Falling For The True Heiress

I sat down immediately and started drying my hair. When I glanced at the mirror, I froze a little.

My face and ears were bright red.

I shook my head quickly and reached for my face mask, pulling it on like it might hide the evidence from myself too.

What is even happening right now? Why are my face and ears this red? It has to be from all the crying earlier today. That has to be it.

I stood, grabbed the small first aid kit from my drawer, took out a pain reliever, and walked over to pour myself a glass of water.

"Are you sick, Minnie?" Sylvia asked, already halfway off the bed.

"Stop," I said quickly, holding a hand out to keep her in place. "I’m fine. Just a small headache."

She stared at me for a moment, then sank back down onto the bed. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

"Thank goodness." I muttered under my breath, pressing a hand to my chest.

I sank onto the small sofa tucked into the corner of my room and swallowed the pill.

Maybe I’ve just been daydreaming too much lately. That’s all this is.

Sylvia was still watching me from the bed, clearly not convinced by what I told her. "Are you sure you’re okay? Should I call a doctor?"

I didn’t answer right away. I just stood, walked over to her, and pointed firmly at the sofa.

"Go to the sofa. Now."

She nodded, got up, and walked over, lying down obediently. "Good night." She said, turning onto her side.

I went to my dressing room, pulled an extra blanket from the shelf, and draped it over her when I came back.

"Thank you, Minnie." She murmured, shifting slightly under the blanket.

I smiled softly, remove the facemask and walked back toward my own bed. I paused, glancing at her one more time before finally climbing in.

Morning came in slowly, sunlight slipping through the gap in the curtains.

I woke up before my alarm even went off, which was honestly the first time that had ever happened in my entire life.

I reached for my phone on the nightstand and checked the time.

4:00 AM.

I sat up and looked toward the sofa. Sylvia wasn’t there. I looked back at my own bed immediately, just in case. She wasn’t there either.

"Looks like someone actually woke up early today," I said, with a small laugh as I got up and headed to the bathroom to get ready for school.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Someone was knocking on my door just as I stepped out of the bathroom.

"Come in," I said, walking toward my dressing table.

A servant entered carrying my freshly ironed uniform.

"Miss, your uniform is ready." She said, setting it down on the table.

"Thank you," I said.

She stopped mid-step and turned to look at me, clearly surprised.

I don’t think I’ve ever actually thanked a servant before. Not even the one who pulled me out of a car accident once. I only blamed her for it happening at all instead.

So I wasn’t surprised by her reaction at all.

I tied my hair into a high, neat ponytail, applied light makeup, and stared at my reflection in the mirror.

"Perfect." I said, picking up my bag and heading downstairs.

"Looks like someone’s actually early today." I said the moment I spotted Sylvia already at the table, eating breakfast.

She looked up and smiled at me. "I want to ride to school with you today." She said, finishing off the last bite of her sandwich.

I was already reaching to call the butler when she held up her hand, stopping me.

"I already have your keys." She said, dangling them proudly in the air.

"Fine. Just this once," I said, a small smile creeping onto my face as I headed for the door.

"Wait... aren’t you having breakfast?" She asked, pointing at my covered plate.

"No, I’m on a diet," I said, walking out, while she scrambled to grab her bag and catch up.

I slid into the passenger’s seat. She arrived a moment later, got into the driver’s seat, and pulled out of the driveway.

"How are you feeling today, Minnie?" She asked, glancing over at me.

She genuinely thinks I’m sick. Naive Sylvia.

"I’m fine," I said, rubbing my temple.

She nodded and sped up a bit.

When we arrived at school, the parking lot wasn’t as crowded as yesterday. Sylvia pulled into the parking lot and parked the car.

I opened my door and stepped out. She got out a second later and locked the car behind us.

"Baby."

The voice came from behind us. We both turned at the same time.

It was Xander.

What does he want now? I thought, frowning.

Most students stopped and turned their attention toward us.

Xander walked up to us, smiling like nothing had happened. "Baby, I’m sorry about yesterday." He said, already reaching out to grab my wrist.

I stepped back immediately. Sylvia stepped in front of me before his hand could get anywhere close.

"What are you actually up to, Xander? Or whatever you’re calling yourself these days?" Sylvia asked; her voice was sharp with anger.

