#Harry foredale

[choices-binglebonkus]

Book two of a series: Looks like the characters will get their happy story ending after all :)

Some formerly presumed dead asshole preparing to stir up trouble:

[sapphoschoices]

Ngl, the Desire & Decorum family is kind of wild it you really think about it and it's even worse if you marry Annabelle, get Briar with Edmund, employ Mr Konevi and adopt all the animals

Like there's MC

MCs younger half brother Harry Foredale

MCs older step brother/Harry's half brother Edmund Marlcaster

MCs childhood best friend, ex-ladies maid, and current step-sister-in-law, Briar Daly

Edmunds ex-fiance who is now his and MCs sister in law after marrying their younger brother, Theresa Sutton

Harry's ex-fiance who is now (in spirit) married to his older half-sister MC, Annabelle Parsons

MC and Harry's grandmother, Dowager Countess #1, Dominique Foredale

Edmunds and Harry's mother, Dowager #2, Countess Henrietta

MCs legal lavender marriage husband, Bartholomew Chambers

Their barrister??, Yusuf Konevi

A horse, an pug (which I'm pretty sure would not have looked like that at the time), and some random baby deer???

Plus if you get Mr Harper and Cordelia together, you then also have

MCs wife (in spirits) sister and the estates ex-master of horses, and they're married with a whole baby on the way

Wild

[ladylamrian-archive]

She/Her ⚜️ Countess of Edgewater ⚜️ 20 years

Place of birth: Grovershire

Current location: Edgewater Estate

Eye color: Green

Hair color: Brown

Accessories: Her mother's engagement ring

Languages: English

Three adjectives: friendly, honest, quick-witted

Fears: Her biggest fear of disappointing her father by losing her inheritance. Also not being able to marry the love of her life and live their happily ever after. That would be terrible.

Favorite colors: Edgewater colors, Blue & Gold

Symbol: Edgewater crest with Unicorn & Lion

Favorite animal: Horses

Hobbies: Singing and dancing

Likes: spending time with her lover, beloved friends and family

Dislikes: Lies and Betrayal

Family: Mary Mills (mother) ; Vincent Foredale (father) ; Edward Marlcaster (half-brother) ; Harry (step-brother) ; Henrietta (step-mother) ; Dominique (grandmother)

Status: Married

Lover: Ernest Sinclaire (Husband)

Children: Vincent Sinclaire (son, named after Clara's father) & Lydia Sinclaire (daughter, named after Ernest's mother)

Pet: Her own horse, Belle (Team: Clara-Belle)

[choicesficwriterscreations]

CFWC FotW - March 19 - 25, 2023

18+ = Adult/Mature Content 🔥 = Explicit Material/NSFW

BLADES OF LIGHT AND SHADOW

Buried Memories | Tyril Starfury x f!elf!mc - @starlight-starfury 18+

DESIRE AND DECORUM

Life of a Spare | Edmund Marlcaster x Briar Daly - @noesapphic

The Tatletale's Mask | Theresa Sutton x Harry Foredale - @noesapphic

LAWS OF ATTRACTION

When Love Lasts Part 1 | Gabe Ricci x f!mc - @eadanga 

OPEN HEART

THE ROYAL ROMANCE

WAKE THE DEAD

A Capy Ending | Eli Sipes x F!MC, Troy Hassan - @jerzwriter

[zahrafilms]

DESIRE & DECORUM DREAMCAST !!

Some time ago, me and my friend were talking about how can we use some characters to choose a real one just to edit and other things, and now i'm in a growing ( and not recent ) obsession with d&d choices, missing all the lis and the storyline itself. So, he we are with my fancast ( you can disagree with me, and if you have other options, i would absolutely like to see them !! )

Lex Scott Davis as Countess Zahra Liliana Foredale from Edgwater.

Simone Ashley as Miss Briar Daly from Edgewater.

Calahan Skogman as Mister Edmund Marlcaster from Edgewater.

Anya Cholatra as Miss Annabelle Parsons From Hazelvale.

