Chapter 11 - Meeting Fleur

"Okay, this is it! I'm going in!" I took a deep breath and stepped through the grand entrance of Fleur's home. The mansion was breathtaking, perched on the edge of the city with sweeping views of the landscape. Coming from a wealthy family myself, I was used to luxury, but this place had an effortless elegance that made me feel both awe and unease. Unlike my own family, who had been distant and indifferent, Fleur's family seemed to genuinely cherish her.

As the maid guided me through the opulent halls, I couldn't shake a lingering sense of worry. I decided to ask the maid to stop.

"Is something wrong, Miss?" she inquired, her concern apparent. Her kindness seemed almost too practiced, a contrast to the often indifferent behavior I had encountered from staff in my own home.

"I was wondering if anyone else is at home right now," I asked, just to be safe. I wanted to avoid crossing paths with Ambrose under any circumstances. I knew that if I saw him now, I might fall back into old feelings. Given the current situation, the last thing I needed was to be tempted to revisit the delusion that he might reciprocate my feelings. I was afraid of slipping back into the emotional turmoil that had already caused so much trouble in my life.

The maid looked at me with a thoughtful expression before responding. "No, Miss. Mr. Ambrose is away on business."

"Huh?" The maid's response left me momentarily speechless. Had it been that obvious what I meant to say? Did I look that desperate to see Ambrose?

I swallowed hard and tried to salvage my image. "Oh, I meant if Uncle was here or not. I haven't seen him in quite a while, so I wanted to catch up." I hoped my lie was convincing enough. The maid seemed to buy it. "Oh, no, he won't be back for a week."

"Really? That's too bad. I really wanted to see him," I added, masking my relief. At least I wouldn't have to face the complications of an encounter with Ambrose today.

Just then, Mary's voice rang out with warmth as she approached me with open arms. "Maeve!" She enveloped me in a hug so tight it reminded me of Fleur. The warmth and affection were overwhelming, and I almost cried from the emotional comfort.

"I had been waiting for you! I'm so happy to see you finally!" Mary's voice was filled with genuine joy.

"It's nice to see you too, Aunt Mary," I replied, trying to match her enthusiasm.

Mary pulled back slightly, examining me with a mix of concern and affection. "Oh, look at you! You've gotten so thin!" she pinched at my skin to look for the fat. 

I laughed, feeling a bit self-conscious. "But look how curvy I've become!" I said with a playful smile, showing off how much I'd matured since our last meeting. Mary gave me a funny look, her expression a blend of amusement and curiosity.

"You naughty girl!" Mary said with a playful grin. "Come on, I've prepared so much food for you. It'll make you grow a body as sexy as mine." She elaborated on her joke, making me laugh, but my amusement was short-lived.

As Mary and I strolled down the hallway, hand in hand, we came across Fleur coming down the stairs. Her eyes were swollen, and her nose was red.

"Fleur!" I called out, my heart sinking. The moment she saw me, her face went pale. Without a word, she turned and rushed back up the stairs. I knew she was about to lock herself in her room and would likely not open the door again. I had to be quick to reach her before she could shut herself away.

I tossed my bag aside and sprinted up the stairs. Mary gasped at the sight of us running frantically. "Fleur, please stop!" I cried out, but she didn't respond. She grabbed onto the doorknob of her room in the hallway,

I sped toward her, and before she could close the door, I slipped through the crack and nearly fell to the floor as the door slammed shut behind me. Both of us looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Why did you come here? I thought you didn't want to see me!" Fleur said, her voice cracking.

"When did I say that?" I replied, confused.

"Well, I didn't know what you meant by regretting being my friend, but to me, it felt like you hoped you'd never see me again!" she said, her voice filled with hurt.

"I said I regretted being friends with you, but not in that sense!" I clarified, desperate to explain.

"So, what does it mean then?" she asked angrily.

"I meant that I regret approaching you with the wrong intentions! I shouldn't have tried to be your friend when all I wanted was to be close to your brother," I explained.

"Gosh, Maeve! How could you do that?!" she said, her hands falling to her sides in despair. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. "I know I shouldn't have done that, and you can hate me for it as much as you want, but please…"

"How could you have such bad taste in men?!" Fleur cried out.

For a moment, we both paused, looking at each other as things started to fall into place. We had misunderstood each other's intentions.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, confused.

"Ambrose is such an off-putting man. How could you like someone like him? And more than me?!" Fleur cried. "I even wouldn't ship him to my worst enemy, and you're supposed to be my best friend!"

"No, I mean, I did like him more than you, but I've realised it's impossible for me to court him. I didn't want to continue our friendship with the guilt that I approached you with a sinister plan, so I had to come clean," I said, tears rolling down my cheeks.

"You should have said it like that! I thought you didn't want to see my face! You know how heartbroken I was? I started hating Ambrose because of that!" Fleur cried, her arms open, wanting a hug. 

The two of us hugged, and I couldn't believe the situation was just a misunderstanding between us.

"Promise me you won't say things like regretting being friends with me again!" Fleur said, nearly strangling me with her embrace.

"Of course, I won't!" I replied earnestly. "And promise me you won't fall for my brother again, because you deserve so much better."

Well, technically, he was the only one I had ever wanted in my life, so it took me a moment to make that promise. I hesitated in silence. "Say it!" she demanded.

"Okay, I'll try my best not to fall for your brother again! But I'm not a saint yet!" I said, a little unsure. "But I swear I won't use you as a stepping stone for that."

Fleur pulled me away and looked at me with a frown. "That's better for now, but we'll need to work on this further," she said. I nodded readily because I, too, wanted to get over this one-sided love.

"Okay, now let's go downstairs and eat. My mom will be worried. After that, we can talk to our hearts' content," Fleur suggested, and I agreed, as my beautiful friend was always right.

"Plus, I have tea," I said enthusiastically. "And I have some perfectly aged wine." SHe winked.