Chapter 229: a very good day

Chapter 229: Chapter 229: a very good day

Vivienne watched Anthony disappear into the crowd.

For a moment, she remained where she was, still wearing the faint smile that had settled on her lips.

Then Evelyn stood.

"I think I should go as well."

Vivienne looked up at her.

"Oh?"

Evelyn adjusted the edge of her robe.

"I’ll see you later."

There was something restrained in her voice.

Vivienne smiled politely.

"Of course."

Evelyn gave a small nod then left.

Vivienne watched her go for a second before turning back toward Damian.

He was still sitting beside her.

Quiet.

Much quieter than he had been earlier.

Vivienne tilted her head.

"Are you all right?"

Damian looked at her.

"I’m fine."

The answer came easily enough.

Then he glanced across the conservatory.

Julian and Adrian were standing near the drinks table with a few of the others.

"I think I’ll go back to them."

He nodded toward his friends.

"They’ve been waiting for me."

Vivienne followed his gaze.

"Oh."

She hadn’t realized they had been waiting.

"Go ahead."

Damian stood.

Vivienne smiled up at him.

"See you later?"

There was a brief pause.

Then Damian gave a small nod.

"Yeah."

He turned away.

Vivienne watched him walk toward Julian and Adrian.

She didn’t think much of it.

She assumed he simply wanted to spend some time with his friends.

Besides, the afternoon had been long.

Three games.

The pool.

The heat.

Everything that had happened afterward.

Perhaps he was tired too.

Vivienne leaned back in her chair.

She was still smiling.

She had had a very good day.

--

(Damian POV)

Julian noticed him first.

"Well, look who’s finally decided to return."

Adrian laughed.

"We were beginning to think you’d abandoned us."

Damian stopped beside them.

"Apparently I did."

Julian looked him over.

"That’s an understatement."

His gaze shifted toward Vivienne.

Then back to Damian.

"So?"

Damian gave him a flat look.

"So what?"

"How was your afternoon?"

"Fine."

Adrian snorted.

"Fine?"

Julian grinned.

"You spent half the afternoon carrying Lady Beaumont around."

"And feeding her."

Damian’s expression tightened.

Julian’s grin widened.

"Oh, don’t tell me you forgot that part."

"Can we not?"

The words came sharper than Damian intended.

The two men exchanged a glance.

Adrian’s amusement faded slightly.

"Bad mood?"

Damian exhaled.

"I’m tired."

That was true.

Just not for the reason they thought.

Julian studied him for another moment.

Then shrugged.

"Fair enough."

Damian glanced toward the exit.

For a moment, he considered simply leaving.

He wanted to go home.

He wanted distance.

From the noise.

From the party.

From Vivienne.

Especially from Vivienne.

But he remained where he was.

Just for now.

--

(Vivienne POV)

Vivienne eventually rejoined Claire and Amelia.

Claire looked at her the moment she approached.

"Well?"

Vivienne blinked.

"Well what?"

Amelia smiled.

"Nothing."

Claire exchanged a look with Amelia.

Vivienne narrowed her eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing," Claire repeated innocently.

Vivienne laughed.

"You’re both terrible."

Amelia smiled.

"You seem happy."

"I am."

And she was.

There was no reason not to be.

The afternoon had been ridiculous.

Chaotic.

Far more entertaining than she’d expected.

And somehow, despite everything, she felt lighter.

The games eventually resumed, but Vivienne’s interest had faded.

Without Damian hovering nearby, without Anthony sitting across from her, without Evelyn’s veiled remarks adding fuel to everything, the excitement seemed to disappear almost as quickly as it had arrived.

She participated when she felt like it.

Talked with her friends.

Ate.

Laughed.

But she no longer felt the same restless anticipation she’d had earlier.

Eventually, she glanced toward the time.

It was getting late.

"I think I’m ready to go."

Claire nodded.

"Same."

The others agreed.

--

By the time Vivienne returned to the dorm, the excitement of the afternoon had begun to settle into a pleasant exhaustion.

Claire and Amelia had invited her to dinner, but Vivienne shook her head.

"I think I’m a little tired."

Claire looked at her.

"You?"

Vivienne laughed.

"After all those games in the pool. I’m allowed to be tired."

Amelia smiled.

"Fine. We’ll go without you."

"Actually..."

Vivienne glanced at Claire.

"Could you bring me something back?"

Claire sighed dramatically.

"Of course."

"Anything is fine."

"That’s what people say when they expect me to choose."

Vivienne smiled.

"You know me."

"Unfortunately."

Vivienne laughed.

"Thank you."

She watched the two girls leave before heading back into their shared dorm room.

She showered, changed into something comfortable, and dropped onto her bed.

For a while, she simply lay there.