Mena Massoud as Prince Hamid from Ottoman Empire.

Robert Pattison as Mister Ernest Sinclaire from Ledford Park.

John Boyega as Sir Luke Harper from Harperland.

[maxwellsbrokeass]

[choices-binglebonkus]

Because I’m in a daring mood today, here’s something that may or may not be a hot take: just because a twist is predictable doesn’t inherently mean it’s bad. Similarly, just because a twist was unpredictable and totally surprising doesn’t make it good.

Sooooo…spoilers below for very obvious reasons.

Examples of good but predictable twists (in my humble opinion):

-Justin being Anton Severus in TRR. I personally didn’t predict this at all but pretty much everyone else on the face of the earth did. They had Justin/Anton in the story just enough that he sort of slipped under the radar while also not completely disappearing and cropping up out of nowhere. As a writer, this is a really difficult balance to reach when you’re springing a twist villain on someone.

-Redfield not being truly defeated after the ritual. Let’s face it. Everyone knew Redfield was coming back. Your mom knew it, your dog knew it, the random person down the street who’s never even heard of Choices knew it. But Cora stumbling into homecoming on the verge of death using her dying breath to warn us that Redfield was coming, then the desperate, terrified escape, rescue mission, and final showdown with Redfield were all an impeccable buildup to the climax and eventual end of the book. When the monsters stormed homecoming, that’s when shit got real.

-Jane Marshall being Redfield in ILITW. This is another one I didn’t predict (yeah I know, I’m kind of oblivious 😭) but a lot of other people did. Looking back on it, it was really obvious, but at the time? That reveal actually made me shout out loud when I first read the book.

-Bloodbound MC being a descendent of Rheya. I remember people somehow predicted this one all the way back when book two was still being released, and yet…it just felt so strangely right. Obviously the MC had to get her psychic abilities from somewhere, she didn’t just randomly develop them when she started hanging out with the vampires. And yeah it’s cheesy as hell, but I thought the whole “blood rests in the sacred chalice” prophecy was cool as shit even though I wasn’t the hugest Bloodbound fan at the time.

-The It Lives Within MC being a Power-created human. At least, this one was predictable to me. Everyone else seemed to be totally caught off guard. I pretty much knew for most of the book that the MC was the Power. I mean, the uncontrollable surges of Power, the psychic dreams and nightmares, their whole family being killed by monsters of the Power? Not to mention the title of the book, It Lives Within. I actually thought it had already been stated that we are the Power and was surprised that people were caught off guard. Nonetheless, this was a HUGE power move (no pun intended) and a really, really well-done twist. Especially for a fan game!

Aaaand examples of unpredictable but not very good twists (also in my humble opinion):

-Any instance of some character turning out to be alive the whole time. PB is notorious for pulling deceased characters out of thin air and turning them into some kind of adversary for whatever reason. At best, they’re a minor nuisance. At worst, they’re a Big Bad. I think the three worst instances of this twist were Barthelemy Beaumont, Harry Foredale, and our sister from WTD all coming back from the dead. In our sister’s case, literally.

-Eirik. Just Eirik. Throughout TRH, he had given absolutely zero indication of any malice, cunning, or evil ambition. I truly don’t think anyone saw it coming when he revealed himself to be part of the Via Imperii in the final chapter of TRH, book 3. But frankly, the reveal was…eh. Him turning out to be evil in a secret society ended up not being that great because the Via Imperii was all bark and no bite.

-The Endless Summer MC being the missing piece of Vaanu. There were hints dropped here and there throughout book 2 and they got a little more frequent in book 3, but I think the real reason this one was pretty unpredictable was because they threw book 3 together really fast (including all three endings) and we figured it out at the tail end of the book. As much as I loved Endless Summer, this twist felt like a cop out.

-The MC being pregnant with twins in BaBu. This one really came out of left field and was pretty surprising, and yet it didn’t add anything to the story. In fact, BaBu would’ve been the exact same if she only had one baby. There’s not much else to say about this twist other than it was supposed to shock us as it was revealed at the very end of book one, but it did nothing.

