Crowns and a Rose 2: The Pendulum Swings Back

The wind gusts, blowing away some red hot ashes with it. One minute, it looks magical. The next minute, it is not.

"You are so cruel, Jay Harrison!" Stephanie cries as she clenches her hands and the sound of her cry is muffled by the rustling trees dancing with the wind.

"Do you know why I chose to study here? I defied my parents will just to be closer to you--- because I've loved you ever since~"

"Huh?"

"What?"

Leo and Ron simultaneously say.

"Oh my god!" Camille says while covering her mouth.

"You know each other?" Ben asks in disbelief.

"What are you talking about?" Jay says as he walks to the table and grabs a bottle of vodka.

"Hah! Clearly you forgot! Do you remember when you came to my school to volunteer two years ago? I was that shy student who was picked on by my mean classmates," she says as she walks towards him.

"Then, you came with your warm smile and told me that it will be alright! I felt so happy that day coz for the first time in my life, someone stood for me!" she says with a smile, recalling the happy moment of her life.

"You came here only to see me? That's childish, don't you think?" Jay says while looking at her.

"Hah! This is so embarrassing! Guess I made a wrong decision after all," Stephanie utters before wiping her tears and goes to their room.

"Jay~ is that true?" Mon asks Jay who is already drinking from the bottle of vodka.

He tilts his head, trying to remember it. Then, he nods.

"I did meet her in one of dad's volunteer activities. We went to her school and I saw her crying alone in a classroom. So, I approached her and we had a little chat. After that, she asked if we will meet again. I said maybe. Then, I joked~"

"... that you can if she studies here!" Sophia continues.

He nods. They groan.

"It's definitely your fault!" Ron shouts.

"Yeah~ you gave her a false hope!" Leo adds.

"Oh, poor girl~" Chealsy sighs.

"You need to talk to her!" Camille says.

"Excuse me? Why should I have to talk to her? Yes~ I told her that we can see each again if she comes here. It clearly happened. But... I never asked her to love me. Now, I am accused of breaking her heart?" Jay exclaims in disbelief.

"Hey~ hey~ hey, wait... this game is not done yet!" Letizia says.

"What?" they ask.

"Argue later coz if my memory serves me right. Jay Harrison, you are not done yet!" she explains.

"I'm done!" Jay says.

"Nope!" they all yell.

"Uh-huh! So you were acting quite mad coz you don't want to do your challenge. Smart move, but not clever!" Primrose teases.

"Show your card!" Ben shouts.

Jay slowly shows his--- SEVEN of HEARTS.

"Since the curse is already broken, count from the original sitting arrangement, exclude Stephanie of course," Sophia states.

"No! Don't you dare!" Mon shouts when he realizes that Primrose is the seventh person to his left. Jay smirks. They laugh.

Jay walks to Primrose and pulls her to stand.

"Don't even think about it Jay," Leo warns.

Jay looks at him mischievously as he touches Primrose's face. Then, suddenly Leo stands and punches Jay's face without a warning.

The ladies scream while the lords help pacify the two who are throwing punches at each other.

"Hey~ what's wrong with you two?" Ben scolds. He is standing between them. Mon is holding his brother while Ron is holding Jay.

"You are really good at claiming things that aren't yours!" Jay mutters.

"What?!" Leo yells as he tries to escape from his brother's grip.

"Enough!" Sophia yells.

"If you wanna fight, do it when we are not around! Huh! Making each other jealous? Come on! Grow up~" she states.

"We will leave first thing in the morning. Ladies, let's go," she commands. The ladies oblige.

The lords sit around the campfire as they talk.

"I am sorry!" Leo apologizes.

"No worries," Jay replies.

"I don't know what got into me... suddenly, I felt so mad~" Leo explains.

"...it's because you like her brother!" Mon says.

"I dunno~ I don't think..." Leo sighs.

"Heysh! It's so obvious~ no matter how you hide it!" Ron exclaims.

Leo doesn't comment.

Then, Sophia comes with a medical kit with her.

"We have to clean your wounds before they get infected," she explains.

"Leo can clean his own wound. We don't know about him," Ben says while pointing at Jay, who is sitting quietly facing the fire.

"See you later~," Ben says before four of them leave.

Sophia and Jay sit awkwardly for a moment.

"Are you okay? Let me see your wound," Sophia says as she turns his face towards her. His lower lip is cut and swollen and there is a cut on his left brow.

"Aw!" Jay moans when she dabs his cut with cotton buds. "Can you do it slowly?"

Then, she presses harder making him groan in pain.

"When you throw punches at Leo, did you slow down?" she scolds as she cleans his lower lip.

"Uhm~ I have a question. Who kisses better me or L~ aaaaaaaaaaaagh!"

"Say that again and I will add another cut on your face," she hisses.

"I'm just curious~ come on tell~"

"Leo~"

"Seriously?"

"Yes!"

"Why?!"

"I don't know, but his lips feel special~"

"Special, huh?"

"Uh~ huh~"

"How about this?"

Jay gives her a passionate kiss which seems to last forever. The moonlight casts its magic again. They close their eyes as they succumb to the intoxicating feeling that they have for each other. Sophia tastes the metallic taste of his blood.

They pull away as they both gasp for air.

He smiles. "Now, who's better?"

"Him!"

He smirks. "Greedy!" he teases.

The following morning, they head back to the mansion leaving bad memories behind while taking the magical moments with them.

As everyone goes back to their rooms, Mon comes to me. I am busy reading a fashion magazine when he enters.

"Hello, dear... how's your camping?" I say as I give a hug to which he evades.

I wrinkle my brow at his reaction.

"What is wrong, darling?"

"Please be honest mom~"

"What are you talking about?"

"Dad isn't dead, is he?"

I am flustered--- unable to speak.

"You lied to us~ you lied to me. How could you do that?" he yells as he cries.

Tears flow freely from my eyes.

"How did you~"

"Mom! Just tell me the truth! He didn't die three years ago, right?"

"Yes! He's alive~ he's been alive and well all these years! He's been cheating on me all these years!" I say as I cry and crumble down on my knees.

"I met his son~"

I impulsively look at him, surprised and terrified at the same time. My heart pounds like there's no tomorrow and I hold my breath as he speaks his name.

"He introduced his name as Jason Kian McFadden~"