บท 16: Strangely Familiar
'A substitute for someone else's shadow?'
Those words kept echoing in Cedric's head as he walked towards Brione's door. He pressed the doorbell and waited for her to open the door for him.
He would not let himself become a substitute!
The door opened and Brione's beautiful face filled his eyes. She looked at her wristwatch and murmured with a pout, "You're a bit early. You said we would go out in one hour and I'm not ready yet."
"I felt bored so can I wait for you inside?" Cedric suggested. He was trying his best not to sound commanding just like what Will had suggested because normally he would not use the word 'can' but would directly say 'I will wait for you inside' and then enter her room.
He saw the hesitation in Brione's eyes so he reassured, "Don't worry I will not do anything without your permission. If you want our deal to work out smoothly, you have to feel relaxed around me Bri. We need to be comfortable with each other…"
Hearing those words, Brione opened her door more and signaled him to enter. She followed Cedric who cooly walked in and sat on her couch.
"Do you want anything to drink?" Brione asked.
"Nope, thank you. You can continue what you were doing and not mind me. I'll just wait here," Cedric nonchalantly commented as he started typing something on his mobile phone.
Brione went back to her room to finish getting ready. Cedric was calling her Bri and she liked it because it felt like Gavin was the one calling her. She fixed her hair into a bun since it was a sunny day and they were going out for a tour like on the island. She did not want her hair to get tangled or cover her face hindering her movements whenever the wind blew.
She wore a simple blouse and shorts, then grabbed her backpack and shades. She did not put any make-up on as she was more comfortable without it. After one last look in the mirror, Brione came out to her room. She paused after seeing Cedric's posture. He was looking at his mobile phone and had his legs crossed.
She only snapped out when Cedric turned his head and looked at her.
"I'm ready. Let's go," she said and frantically walked to her door. Cedric followed her. She pressed the elevator doors and she was grateful that no one was inside when it opened.
Cedric noticed her relief so he commented, "You do remember that being seen in public as an item is one of the main goals of our partnership right?"
"Yeah, I understand that…" Brione whispered and pursed her lips together.
"So can I hold your hand when we walk out of the elevator?" Cedric asked next, making Brione's throat feel dry. Of course, it was not her first time holding hands with a man! However, her heart leaped, hearing Cedric ask her permission for it.
She turned her head to look at him and he did the same. He had a serious look, making her gulp.
*Thump *Thump
She felt that something was wrong with her heart which started beating erratically just because of their eye contact.
"Bri?" he asked and she simply nodded, unable to utter a word.
She reminded herself that she had already made up her mind to get close to him so there was no turning back now. Yet, she was still having doubts on how to proceed further.
Indecisiveness… She hated this weakness of hers...
She was startled out of her thoughts when Cedric's warm hand clasped hers, interlocking their fingers together. She felt that this feeling was strangely familiar.
'Oh my God,' she thought as she bit her inner cheeks. Even holding hands with him brought some sensational feelings inside of her.
"Get ready. All eyes will be on us starting today," Cedric whispered just before the elevator doors opened.
A while ago it was still early in the morning so there were only a few guests outside but now Brione gasped, seeing a lot of people as soon as they got out of the elevator.
"There are many tourists today, hence the crowd," Cedric whispered in her ear.
"I thought the Prince didn't like the crowd?" she whispered back.
"Yeah, but it has to change for the sake of stability and power of the Royal Family as the Head of the State. I'm next in line to be King so, consider me as someone who loves the crowd just like how I love my beautiful and adorable sweetheart. You know, maybe you should teach me how to be adored and loved by so many people easily," Cedric whispered in his husky voice.
Brione bit her lower lip and tried her best to control her blush because of the sudden compliment from him. Again, it was not her first time to receive such compliments so did not understand why her heart was fluttering.
At the entrance, she saw and greeted some staff who were part of the upcoming commercial shoot. She didn't disturb Berry or Mitch because she knew that those two were definitely still sleeping since they partied past midnight last night. But in order to not make them worry, she left a text message informing them that she was going out for a tour but she did not mention with whom.
She was sure that she would definitely receive non-stop calls and messages from them as soon as they see her text message and receive the news from the staff who saw her with the Prince.
Brione saw some tourists who were taking photos of them so she casually commented, "They're taking our photos."
"Don't bother about it. My men will take care of it," Cedric answered and escorted her inside the car that was waiting outside for them. She sat in her seat and watched as some of Cedric's bodyguards approached those who took their photos.
"I thought you wanted the world to know that you have a woman?" Brione questioned.
"Yeah but I don't want the world to see my face yet. Especially after knowing that there is someone who looks exactly the same as me. It would be chaotic if it got leaked so my men will let the photos spread only if the shot won't have a clear view of my face. We don't want another person coming and claiming that I am Gavin do we?" he taunted with a smirk.
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