-Xenocrates being the head of the Order in Bloodbound. This one was pretty unpredictable, but it unfortunately had little impact on the people who didn’t buy all the tapestry fragments. Even worse, he was barely present enough in the story to make players really feel his influence.

[sapphoschoices]

Desire & Decorum MC: Bridgette Lawrence-Fordale

Character Info

Age: 20 (1815)

Height: 5'8"

Occupation: Countess

Birthday: 2nd November 1795

Love Interest: Annabelle Parsons

Orientation: Lesbian

Location: Edgewater, England

Hometown: Grovershire, England

Ethnicity: English/West African

Orientation: Lesbian

Family

Mary Lawrence (Mother) †

Vincent Foredale (Father) †

Dominique Foredale (Grandmother)

Henrietta Foredale (Stepmother)

Edmund Marlcaster (Stepbrother)

Briar Marlcaster (Sister-in-law)

Harry Foredale (Half-brother)

Theresa Sutton (Sister-in-law)

Bartholomew Chambers (Husband)

Annabelle Parsons ("Wife")

Pets

Hero (Horse)

Beauty (Dog)

Bianca (Fawn)

Face Claim: Crystal Clarke (as Georgiana Lambe, Sanditon)

[thelonewolfstar]

Okay, this is just awkward, knowing they're almost married. Why is stepbro shocked? I thought he was already aware of it?

[choicesficwriterscreations]

Desire & Decorum 2023 Masterlist

✒️= Fanfic | 📱= Text Fics/Edits | 🎨= Fanart Ⓜ️ = Mature Content 18+ | 🔥 = Explicit/NSFW 18+

January 2023

The Cursed Heiress (Series) | Prince Hamid x F!OC, Ernest Sinclaire x F!OC, etc. - @noesapphic Chapter 16: Once Upon a Time ✒️Ⓜ️

The Damned Daughter (Series) | F!OC x M!OC - @noesapphic Part Five: Never My Love ✒️Ⓜ️

Second Chances (Series) | Prince Hamid x F!OC - @missameliep Chapter 23: Racing Hearts ✒️

The Vindictive Countess | Countess Henrietta, Earl Vincent Foredale - @noesapphic ✒️

February 2023

The Detective & The Businessman (Series) | Ernest Sinclaire x MC @noesapphic Chapter 4 ✒️Ⓜ️

Barcelona ✒️| Prince Hamid x F!MC - @noesapphic

The Detective and the Businessman (Series) | Ernest Sinclaire x F!OC - @noesapphic Chapter 5 ✒️

March 2023

Unspoken Desires (Series) | F!MC - @princess-geek Chapter 10: Chronicles of the Heart ✒️

Love and Loss ✒️| Ernest Sinclaire, F!OC - @noesapphic

The Other Woman ✒️| Ernest Sinclaire, F!OC, Duke Richards @noesapphic

Second Chances (Series) | Prince Hamid x F!OC - @missameliep Chapter 24: The Undeniable Truth ✒️Ⓜ️

Life of a Spare ✒️ | Edmund Marlcaster x Briar Daly - @noesapphic

The Tatletale's Mask ✒️| Theresa Sutton x Harry Foredale - @noesapphic

May 2023

The Cursed Heiress (Series) | Ernest Sinclaire x F!OC - @noesapphic Chapter 17: A New Dawn ✒️Ⓜ️

September 2023

For Love & Duty (Series) ✒️ | Ernest Sinclaire x F!OC - @noesapphic Chapter 4: The King's Consent

October 2023

Vincent Foredale, Earl of Edgewater – The man behind the title  ✒️ - @princess-geek

December 2023

But I must admit…I can’t wait…to see your mother… 🎨| Vincent Foredale, F!MC - @oh-so-youre-a-nerd

Clara Slaying Richards 🎨 Ⓜ️| Duke Richards, Briar Daly, F!MC by @oh-so-youre-a-nerd (C: @lilyoffandoms)

