Daphne

Daphne was seated in a chair, in front of a mirror, dressed in a silk bathrobe with a white towel wrapped around her hair. A couple of make-up equipment were on the table beside her and there was a eyeliner in her hand. She strained her neck closer to the mirror to get a better view of her reflection as she applied the eyeliner. Her phone suddenly rang and she glanced at it. When she saw the caller ID, she stopped what she's doing and immediately reached out to answer the call. "Heyyyyy," she drawled in a sing-song tone as she placed the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Daph!" her best friend, Lucy, yelled at the other end of the phone.

"What's up, Luce?"

"I'm in front of your house. Where are you?" she asked.

"Just come in. I'm in my room," she said and then hung up. She dropped her phone, leaned closer and continued applying her eyeliner. Once she was done applying that, she dropped it and picked up a tube of lipstick. As she opened it and was about to coat her lips with it, the door burst open and a very hyper Lucy walked in.

"Hey, girlfriend!" Lucy said as she closes the door behind her. "Why the hell don't you have an elevator in your house?" she asked, panting as her chest heaved up and down.

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Hi to you too, Luce," she said as she carefully applied her lipstick.

"You are not done applying your make-up? You haven't even worn your clothes yet?" Lucy questioned as her gaze moved to the black dress Daphne laid out on the bed. "You said you will be ready before I get here."

"And you believed me?"

Lucy hesitated. "No," she finally answered. "I guess not."

Daphne puckered her lips to admire her work. She smacked her lips together. "Good," she told Lucy as she drops the lipstick tube and rose to her feet.

"So, are you excited?" Lucy asked.

"Of course," Daphne said, as she loosened her robe and lets it fall to the floor. She picked up the black gown. "My engagement announcement is today. I cannot be more ecstatic."

"Sarcasm?"

Daphne raised her head and stared blankly at her. "No," she said. "I'm ecstatic."

"You don't sound like it," Lucy observed.

"What? Do you want me to be jumping up and down in glee simply because I'm getting engaged?" Daphne asked as she slowly slipped on the gown.

"Of course!" Lucy exclaimed. "Have you seen the guy? He is hot as fuck not to mention that he is extremely rich also."

"I'm also rich, Lucy. I'm an heiress to a multinational company," she answered. "And yes, I've seen the guy and yes, he is hot but that doesn't means I'm going to act like an uncultured goat."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Playing it cool, are we?"

"Yes, exactly," Daphne answers, turning to look at her reflection in the mirror and to adjust her dress. "He might be hot but I'm also hot. He might be rich but I'm also rich."

"You are forgetting one thing."

"What?"

"You have a crush on him. I don't think he knows who you are."

Daphne whirls around, facing Lucy with blazing eyes. "We agreed to never speak about that!" She snapped.

Lucy rolled her eyes again. "Yeah, sure, sorry."

Daphne sucked in a deep breath and turns back to the mirror. "Just because I used to have a crush on him doesn't mean I do now. Besides, I'm pretty sure he knows who I am. Who doesn't?"

"Okay, then. Are you ready?" Lucy asked, changing the subject. "We should leave now if we want to get the right dress just in time for the party. You know how difficult it is for us to get the right dresses."

"Yeah, yeah. But I have to have breakfast first," Daphne answered as she fixes her earrings.

"Can't we just grab one from a restaurant while we are going?" Lucy grumbled as Daphne slipped her feet into her strapped heels.

"No," Daphne answered in a firm tone. "My mum and dad are waiting in the dining room for me and I'm supposed to have breakfast with them," she said, bending to strap the shoe around her ankles. Then, she straightened up. "Have you eaten, Luce?"

"Eaten?" Lucy glowered at her. "You told me to hurry up. I had to ditch breakfast for you!"

"Eh, just as well. You can have breakfast with us. You know Mum and Dad won't mind," Daphne told her as she grabs her purse from the table. She glanced at the mirror again, turning her head sideways to make sure her make up wasn't ruined. Then, she turned to Lucy. "Ready?"

Lucy glared at her at first. Then, she said, "Fine, I'll have breakfast. Let's go."

"Good."

Together, they walked out of Daphne's room and down the stairs to the dining room. When they walked into the dining room, they saw Daphne's parents, Steven and Karen, sitting by the table. As they entered, Steven and Karen raised their heads and they smiled at the two of them.

"Good morning, dad, mum," Daphne greeted as, taking her seat beside her mum.

"Good morning, darling," Karen answered.

"Good morning, Uncle Steven, Aunt Karen," Lucy said, sitting beside Daphne.

"Lucy, honey, I had no idea you will be joining us for breakfast today," Karen said. "Let me inform Mary to bring in another plate of food," she reached out her hand and clicked on the button on the wall behind her.

"Thank you, Aunt."

"So, Daphne, are you excited?" her father, Steven, asked. "The Kings will be announcing your engagement to their son today."

"I know that," Daphne replied in a calm tone, as she carefully opened her plate. She stared at the salad on her plate with a blank look on her face before starting to eat. She glanced up at her father. "Yes, I'm excited."

"You don't look it," her mother told her.

"That's what I said," Lucy added.

"I am excited," Daphne stressed. "I really am."

"Okay, good, because you are extremely lucky that Aidan wants to marry you," Steven said to her. "He is a really good match for you, Daphne."

"I know that," she answered with a shrug. Of course, Adrian King was a good match for her. He was hot and rich and famous just like her. What more could she ask for?

"Good. We are so lucky to have you as our daughter, Daphne," Karen said just as the door opens and a small stout woman walked in.

"You called for me, Ma'am?" the woman said to Karen in a small voice.

"Yes, Mary. Please get a plate of salad for Lucy here," she instructed. Mary, the maid, nodded her head and turned around, walking quickly out of the room. Karen turned back to Daphne. "As I was saying. We are lucky to have you as our daughter, sweetie. You are not one of those stubborn children who don't listen to their parents' advise. You know we want the best for you, right?"

Daphne nodded her head. "Of course mum."

"Aunt Karen, she hasn't officially met this Adrian King though," Lucy pointed out. "Is it a good idea for them to announce the engagement before they meet because technically, they are not even engaged."

Karen frowned. "They will meet at the party tonight. The Kings believe that the engagement and the wedding shouldn't be delayed for too long. Adrian is taking over his position as the C.E.O of The Kings' Enterprise and he needs a wife by him."

A frown appeared on Lucy's face and she opened her mouth to say something but then, she closed it and shrugged. "Okay." She obviously didn't agree with Karen's train of thought but was she going to argue? No. She would be stupid too.

"Lucy and I are going to shop for a dress for the party tonight," Daphne informed her parents as she ate.

"That sounds good," Karen said.

"We don't know how long it would take though," Daphne said. "I want to make sure we find the perfect dress."

"Make sure it doesn't take too long," Steven told her in his deep voice. He wasn't the kind of man to talk to much, especially when it was his wife and daughter talking. He simply listened and talked only when necessary like now. "We want you to make a good impression on the Kings and we don't think it's would be in your favor if you end up being late."

Daphne rolled her eyes. "What's the point of me attending a party if I'm not allowed to be fashionable late?" she asks.

Her father stared at her sternly and said in a very firm tone, "Don't be late."

She glared at him for a while. She loved her father but she hated when he got so authoritative like this. Then, she snapped, "Fine. We will try not to be late."