Group Date

Twelve years had passed since Alira Eleanor Wilson got engaged to the crown prince of Flousia, Caden Hulls Richards.

They were six when they agreed with their parents to have an engagement. Caden's mother, Margaret Richards, decided to keep them apart until they reached the age of eighteen.

They didn't deny the idea and just went with the flow. That time, Caden promised that he would never forget about Alira. And that he would marry her someday.

In the first few months, they were allowed to call and text each other. But things got complicated when they were caught talking until midnight.

Alira's grades went down, and her dad wondered why.

Her twin brother Lucas was the one who told her parents about her talking to Caden until midnight. Her mom got mad and took her phone away.

Then, they were just allowed to send emails and letters to each other. For five years, she continuously received one letter or email every day from Caden. She was happy that he was keeping his promise.

In the sixth to the tenth year of being apart from each other, the emails and letters became fewer. She would sometimes receive one or two in a week.

Her dad said that Caden started his prince's lessons, and he was just busy. So she waited.

But from fewer letters and emails, it went to zero. She had never received anything from him for the past two years. It made her wonder if he changed his mind and decided not to continue with the marriage.

She sighed. Why couldn't she forget about him? She was already feeling down for the past few days because she still didn't receive any news from him.

The class was already over when Lucas came to pick her up.

When he went inside the classroom, her classmates were drooling over him. They were twins, but he looked more like their dad, and she looked more like their mom.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"I just have to give this to the professor. Can you wait for me in the parking lot?" She said.

He just nodded, then left.

"Your brother's so hot. Does he have a girlfriend?" It was Lea, one of her friends.

"I don't know. He never told me he has one." She answered.

Lucas was so protective of her, so she was sure he had no time to have a girlfriend. But she sometimes wonder if he like someone.

"What about you, Alira? Are you still waiting for that prince? It's been what? Twelve years? Are you sure he's still single?" Cassy asked.

She sighed again and decided not to answer the questions.

"I don't even get what's the purpose of getting engaged then keeping you apart after. Your parents were really weird. Alira, you're pretty and too damn hot. A lot of guys were already waiting for you. You just keep on distancing yourself because of a stupid promise from a six-year-old boy." Samantha ranted.

Her friends were always like that if the topic was about Caden. And maybe they were right, she was foolish to believed in him.

They were just kids back then. She shouldn't have expected that he would be the same after twelve years.

"How about we go to a dating party?" Cassy suggested.

"W-What?" She exclaimed.

The girls got excited and waited for her decision.

"Come on, Alira! Aren't you tired of waiting? What if he was already enjoying himself in the arms of another woman? Don't be stupid." Lea said.

She didn't answer because her friend had a point. The engagement happened a long time ago, and she have never heard anything from Caden for two years now. His parents were on vacation, so she didn't have a way to ask about him.

"Fine. But just this once. You know I hate doing something like this." She answered.

They went to a karaoke bar after class. She told Lucas that she wanted to have some fun with her friends since exams were over. He hesitated at first, but she promised him that she would call one of their drivers to pick her up after they were done.

When they came into one of the rooms, there were already four guys inside. They were from a different school, and one of them was Samantha's boyfriend. 

"Guys, this is Alira Wilson. She would be joining us today." Samantha introduced her.

The guys looked decent and nice, so she casually sat down and started chatting with them.

"Are you the daughter of Luke and Alora Wilson?" One of them asked.

She nodded and smiled.

"Wow! You're an heiress! My name's Ace. I'm not an heir to some rich clan, though." He said while reaching out his hand.

Ace looked like a younger version of Tom Cruise. He was friendly and talked to her like she was not someone from a wealthy clan. She actually like people who never treated her like an heiress.

She reached out her hand to his and gave a sweet smile. She suddenly felt at ease chatting with him, maybe because he was fun to be with and she wanted to be friends with him.

"So Alira, do you have plans on Saturday? We were planning to go to Northbay City Mall and just look around. You want to join us?" Samantha's boyfriend asked.

"Ahm, I'm not sure. I have to ask permission from my parents." She answered.

Her mom would let her, but her dad and Lucas would disagree with it.

"Come on! Ace would be happy if you were there." Lea teased.

She blushed, then glanced at Ace. She was surprised that he was also staring at her.

"I'm not forcing you. But I would be glad if you would join us." He murmured.

"O-Okay. Then, I'll join you on Saturday." She answered.

Ace and the others screamed with joy when she agreed to come with them. They continued to enjoy their little party and decided to have a drink.

She's already eighteen, and her mom allowed her to have only one shot every time she was with her friends.

She enjoyed the company of her friends and Ace. But didn't realize she had more than one drink. She started to feel dizzy, and her head felt so light.

"Alira, are you okay?" Ace asked.

"I don't think I could stand up. I need to go to the bathroom." She said in a raspy voice.

Ace stood up and leaned forward to hold her waist to support her. But before he could touch her, they were startled when a man with a dark expression on his face suddenly barged into the room. 

"Try touching her, and I swear you'll be dead." The man said with gritted teeth.

Her eyes widened when she saw who it was. But it suddenly get blurry and everything seemed so unclear.

"C-Caden?" That was the last thing she said before she lost consciousness.