab the keys and go to the car that's waiting for me outside.

          "I'll call or text you when I'm free." She says as she waits for me to go inside the car and drive towards the university.

          It's almost scary how I manage to even drive this complicated looking car when I have no experience at all. Maybe I managed to learned something by looking at Ava all this time.

          When I manage to get myself a parking spot, I get out from the car and decide to searched for Mary. We agreed on meeting each other before the first class even starts. We need to review the materials after all.

          While I am looking, I come across a group of girls gossiping about me. I sigh. This is what I was afraid of happening. Honestly, don't they have anything greater to do than gossip about others?

          "I heard she sold herself to her. I mean come on, why does a famous model like Avalynn want to marry someone like Nicole. That's outrageous."

          So, that's how they view me? The last time I checked, Ava was the one who proposed to me. That night was all so sudden I couldn't even object her decision to marry me. Although, I feel good about it now that I've decided to agree on marrying her. It's ... a good decision. I smiled just remembering the past.

          "Nicole? What are you doing here?" I hear Mary call for me, and I notice that the girls freeze and decide to leave us alone without saying anything.

          "Ugh... Mary .... they were just getting to the good part."

          Mary is confused.

***

          "Hold on! You want me.... of all people to attend a corporate dinner party? Are you out of your mind?" Mary retorts.

          Somehow, we managed to give it our all for the presentation. Now that it's all done, we decide to eat our lunches in the open field of the university.

          Jackson pours us a cup of tea accompany with some sweets to go with it.

          "Come on. I don't want to be the only noob at that party." I beg.

          "So now I'm a noob? How did I get that low?" She chuckles.

          "I'm sure it's going to be fun, Milady. You get to eat, dance, socialise with someone you don't meet everyday. The Grimaldi family has a lot of royal acquaintances as their investors." Jackson explains.

          "Meeting royals? Nope. I'm out. I'll be so out of place." Mary decides not to go.

          "Why not, Milady? Who knows, you'll get to spend your life with a prince? Also, who knows that you might be a queen someday if you manage to catch the prince's eye." Jackson jokes.

          "Yes yes ... what he said. Come on, Mary. Just go with me. I'm sure Ava will be busy, and I'll be alone ..." I beg yet again.

          She sighs. "Well .... I do want to meet a prince or princes. It would be such an experience."

          Yes ... she's finally coming through.

          I feel my phone vibrate and decide to look at the text I received.

"I have one question for you right now .... do you have any knowledge about any sort of dancing?"

          What kind of text is this?

"Well ... I did dance with Chris on our prom night Year's ago."

I reply. Not long after that, I feel my phone vibrate again.

"That's good enough. I bought you something that you might like."

          Huh, she bought me something again?

          "Nicole Bonavich .... wait ... Grimaldi."

          I look up and notice that one of the familiar counsellors is actually carrying a box with her.

          "Someone just sent this to the faculty room. It says your name on it." She hands me the box, and I offer her a cup of tea. She isn't even reluctant to deny the fact that she's thirsty.

          "Chicken pie perhaps?" Jackson offers a plate of pie.

          "Don't mind if I do."

          "You seem hungry." I watch as the counsellor munches down every bit of the food she is given.

          "Can't help it. How can you live with this kind of food and stay thin? Jesus!"

          Jackson chuckles at the remark. "Milady doesn't eat much... I like a woman who as an appetite ..."

          the counsellor actually blushes at his words.

          "My my ... good looks and such a sweet talker as well ... what a beautiful combination." The counsellor nearly chokes on the pie.

          I ignore the two and decide to opened the box. I am surprised when a dress comes into view. I read the card that came with the dress and smile.

"I'm sorry for choosing this dress for you to wear at the dinner party. When my eyes landed on it, it reminded me of how beautiful you'd be. With love, Avalynn."

          I hear someone whistle. "That's a nice dress you got there. Lucky you. To be married into money. I am officially jealous."

          Married into money? She got it wrong. I am about to say something when Jackson beats me to it.

          "I'm sorry, but, what you just said made such an unnecessary image of my Lady. Lady Nicole never once  married into money. Both Lady Avalynn and Lady Nicole love each other. Do not tarnish my lady's reputation, counsellor." Jackson seems pissed. "If Lady Avalynn learns about this from a certain someone, I don't know what would happen to both your career and your personal life. The Grimaldi's will never let anyone tarnish their family member's name."

          Suddenly, a few of the maids show themselves. "We, the servants of the Grimaldi household, will not hesitate to clean our lady's name in a heartbeat."

          The counsellor gulps down her saliva before facing me. "It seems like I just made a terrible mistake. Forgive me Nicole Grimaldi." The counsellor seems to be struggling.

          "Stand down, Jackson ... anyway, where did you hide yourselves?" I ask the maids.

          "Around. We were given orders to stand watch until it's necessary for us to show ourselves."

          I can't believe it ... Ava actually did this for my sake? Jesus Christ.

          "For saying our lady married into money, that's unacceptable!"

          I raise my hand to stop one of them from attacking the counsellor. "Jesus! Calm your tits will you." I sigh while pinching the bridge of my nose. "Don't threaten her like that. She didn't do anything wrong. Seriously guys, stop being so overly protective." I smile at the counsellor. "Say miss, do you have plans let's say ... the day after tomorrow?"

          She shakes her head.

          "Great! You and Mary should go to the dinner party together. Besides, you need to find a husband yourself, Aunty." I finally reveal her true identity to the others.

          "Aunty?" Jackson is confused.

          "Yes ... Aunty ... she's my aunt. My mother's little sister to be exact."

          Jackson and the maids seem to realise their mistake now.

          "Well for me to find a rich husband .... " she leans into me. "That would be the best day of my life!"

          I chuckle at her reaction. Just seconds ago she feared her life being taken away. "Is that a Yes?" I need to confirm this.

          "Yes of course,! I will never miss a chance like this!" She seems excited for some reason. Well I can't blame her. She's been single for .... well ... I'm not sure myself. When she knew that I was getting married off, she was the first to yell at me for no reason.

          "Hey ... I know what you're thinking there. You're thinking of how pathetic I look right? Single at this age?" She seems agitated.

          "Oh no no ... I ... hmmm... nothing." I look away from my aunt. I really don't need to be in a staring contest now.

          Mary leans in. "Why not we look for a potential husband for her. She seems ... desperate."

          Suddenly, we both feel a sudden chill coming from my aunt,.

And that's when we both knew to never judge a single thirty four-year-old's feelings.