she softly rolled her eyes at him once more. "you know, noone can tell you were to go or not to", and she pressed her lips together when her mother approached them, already vowing Jasper and tryigng her best with her charm.

"Mrs. Abercromby", he said with a charming smile. "What a pleasure to see you." He took her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. "I must say, I was quite surprised ro see your daughter at this event. We haven't seen her in such company for a very long time." Of course he had to poke at the other.

she was clearly feeling uncomfortable. This was probably just another set up off her mother after all. "mother", she pressed between her lips and then threw a glance at jasper at his words. "i am sure Mr. Reed has other things to do", but her motgher just gave her a wave to understand to be quiet and she bite her lips.
>What else would there to be then celebrate your engagament to each other? Your fathers have just agreed upon it to bring the family lines together, you will make a great couple<

His whole body froze up at her words. "I don't want to sound rude, Mrs. Abercromby, but this is the first time I have heard of such plans." Only years of practice made it possible to keep his voice stable and to relax his body once again. "This seemes rather.... sudden, if I may say so."

her face almost lost everything when she heard those words. "mother", she called out but her mother completly ignored her. >Oh don't be silly, why do you think your grandfather organised this party?<, and she softly took Jaspers elbow to direct him towards herself. >this is your official engagement outing<
"No", and by now her mother looked very cross and upset to her. Which almost made her regret this. >You be quiet now girl. This matter is already decided<

His insides turned ice cold. Fuck. This.... this couldn't be happening! For the first time in his life, he really started to struggle to keep up his mask. "I'm just.... surprised that we were not informed about such an important matter if it has already been planned." He couldn't believe that his parents had kept something like this from him! He hadn't even known that they had been looking into marriage arrangements!

how could they just decided something like this without even considering what she wanted? Bevor she could even say something, she could already see both their fathers going up on the stairs..making the big announcement and she just zoomed out ...t his could not be happening..right?

Somehow, the realisation only really hit him, when he heard the announcement of his father. He felt.... sick. This... this couldn't be happening! This... this wasn't the 18th century! Things like this shouldn't be happening anymore! His parents had never limited his life so why were they doing this to him?! And why did the Abercrombys even agree to it? His family was not blue blooded! Yes, they were very old money, but still. "This is quite a surprise", he managed to say and even give Mrs. Abercromby a smile. "I think Monet and I could use a private moment, don't you think?" Of course he saw the delighted glint in her eyes and thus, it the whole situation didn't seem like the escape it actually was. Taking Monet's arm, he basically dragged her towards one of the balconies, since the other had frozen up. Once they were in the fresh night air, he let go off her arm and walked into one of the corners. "Fuck!"

everything just happaned so fast and the next moment she was outside with Jasper. The cool night air hit her like a slap in the face and she looked over to him. "I'd rather an iron virgin then ever marry an asshole like you", she spat out and took some deep breaths. "i - they can't make me - us"

A low growl left his lips. "How nice of you to just throw shit at my head after I just pulled you out of that situation." It had been quite clear that she hadn't wanted to be stuck in there for another second. "And you don't have to get mad at me. Believe me, I was not the one who came up with this bullshit. I had absolutely nothing to do with it."

she softly bite her lips and looked at him. "and why would i believe you, that you have not been in on this? you made comments that fit the crime all night long!"

He gave her a really unimpressed look. "And here I was, thinking that you knew that the hate for each other was mutual and not only coming from you." Had he ever given her a reason to believe that he liked her? "What would I gain from marrying you? There is not one thing I would want from you, Monet. And not one reason why I would want myself chained to you."

"your family status can only go up when you marry into royalty", and she pressed her lips back together, taking in a deep breath

A deep laugh left her lips. "And you really think that I care about that?" He rose an eyebrow. "Monet, my family is loaded. We have more money then I will ever be able to spend. The families reputation is already secured. I honestly don't give a fuck if we are tied to a Scottish royal blood line or not." He shook his head.

"apparently your family sees that differently", and for the first time she actually shoot him a glance