Then her mind began replaying the day.

The pool.

The games.

Fred’s teasing.

Damian carrying her.

The way he had caught her when she slipped.

The shoulder game.

The final.

Anthony watching.

The look on his face when she had leaned toward Damian.

Evelyn’s attempt to lecture her.

That balcony remark.

Anthony finally leaving.

Vivienne covered her face with one hand.

She almost laughed again.

She really had been terrible.

But she couldn’t deny it.

It had been satisfying.

Perhaps a little too satisfying.

Then another thought surfaced.

Damian.

She had known he liked her.

At this point, she was almost certain of it.

He had spent the entire day proving it without ever actually saying the words.

He carried her.

He brought her food.

He let her dry his hair.

He fed her when she claimed her arms were too tired to lift a fork.

He followed every ridiculous request she made without complaint.

Vivienne smiled.

It was almost absurd how easily he indulged her.

And then there was Christopher.

Her smile softened.

That was different.

She had gone to the fencing hall because she wanted to see him.

She could admit that now.

She remembered sitting beside him while he explained fencing.

Or, more accurately, while he explained fencing and she stared at him instead.

She remembered his voice.

The way he had laughed when she admitted she didn’t understand what was happening.

The way he had sat beside her without making the moment feel awkward.

And then there had been the practice itself.

Christopher in his fencing gear.

The controlled movements.

The confidence.

The way he seemed completely at home on the piste.

Vivienne pressed her lips together.

He had looked ridiculously good.

And then, somehow, there had been the restaurant.

She hadn’t even planned to see him again.

Yet there he had been.

And then they had started texting.

Vivienne reached for her phone.

Her thumb hovered over Christopher’s name.

She could message him.

Something simple.

Nothing embarrassing.

She could ask about dinner.

Or perhaps ask where he liked to eat around campus.

That was normal.

Completely normal.

She opened their conversation.

Then hesitated.

Maybe not tonight.

It had been a long day.

And perhaps she had already been a little too enthusiastic.

Vivienne set her phone down.

She lasted perhaps thirty seconds.

Then picked it up again.

She stared at the screen.

A smile slowly appeared.

Fine.

One message.

Nothing more.

She typed:

Good evening, Senior Archibald.

She looked at it.

Too formal.

She deleted it.

Typed again.

Good evening.

Better.

She sent it.

Then immediately placed the phone face down.

She told herself she wasn’t waiting for a reply.

She was absolutely waiting for a reply.

The phone buzzed.

Vivienne snatched it up.

Christopher had replied.

Good evening.

Vivienne smiled.

She stared at the message for a moment.

Then typed:

I was wondering something.

His reply came a little later.

What is it?

Vivienne bit her lip.

This was her chance.

She could ask him something useful.

Something casual.

Something that might eventually lead to—

Dinner.

She typed:

Where do you think is a good place to have dinner around campus?

She stared at the message before sending it.

Then she pressed send.

A minute passed.

Then another.

Finally, her phone buzzed.

Christopher had sent a restaurant recommendation.

Nothing complicated.

Gild & Glaze is quite good. They have good desserts.

Vivienne read it once.

Then again.

A smile spread across her face.

He had answered.

He hadn’t ignored her.

He hadn’t given her some vague response.

He had actually thought about it and recommended somewhere.

Her heart gave a small, ridiculous flutter.

She looked at the name again.

That sounds good.

She typed the reply.

Then stopped.

She almost added:

Maybe we could go sometime.

Her fingers hovered over the screen.

Too much.

Not yet.

She deleted the thought before she could send it.

Instead, she wrote:

I’ll have to try it sometime. Thank you.

Christopher replied shortly afterward.

You should. I think you’d like it.

Vivienne stared at the screen.

Then slowly lowered the phone onto her chest.

Oh.

She smiled at the ceiling.

She had Damian.

She had Christopher.

Anthony had finally seen that she wasn’t waiting around for him.

Even Evelyn had been forced to retreat.

For once, it felt as though everything was falling into place.

Vivienne hugged her pillow against herself.

She was happy.

Ridiculously happy.

And perhaps a little too confident.

But tonight, she didn’t care.

She had spent weeks worrying about Anthony.

And now?

She had Damian practically at her beck and call.

Christopher was texting her.

And she had even managed to make Anthony react.

Vivienne smiled to herself.

For the first time, she genuinely felt as though she had options.

So many options.

And, perhaps most importantly—

she had chosen none of them yet.

That thought made her smile even wider.

Tomorrow was another day.

For tonight, she was simply going to enjoy the feeling.

She set her phone beside her pillow.

Then, still smiling, closed her eyes.

She fell asleep with Christopher’s last message still in her mind.

I think you’d like it

--

To be continued