Ernest Sinclaire x MC Fanart 🎨 by @oh-so-youre-a-nerd

Hers to Take ✒️Ⓜ️| Ernest Sinclaire x F!OC - @noesapphic

Luke Harper Fanart 🎨 by @oh-so-youre-a-nerd

Our Last Hope ✒️| Ernest Sinclaire x MC - @kinda-iconic

[drethanramslay]

°𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫°

Day 5 of siblings appreciation week hosted by @choicesmonthlychallenge:

Lady Arabella Winters, Mr. Edmund Marlcaster and Viscount Harry Foredale

Taglist: @mvalentine ; @starrystarrytrouble ; @anotherbeingsworld ; @bratzlahela ; @nooruleman ; @the-pale-goddess ; @blossomanarchy

[allisonreilynn]

THEY'RE REALLYYY CUTE I CAN'T

oh..my..god...

[lorirwritesfanfic]

What’s Left Unsaid

Author's note: I'm soooo in the mood for drama lately 😈 [Leading characters are owned by Pixelberry Studios and original characters are creations of the author] 

Book: Desire & Decorum (modern day AU) Characters: MC (Daphne), Ernest Sinclaire, Briar Daly, Harry Foredale, Dominique Foredale, F!OC (Alisha) Pairings: Ernest Sinclaire x MC (Daphne), Prince Hamid x MC (Daphne) Rating: T Word count: 3507 Summary: Hours before travelling to spend a week with Hamid, Daphne receives an odd invitation from Ernest. Yet, neither of them is ready to handle the inevitable conversation. Based on the music prompt: How Do We Make It?

"All set?" Briar asked before she took a malteser to her mouth.

"Yep. Everything is packed," the lady answered, closing her toiletry bag and putting it over her suitcase.

Leaning back on the plush couch, Briar ate more of the round biscuits coated with chocolate and frowned at her friend's luggage. "I understand you want to spend as much time as you can with Hamid. Believe me, I totally get it and support it. But why do you have to leave so soon?"

"You make it sound like we won't be living together for the most part of the next three and a half years."

"But you're leaving me again during this sensitive period I'm going through," Briar whined.

"It's just a week. You can survive without me for the time being."

"What if I need help? I can't call you anytime I want. I don't want to cockblock you and Hamid now that I know you’ll be on a dry spell until the end of March."

“It’ll be a little longer than that. Ramadan starts a few days before he returns to Cornell and he’ll have to abstain from anything that incites impure thoughts, but that’s beside the point. Just call Annabelle."

"Really? Ooof…” Briar made a face.

“Briar!” The lady glared at her friend.

“Sorry…” Briar smiled sheepishly. “But back to my problem, I don’t know. Annabelle's idea of tough love may be a little too tough for me." Briar's nose wrinkled in annoyance.

"Maybe it's just what you need." Daphne gave her friends a knowing look, who replied with a scowl. "You could also become friends with Alisha. She's really sweet."

"We barely know each other. I can't exactly call her in the middle of the night and ask her to help me not to send dirty texts to Ed."

"Well, I don't think you should call his step sister to talk about that, but it never stopped you before," Daphne joked.

"Hey!" Briar grabbed a pillow and threw it at the lady, making her laugh.

The two of them continued to tease each other when the viscountess's mobile got a notification.

Briar smiled slyly as her friend reached for the cellphone. "Aw, you smitten kitten…"

"Shut up…" Daphne scoffed as she tapped the screen when she read the message.

"Gee, did somebody die?"

Daphne eyed her friend confused. "Huh?"

"Your face doesn't scream boyfriend-girlfriend cute texts. It looks more like you just got 'we need to talk' text."

"Well, that's exactly what it is. Except it was Ernest." Daphne explained, placing the mobile in the pocket of her trousers.

"Oh…” Briar frowned. “Is his mother okay?"

"I don't know. He just said he wants to meet me tonight to talk."

"Sounds serious."

"It feels like it is..."

