章 58: He Returns My-
"Lily, you look magnificent," Emma said, much to the dismay of the other makeup artists who had ordered her not to speak while they were applying a last layer of setting spray.
"Thanks, Em. By the way, have you got anything planned?" Lily asked.
The makeup artists that swarmed Emma left her as they finished her look.
"Planned? For the ball?" She asked obliviously.
Lily shook her head.
"Not for that. I meant for James. Isn't it your 2nd month anniversary?" Lily asked, appalled that Emma forgot about something as vital as her and James' 2nd month of being together.
It looked like someone had punched Emma in the face for a second before she spoke.
"Oh. My. God. I completely forgot about that," she said nervously.
"I've been so busy thinking about the ball that I forgot about it. I'm such a horrible girlfriend," Emma said sadly.
"James probably has something grand prepared for me, and I have absolutely nothing. What am I going to do?" Emma asked worriedly.
Her worries had to be delayed when Ms Nox and her small entourage of assistants came in.
"Ms Grey, you're here. Perfect. Now, we need you to go to the palace closet for your fitting. The gown will not wear itself. Follow me. It's only three hours till the ball starts. It's barely enough time," she said as she dragged Emma away from Lily.
"We'll talk about it later!" Emma managed to shout.
"Yeah! Just don't worry too much about it!" Lily said right before Emma was nowhere to be seen.
Lily exited Emma's bedroom, just about to visit her parents, when she felt a hand tap on her shoulder.
When she turned around, she covered her mouth from shrieking.
"James! You're here! And you look...amazing!" Lily exclaimed.
"What are you doing here so early?" Lily curiously asked, wondering what James was doing here hours earlier than he originally was supposed to be, also admiring how good looking he was dressed to the nines, the fact that he dressed specially for this vital occasion, and also to impress his girlfriend.
Before James could answer, Lily asked yet another question.
"And most importantly, does Emma know you're here?" She asked.
James shook his head.
"No, she doesn't. Please don't inform her that I'm here. It's supposed to be a surprise. Of sorts," he admitted.
Lily placed her two hands on her mouth.
"Oh my god, you prepared a surprise for her?" She asked, ecstatic.
Emma clearly deserved this, and after all the stress she's been put through, this definitely was a sweet reward.
"Well, I did," James said, nodding.
Lily snorted.
"For one, we have got to stop meeting like this. On the other, your girlfriend has been worried about getting you something for your two-month anniversary with her. She said you'd probably have something extravagant ready for her and looks like she was right. What do you have in mind? I intend to help you as much as I can. If anyone deserves anything, it's her," Lily admitted, willing to help her best friend's boyfriend as much as she could.
James looked around suspiciously before looking smug.
"I'll let you see that for yourself," he said as he ushered her to another location.
A few minutes later, Lily was standing in front of the Zenovia palace gardens.
She couldn't contain her shock. What she was seeing was surreal.
"Emma's going to love it, James. You just wait," she managed to say as she stood in front of the simply decorated Zenovia palace gardens. Small candles had been scattered on the ground, forming a neat path from the gazebo towards the middle of the garden. It was decorated to Emma's liking. Simple, but elegant.
As Lily looked at the garden, she couldn't help but feel quite amused from it all.
"Right. But it's all part of a larger plan," James said as he fidgeted nervously.
As James was pondering, probably thinking about that plan of his, Lily was having a small...issue.
"You two and your sweet and thoughtful antics. Stop reminding me that I'm single. I ship Jemma, but you're going to make me cry if you're going to be this lovey dovey," Lily muttered under her breath.
James, (luckily) didn't seem to hear her small complaint as he stared at the set-up in the royal Zenovia gardens.
After a while, he spoke up.
"I have a plan, but as you know, I'm going to need your opinion on this all, and some help with a couple of things. Since you're her most trusted confidant, excluding me, of course," he began.
Lily nodded.
"And what is it that you need help with and opinion on?" She asked, willing to make this surprise the best it possibly could be.
"Emma mentioned that I'd be meeting her mother today, and I'd like to give the best first impression. Of course, with Emma busy, I wouldn't want to occupy her, so I decided to ask the second best thing, which is the person she speaks the most highly about. You," James admitted.
"And I also need an opinion on a few things, which is completely unrelated to my first issue," he said next.
Knowing what it was James probably wanted to talk about, Lily inhaled, taking a deep breath.
"About Connor…" she said, unclear about what she wanted to say, her voice filled with all kinds of emotions.
"He's in love with you, Lil," James said.
Lily froze in shock. She looked at her best friend's boyfriend, a man she had befriended over the past months.
"He's...what?" She asked in disbelief.
"This can't be true, you're only joking, right?" Lily asked, fully knowing what James would say next.
James looked at her seriously, not blinking.
"Do I look like someone who'd be the type to joke to anyone other than my girlfriend?" He asked.
Lily wanted to laugh but suppressed her tempting urge to do so.
"So you're serious? He returns my- I mean he's in love with me?" She asked, trying her best to stop herself from jumping up and down from pure joy, also risking the extremely high chance of ripping her dress and making a fool of herself.
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