I’m Done Being Your Best Friend

The masquerade was over.
Returning to the mansion, I secretly anticipated meeting Logan again soon.

There were still a few days left until our promise to meet at the library again, but somehow I couldn’t wait.

When we met at the ball, I almost said ‘long time no see’.
But now that I had just crossed paths with him, I could not imagine how I would greet him if we met again.
Would he pretend it’s been a while since our last meeting?

But after a few days.
The first person I met, before Logan, was none other than Daisy.

“What’s going on?”

Daisy came without notice and waited for me in the drawing room.

It didn’t matter anyway since it wasn’t once or twice that she visited me without contacting me beforehand.
But her complexion was not as good as last time.

Why so? She should have been able to enjoy the masquerade as much as she wanted though? It was nothing like Count Parker’s ball after all.
So why did she look so desperate?

The words came out of Daisy’s mouth were unexpected.

“I was not invited to Mrs.
Hamilton’s salon.”

She was the wife of Marquis Hamilton, who held a seat in the royal castle, and Daisy was close to her.

But why was she saying she wasn’t invited this time? And why would she come here and talk about it? I was extremely confused.

I asked her with my arms crossed.

“Why?”

“Because of that last incident.”

Daisy seemed angry.
She still spoke with elegance, but I could feel that she was running out of patience.
Anyway, was she referring to Count Parker’s ball?

I wanted to tarnish her image in the social world, and it seemed that all my effort was not in vain after all.
The results were finally showing. Not bad.

“Did Mrs.
Hamilton say it was because of that?”

“She invites me every time.
But now,… Is there any other reason for her to leave me out all of a sudden?”

Daisy wore a bitter look on her face.
As if she had embraced all the misery of the world.

I quietly listened to her and said.

“I thought it was all over back then.”

“I thought so too.
But wasn’t there a certain someone who had to speak their mind back there? Sienna, this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t said that publicly.”

“So…It is my fault now?”

Seriously.
How could a person be so shameless? When I retorted, Daisy bit her lip.
She took a deep breath and looked at me.

“Of course, I’m not saying what I did was right, but it’s just you didn’t understand my feelings.
It’s because I was really worried about you, Sienna.”

“Oh yeah? Like how you ‘did not’ try to kill me?”

“Sienna!”

Daisy finally raised her voice.
Her blue eyes shook, like a lake riddled with waves.

Daisy looked hurt. 

Disgusting. That was how I felt right that moment.
Just by listening, one could tell that Daisy could play the role of a victim really well.

“How could you say such a thing? I’m your friend! You said I didn’t care about you back then, but it was not true.
Do you hate me now…”

Of course I hate you.
How could I not after what you said to me? I shared my worries and innermost thought, and yet, you used it to grow your brother’s business! You even wished to watch me continue to live while suffering rather than have a peaceful death.
How is that friendship? (mentioned in ch 2 in case anyone forgot)

I felt emotional for a moment, but I suppressed it.
Even if I told Daisy now, she wouldn’t understand.
Instead, I replied.

“Aren’t you the one who hates me?”

“What?”

“I want to know.
Why do you hate me?”

In an instant, her hurtful expression disappeared.
The resentment she had just a moment ago was nowhere to be seen either.

I looked at her calmly.
The living room was enveloped in silence.

***

The day I was supposed to meet Logan.

On the day of the promise, I headed to the Royal Library, and I saw him waiting in a corner.

“Logan!”

“Oh, it’s been a while.”

How could it be so coincidental like this? A small laugh came out as his reaction to my greeting was just how I imagined.

After the meeting with Daisy the previous day, I had been in a bad mood since, but I immediately felt relaxed once I saw him.

The meeting with Daisy ended with just that. 

I didn’t think Daisy would answer me just because I asked her directly… In the end, I could not hear what I wanted to hear, as expected.

“…”

Daisy did not speak anything more after I asked her that.

What was she thinking? She bit her lip and averted her eyes away from me.
Silence followed.

Eventually, that day, our meeting ended.
What else could I say when the other party had no intention to talk?

My heart ached again as I thought about it… 

“Have you been waiting for long, Logan?”

“Not at all.
I just came.” That was a very formal answer. 

This distant appearance of his took me back to the ball.

Why did he have to smile at me when he wore a mask again? If he was going to smile, it would have been nice for him to do it with his mask off.
His expressionless face was already handsome.
How good-looking would he be if he smiled?

As I walked with him toward the library’s entrance, I spoke up first.

“What have you been up to?”

“I spent time looking for more materials myself.”

“Well for me, I went to a ball.
But a fire broke out there.”

“Oh dear….
You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“Yes.
Fortunately, it’s all fine.
Nothing big happened.
By the way…”

The corners of my mouth couldn’t help but slightly curved into a furtive smile.

“I saw someone that looked a lot like you at another ball I attended recently.”

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