"Hey, maybe you two could meet at mum's? It's on the way to the train station and you can have tea and sweets to make the conversation less intense."

Daphne sat on her bed and considered the suggestion. "That's not a bad idea. I'll text him."

"Great. And when you're there, can you do me a favour?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Speak louder. I want to hear the details when mum makes me wash the dishes in the kitchen." Briar's lips curled up.

Daphne narrowed her eyes playfully. But before she could retort, a door knock called their attention.

"Come in," Daphne said. A combination of surprise and nervousness took over her when the door opened. "Lady grandmother!"

"Hello, Daphne," Dominique said as she strolled in. "Briar, can you give me a  moment with my granddaughter?"

"Certainly, ma'am," Briar bowed politely and left the room.

The dowager countess took a seat on the plush chair near the bed and looked at her granddaughter. "I heard you're travelling to Turkiye again."

"Yes. It's my last opportunity to spend time with Hamid before I go back to Cornell."

"Isn't he returning next month?"

"He can't travel by plane for the next three months without the risk of suffering an embolism."

"I see." Dominique nodded. "Are you returning to America from there?"

"No. I'll come back for three days to pack everything and take Drake with me."

"Good. I was hoping you could join me for tea in London with the Queen."

The young lady pressed her lips together and heaved a sigh. “Lady grandmother, please…”

"It's a mere informal gathering with an old friend of your grandmother, Daphne.”

"Who happens to be the Queen of England..."

The flat yet mocking tone in the young lady’s voice didn’t go unnoticed. Yet, the dowager countess chose to not reprimand her granddaughter. "I still believe you made a mistake, but I assure you it's not an audience. She is a wise old friend you could learn a lot from. Spending time with her is a privilege only a few people in the Commonwealth have."

Daphne pondered about it carefully. There wasn't a single time in her life she has ever joined her grandmother on something that didn't have a purpose. However, of all the times they have argued, this was the first one Lady Dominique has ever made the first step. Even if it wasn't an explicit apology, it felt like something similar to it.

"When will it happen?"

"January 10th."

"Okay. I'll see what I can find to dress for the occasion."

"I already made an appointment for you at the boutiques you like."

"Of course you did…"

The two shared rare friendly smiles.

"What time are you leaving?"

"Five thirty. I'm meeting Ernest at six."

"Oh…" Worry clouded Dominique's features. "Is Lydia alright?"

"I've been asking myself the same question."

"I'll make sure to pay her a visit later. But whenever you have time, join me at the lounge. I'd like to see the drawings you've been working on lately. Miss Parsons can join us as well," Dominique said as she stood up.

"I'll text Ann."

"Excellent. I'll see you downstairs."

"Yes, ma'am."

The sound of luggage wheels running on the wooden tiles followed Daphne down the stairs as she descended carrying her suitcase.

"Do you need anything else, ma'am?" Her maid asked.

"No, thank you. You've done enough…" The lady looked around the room, brows knitted together in a frown. "Hey, Carmindy. Do you know if Drake returned from his daily walk?"

"Yep, he has." Harry sauntered over with Lord Vincent, who held the dog's leash. "I hope you've been waiting for us. It'd be very rude of you not to say goodbye to us, sis," he teased.

"I wasn't going to do that. I already talked to Ed and grandmother," she said, swatting her brother’s arm. She then turned to her father and the dog. "Thank you for taking a walk with him. Bye, dad."

"Of course, dear. Have a safe trip." The lord cupped one side of her face and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you." Daphne beamed and crouched down to pet her dog. "Bye, sweetie! Be a good boy to everyone."

The dog replied by licking her hand.

"Are you ready to go?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Daphne replied. After waving to her father, her dog, and the staff nearby, she headed to the door carrying her luggage.

Inside the car, the lady gazed out the window as droplets of rain softly blurred the view. Despite the music playing in the background being one of her brother's favourites, he wasn't singing along or humming the melody as usual. Harry was quiet, serious, eyes focused on the road and the traffic as he drove towards the city.

"Thank you again for taking me. You didn't have to," she said.

