Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Choice: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

A few days passed after my encounter with Prince Carlos, and many more followed after that. I had to admit, Prince Carlos was not what I expected. He was still quite stand-offish and a bit detached but my time spent with him made me realize he had some sort of humor- and a great taste in books. A few weeks ago, I would never believe that I would call Carlos an acquaintance but there I was. I woke up feeling quite happy, despite the fact that I had dance lessons again. I had long finished 

"I'm so nervous, Madeline," Fiona sighed, gripping my hand tightly. We were seated in the salon, along with the other Ladies and everyone was buzzing with excitement (and fear) about The Demi Ball, which was only a day away. I had to admit, with Amancio's teaching, I had gotten noticeably better at dancing but it still wasn't enough to guarantee my success at the ball. I still felt like I would embarrass myself in front of the whole of Aridia. But, on the bright side, I would be going home soon. I could finally leave the

"Esme! Esme Addington, I swear if you don't let me out this instance!" I yelled, but there was no reply. She was already gone. I was more shocked than angry. I knew Esme was cunning but I didn't expect her to do something as drastic as this. I was trapped in the Ladies' Salon and the ball was bound to start at any second. I looked around the Ladies Salon for a way to escape but there was none. The windows were sealed shut and the door apparently, was locked as well. 

Excitement mixed with the angst that squeezed my stomach, flipping it in knots. I didn't know why I was so nervous. I had entered the competition hoping to get kicked out at The Cut. Why did I feel like I wanted to stay? Soon, the bell tolled, signifying that dinner was about to commence. 

"Lady Madeline, what part of Aridia are you from?" A curly haired woman approached me, a pen and notebook in hand. The grand hall was crazy with journalists and reporters everywhere. They ambushed us as soon as we got in and the amount of attention I was getting was extremely overwhelming.