Xander glanced past her shoulder at me, then turned his attention to Sylvia, smiling.

"Nothing really," he said. "What’s your name?"

I knew exactly that he was up to nothing good. I grabbed Sylvia’s hand and pulled her away, walking quickly.

~~~~~ Third-Person POV ~~~~~

"The untouchable Xander, actually apologizing." A voice came from behind him, amused.

"Evan," Xander said, smiling, still watching the spot where Amelia and Sylvia had just disappeared. "How’s that girl?"

"You mean your fiancée?" Evan asked, slinging an arm around Xander’s neck.

"Who said anything about apologizing to that fake one?" Xander said, crossing his arms. "That was just an excuse to get close to the real daughter."

"Hmm." Evan tilted his head, looking at him in disbelief. "Don’t tell me you actually like that Sylvia girl now?"

"She’s really interesting," Xander said and turned to walk away.

Evan fell into step beside him, frowning.

"Interesting how? You’ve known her for what, two days? You publicly humiliated her sister in a cafeteria full of cameras, and she slapped you so hard half the school still has the video saved. That’s interesting to you?"

"That’s exactly why." Xander said, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Do you know how many people have ever stood up to me like that? Not because they wanted something from me. Not because they were scared of me. She just didn’t care."

Evan stopped walking. "Xander. She’s the heiress of the Winston Group now. Her parents are already treating her like royalty. If you mess with her the wrong way—"

"I’m not messing with her," Xander said, cutting him off. "I’m going to make her like me."

"You do realize she just defended the girl you publicly humiliated," Evan said, rubbing his temple. "She hates you already."

"Exactly," Xander said, eyes glinting. "She’s never had to chase anyone. Everyone chases her now. I want to be the one thing she can’t have."

Evan stared at him for a long moment, then shook his head slowly. "I really don’t understand you sometimes."

Xander just smiled and kept walking, hands in his pockets.

...

Amelia’s POV

"Minnie, you should have let me handle him properly. He’s already messing with you again." Sylvia said, clearly still annoyed.

I smiled and patted her head gently. "Don’t worry about him."

"Lia!"

I turned toward the voice. It was Daniela.

"Ela," I said, smiling, shifting my attention to her.

She was running to catch up with us while Camila trailed lazily behind. The moment she reached me, she pulled me into a hug.

"I missed you already." She whispered against my shoulder.

"Huh?" I said, pulling back a bit to look at her, confused.

"Nothing." She said, pulling back quickly.

"Why are you always being so clingy with my sister?" Sylvia asked, frowning at Daniela.

Daniela just smiled and shrugged. I shook my head at the two of them and smiled.

"Hey, Cam." I said, slinging an arm over Camila’s shoulder as we walked down the main corridor together.

"I want to celebrate your birthday properly this time, Lia," Camila said, looking over at me.

"You want to do what?" I asked, surprised.

I hadn’t really thought about my birthday since it happened. Or maybe I just didn’t want to be reminded of everything that fell apart that day. And now Camila was bringing it up again.

"I want to celebrate it with you. I was away on a business trip and never got to actually celebrate with you that day," Camila said softly.

"It’s fine, Cam. There’s always next year." I said, reaching up to brush my thumb gently against her cheek.

She nodded, then leaned into the touch just enough that I pulled my hand back.

"How about we go to your favorite book launch instead?" She asked, smiling.

My favorite author was releasing her new novel, Falling for the True Heiress, this Saturday. I had been waiting for this release for what felt like forever. In an interview, the author had explained her inspiration. She said she wanted to show that a true heiress could actually be good, not always the villain everyone expected.

Does that even make sense, though?

Maybe that was exactly why I’d been so eager for this release.

I smiled and nodded. "Okay. This Saturday, then."

"Good," Camila said, giggling to herself.

Sylvia and Daniela stood there watching us, both looking thoroughly confused.

"Can we—" Daniela started, clearly about to ask if they could tag along, but Camila cut her off immediately.

"Little kittens can’t come." Camila said, letting out a soft laugh.

Daniela frowned. Camila tugged me forward, walking quickly before Daniela could argue further.

"What is actually wrong with these two?" Sylvia muttered, scratching the back of her head.

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