"Don't worry about it. It's our driver's week off. Why would I let you waste money taking a taxi when you can buy me cheesecake?" He looked at her from a corner of an eye and smirked.

"Good point." Daphne nodded with a smile, glad to see her younger brother in his laid back demeanour again.

"So… When am I going to meet your new boyfriend?"

"I don't know. I haven't thought about it."

"Ouch…" Harry clutched a hand in his chest, pretending to be wounded.

"Don't be silly…" She scoffed. "I meant to say I haven't talked about it with him because we're taking things slow. It's not like we have everything figured out."

"Excuse me?" He gave his sister a look before turning his attention to the road once again. "You left home in August with all your four years of uni planned. And before that, you had most part of your life sorted out."

"Well, after everything I went through this year, I realised planning too much isn't going to do me any good. I'll just take my time and see how it goes."

"Huh…" Harry glanced at her with a curious look. "When dad and Ed returned from Ithaca after your birthday, they said you changed. But I didn't know what to think."

"Were you worried?"

"Honestly? Who wasn't? The only reason the family council agreed with you moving back to America was knowing that Briar and Annabelle would be with you."

"What?!" Her brows rose. "When did that happen?"

"Right after you said you'd choose Cornell over Sorbonne and Cambridge. Anyway, now I understand why they said you're changing. You're healing. And you're slowly finding your way to be your best self. That's brilliant, sis."

"Thank you." Her eyebrows rose as amusement played on her lips. "Look at you so perceptive and wise."

"It's a blessing and a curse."

The two of them chuckled.

But as their laughter died down, Daphne cast her glance to the window again. "I just wish I didn't have scars..."

"All great fighters have scars, Daph. I know whatever you have to face in the future, you'll keep your head high and do your best."

"Are you trying to psych me up to the meeting I have with Ernest, Harry?"

"No…"

She arched an eyebrow.

"Maybe…"

The lady shook her head with a smile.

"I know you're dating Hamid and I can see you care about him, but the whole situation with Ernest broke you. I don’t want to see you going through anything like that again."

"It's sweet of you to worry about me because I've been talking to him again, but I'll be fine. This is no big deal. He probably needs advice with something related to Mrs. Sinclaire's treatment."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. If he says anything I can't handle, don’t worry. I'll strangle him myself," she joked, making her brother laugh just a few blocks away from the bakery.

Once Daphne greeted the staff of Mrs Daly's bakery, she took a seat on one of the stools by the counter, where her childhood friend and the newest cook of the shop stood by.

"So you're meeting your ex-fiancé a few hours before you take a train to spend a week with your new boyfriend," Alisha concluded, but it was clear she was still trying to absorb the information.

"Yes," Daphne affirmed.

"And your new boyfriend is okay with it?"

"So weird, right?" Briar mumbled.

Daphne narrowed her eyes at her friend then turned to the cook. "Hamid knows I wouldn't do this if I didn't think it's important to support Ernest right now."

"You're lucky. Not all men are so understanding. By the way, that's one of the few contexts I'll ever start a sentence with 'not all men'," Alisha stated.

The three of them giggled.

"But seriously, are you okay with it?" The cook asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. But thank you for asking."

"We can bring you an extra dessert and a tea for you afterwards if you need comfort. On the house." Briar grabbed her friend's hand.

"I'm fine." Daphne insisted. "This is not the first time I’ll talk to him after we broke up."

Just then, the bell chimed as the front door opened. Placing his coat on the rack nearby, Ernest Sinclaire walked into the shop, nodded politely to the staff, chose a table, and waited for Daphne to follow.

"Call us if you need anything." Alisha gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Thank you." Daphne smiled.

"And if he needs a beating, I'm calling Ann," Briar warned.

Daphne pursed her lips at her friend. "I'm going to join Ernest at the table. Excuse me," she said standing up and walking towards the corner table, where her ex sat looking at the rain quietly drumming on the glass windows. "Good evening."

"Good evening," he replied calmly. "Did I make you wait for too long?"

"Not at all. I was just chatting with Briar and Alisha, the new cook here," Daphne explained as she sat down. "How are you and Mrs. Sinclaire?"

"We're fine. Thank you for asking."

Her eyebrows went up in surprise. "Really?"

A corner of his mouth lifted upwards discreetly. "Were you not expecting me to say that?"

"Um… No?" Her nose wrinkled. "I'm sorry. It's hard to figure out the tone of a sentence through texts. I didn't know what to expect."

"It's all right, Daphne. This is precisely why I don't like texting."

"You could add a few 'lols', 'jk' and emojis here and there…" She hinted.

"I'm not even going to entertain that idea."

As a giggle escaped Daphne's lips, Briar approached the table.

"Good evening! I'll be your waiter tonight. May I take your order?"

Daphne arched an eyebrow. "Oh, are you now?"

"Yes," Briar plastered a fake grin that purposely faded when she turned to Ernest.

"Miss Daly," he nodded politely and looked at the menu.

"Sinclaire," Briar hissed.

Noticing her friend's deadly stare, Daphne spoke up. "Anyway, I'm in the mood for mille-feuille, chamomile tea, and a box of macarons to go. How about you, Ernest?"

"I see the new cook added some new desserts to the menu. I'll have profiteroles and English tea."

"I'll be right back with your orders."

The two of them thanked Briar, who stepped away, still glaring at Ernest.

"I see she still hates me," he avowed.

"You are in a relationship with our secondary school nemesis."

He shifted in his seat and gazed at the woman before him. "Do you hate me as well?"

"I did." She confessed, staring back at him. "But that's water under the bridge now."

Despite the somewhat awkward start, the conversation flew easily after. Between bites of their desserts, the two kept everything friendly.

"Your French has certainly improved," Ernest praised.

"Thank you. It's nice to get feedback from a real person. I only get feedback from Duolingo, but I think the app is being nice to me on purpose."

"Doesn't Harry help you with that?"

"Sure… Because that's something siblings love to do: help each other."

He chuckled.

"So…" She placed her cup of tea down and looked at him. "You haven't told me why we're meeting here."

"All right." He cleared his throat. “First of all, I want to apologise for that awkward situation at the Christmas feast.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“I didn’t say a thing. Couldn’t that be interpreted as if I agreed with what Felicity said?”

“It could have been. But if I know you well, you didn’t say anything because you didn’t even want to be there in the first place. Besides, engaging in any frivolous topics of conversations isn't your cup of tea.”

“You do know me well.” A ghost of a smile played on his lips. “But I want to apologise anyway.”

“Thank you.”

"The other subject I want to talk about is my mother. She made a decision about her treatment."

"Oh?"

"Her doctors said they have great chances to stabilize the tumor and remove it through surgery if she keeps receiving chemotherapy and radiation. She said yes." At last, a broad smile lit up his features.

"Oh my God, that's fantastic news, Ernest!" Daphne beamed.

"I think so too."

"And you're moving back to UK soon, right?"

"Yes, I'll be back next month."

"This is really great, Ernest. I'm happy for both of you."

"Thank you. I knew you would be."

Daphne then glanced at her wristwatch. "Well, this has been such a pleasant evening, but I have a train to catch."

"Of course, I'll get the check."

After a brief moment, Briar returned with their separate bills and two boxes with pastries. "The second one is baklava for Hamid." The young woman gave her friend a knowing look.

"He's going to eat most of my macarons, but whatever. Thanks." Daphne replied and gave her credit card.

Ernest remained in silence for a moment, watching the two friends talk. Once the bill was paid, they stood up, thanked everyone, and headed to the door, where they got their coats, and Daphne's received her luggage that Briar kept in the storage room.

From the back of the counter, Briar and Alisha waved at the viscountess and her former fiancé leaving.

"Well, for two people who had their break up headlining all gossip blogs and tabloids in UK, they seem very friendly," Alisha commented as she arranged a few pastries inside the bakery display.

"Yeah…" Briar narrowed her eyes, not knowing what to make of her friend's behaviour near her ex.

"It's easy to make things look perfect for everyone else when you're just sweeping dirt under the rug instead of actually cleaning the house." Mrs. Daly chimed into the conversation as she passed by the two young women. "That has always been their biggest problem."

As they stepped outside, he gazed at Daphne tapping her screen of her mobile. "If you need a ride, I can take you to the train station."

"No, thank you. I'm calling an Uber."

"It's not that far from here."

"But you'd be driving in the opposite direction. I don't have to go through all that trouble…"

"Daphne," he called, placing a hand on her arm. "It's a fifteen minutes detour I'll gladly make for you. Please."

The lady considered the offer carefully. She wasn't eager to be seen in public with Ernest, especially given how much the tabloids used to follow both of them throughout their relationship. Yet, the paparazzi have stopped following her and the driver she called was over seven kilometers away. Perhaps this wasn't such a bad idea.

"Fine…" She acquiesced and watched him promptly open the door of his car then put her luggage in the backseat.

The moment Daphne buckled the seat belt, a message pinged on her mobile:

"I heard your boyfriend suffered an accident. Is he all right?"

Daphne's cheeks flushed crimson as her former fiancé's voice pulled her back to reality. "Yes, he's getting better. Thank you for asking."

"Is that why you’re returning so soon?"

"Among other reasons..."

The lady looked ahead, unsure where this conversation was going, but hoping her destination wasn't so far.

"Is it serious?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your new relationship: do you see yourself with him in the future?" He insisted.

"It's too soon to say."

"You've been seen with him since late October."

"I started dating him officially three weeks ago."

"But you were here three weeks ago. Did it start as a long-distance relationship?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"How is that working out for you two?"

"It's too soon to say."

He glanced at her quickly, but didn't say a word. Yet, his expression said more than he wanted her to see.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't say anything," Ernest scoffed.

"Funny... You look like you have a lot to say about that," she replied, trying to suppress her annoyance.

He huffed. Somehow, this odd conversation felt awfully familiar. Ernest jumping to conclusions too quickly, Daphne annoyed with his judgemental demeanour. It was a clear sign that some things would most likely never change between them.

"Why would you care if my relationship is going to last?"

"Because I care about anything related to you!" He snapped as the car abruptly stopped right in front of the train station, pushing both of their bodies forward, only to be held back by the seat belt.

"Oh, sure! You did seem like you cared about me when you began your relationship with a girl that made me and my friends miserable in secondary school three weeks after we broke up."

"It wasn’t like that. I did care! I still do!"

"That was one hell of a way of showing it, Sinclaire!" She bellowed.

Honks startled them, breaking the tension between them. And as words sunk in, the only sentiment they shared at the moment was regret. Unbuckling her seat belt, Daphne reached for the door handle when he spoke up again.

"Did you ever love me?"

A moment of silence settled inside the car. Although she wished she could just leave, she knew this couldn’t be left unsaid. "I thought I did." Her eyes welled up as she mulled over her own words. "Now I don't know..."

Ernest inhaled sharply. Did he expect another answer? Or did he know it all along? "Perhaps it's for the best that we never said those words to each other."

Daphne swallowed hard and nodded. "Thank you for the ride." She uttered then opened the door, picked up the luggage from the backseat, and left without looking back.

[inacrowdofchoices]

Desire & Decorum Modern AU: Harry & Edmund drive their little sister Louisa to campus for the start of her last year at university; they’re extremely proud of her and Louisa, being really happy to have the love and support of her brothers, asks them for a family picture to celebrate the moment. Picture taken by Briar Daly.

For day 5 of the Sibling Appreciation Month & day 30 of the Choices November Challenge.

[monterisso]

thinking about how if you don't spend diamond on harry in d&d he keeps hating mc for no valid reason yes still lives at her home and just hmphs and grumps to remind her how much he hates her even on christmas 💀💀💀

[christinediamond]

Remember that we used to get annoyed with the other brother  yeah, good time lmao