" i have gathered you all here today for an important family meeting! " she's pacing back and forth, shooting a laser pointer at both of her siblings. " as you both know, i am the social media manager of criterion and charmaine is still only an assistant to feyza — and you — " she points the laser right at their youngest sister. " what are you doing? " did she even have a job? " whatever — we need to figure out how to get to this! event. " she opens up a powerpoint on the television which showed one of the f1 races. " any questions? "

" —social media manager of criterion, " she interjects over the top of trisha's incessant bragging. she is proud ! of course she is, but how many times a week, a day, an hour must she hear those words ? " your nine-to-five is literally posting on the apps my boss invented ? anyway, i have a plan, plus a plan b. plan a is now out of my hands but plan b you both could totally help with. as i've told you before, lilah works for the prince of... cyprus or something. anyway, he's always at the races and she handles his tickets. we just need to convince her to plus three ! or maybe get him super drunk on race night so he won't even want to go, and then she'll just have to plus two ! she's been in a mood with me lately though, so one of you need to press her. " @constraiint

" i'm between jobs, how many times must i remind you two... it's humiliating! " chesa had switched career paths enough at this point that she couldn't really blame her sisters for not keeping track. still, this was the least of her worries at the moment. though f1 meant hot guys and networking, a notion attractive enough to snap her out of her sulking. she perked up, engrossed with charmaine's idea. " ugh! why is she upset with you? you'd have the most leverage to convince her. right? " she glanced to trisha for approval. in any case, chesa hoped to acquire an invite with as little personal effort as possible. @sirenoire

" i am! i really am! " she pouts. now he finally understands! " a spa day sounds nice. " she allows the bags to be taken. the weight of them were starting to hurt her arms. " you really don't know how bad it is. it's like i'm supposed to survive off buldak noodles because he doesn't have any chilli powder! and you know i like chilli powder on my avocado toast! " might as well hire a camera crew and have this be the next season of survivor! " okay... fine... " she agrees to dinner only because it would be embarrassing to eat out alone.

jean's heart swelled with a strange sense of pride. finally he'd not only diffused the situation, but managed to secure some crucial one on one time. not that he had any interest in getting back together, or unresolved feelings, or even a wounded ego for that matter... no, this was all in the name of turning a new leaf. " of course, " he continued to nod sympathetically, lifting one of the grocery bags eye level. " i'm guessing these are emergency supplies for his barren pantry? "

" a run club ? " the speed at which the temperature of her blood went from regular to boiling was irrational. this was an insignificant fact, it should have born no difference to her, and yet... even the lightness of his tone irritated her. " ah i see — and you think these things are something a man in his 30s does ? " of course suvi was around. it meant jean's head was even emptier than normally. all coherent thoughts muddled because of the woman's presence. " who did you bring ? " gosh ! she didn't even want to know. she dreaded the answer but it was like a train crash: impossible to ignore. " please don't tell me it was an influencer. "

" travel vlogger. " he corrected, as if it made any difference. jean at least wanted to clarify he hadn't been drooling over some run-of-the-mill bikini pics when he'd reached out, there was some substance there. " i think you would've liked her! sweet girl, beautiful, made me look good. " surely that was what his sister was most concerned about, he naively thought this might placate her worries. " despite certain people's catastrophizing, you're only hearing about it now! so it was really no big deal. "

she turns around, yelling back. " yes! you're immature! you've always been immature! " she was two seconds away from grabbing the garlic in her bag to throw at him. " because it is! if you can't recognize it as a compliment, that's your problem, not mine! " she wouldn't let up. she was already having a bad day! " i really don't need this right now, jean! like my life is literally falling apart! i have no running water! i can't sleep in my own bed! and bertie is allergic to flavour and seasoning so i haven't had a decent meal in twelve hours! "

" okay, okay! you're right, it's all my fault. i'm sorry, alright? " clearly there was no use arguing, and he couldn't help his instinctive desire to soothe her. old habits. " sounds like you're really suffering, " he continued earnestly, once again motioning to take the bags from her. " lets put these away and book you a spa day. hm? take your mind off everything... then maybe, i don't know, come to dinner with me? i promise to feed you better than edward. "

" on a scale from ten to one hundred, how much damage have you managed to cause ? " océane could not believe the current situation: no bad news had reached monaco. she had expected jean to make irreparable damage in a matter of weeks. now the question was: what had he done and had he comprehended the effect his actions had had on the people around him ? " personal or professional. " [ jean | @constraiint ]

" zero. in fact, i'd even say i'm in the negatives... as in i'm making positive impact. have you heard about my run club? " jean smiled smugly, it wasn't often he could defy his sister's expectations like this. though their standards of what constituted as 'damage' may differ, and he knew far too well that nothing went past her. his smile faltered. " i may have had a bit of a dramatic public encounter with suvi... and it's come to my attention that i may have brought an inappropriate plus one to a wedding... and i totaled a golf cart the day i arrived but don't worry - no witnesses. "

" i don't have to try to make you jealous. you get jealous when i breathe around another person. " it's exhausting! " like why the fuck would i tell you! if i did, you'd crash your golf cart in the side of someone's house because you're emotionally immature! " and a bad driver! she grabs her bags from his hands. now he's annoying really her. " i literally gave you a fucking compliment and instead you're invalidating me about my experience with one of your fucking friends. i didn't think our break up would traumatize you to act like a fucking red pill loser! " she storms off. accidentally, leaving one bag with him.

" i'm immature?! you're the one making baseless accusations and storming off over nothing! " his face flushed with frustration and embarrassment. now he really looked pathetic, he'd better get the last word in. " and how was that a compliment!! " jean called after her, ready to leave with some semblance of dignity because duh, saying he's 'not the worst' was hardly high praise. if only he hadn't noticed the bag that still remained in his hand. his feet were already moving before his mind could keep up. " hey, you forgot one. " his tone softened, desperate to diffuse the tension. " just let me carry those, please? "

    “ ah, no, that's better. yes, you brought a tiktoker to a royal wedding. that's classy. because there really are no single lower-ranking nobility women in this world anymore. what exactly does a travel vlogger do ? ”

" travel? mostly beach destinations, bikinis are involved... her content is tasteful. " jean didn't think it would require this much explanation, nor did he consider the possible public scrutiny. " it was short notice, alright? and i may have burned some - a lot of bridges with the lower-nobility ladies. "

" ...and then — oh, you'll appreciate this, araya's german prince prances into my kitchen in nothing but his boxers, bellowing for orange juice of all things ! not exactly the dignity one would hope for in a son-in-law, don't you think ? "

" i'm sure their expressions were priceless... and i can only imagine yours. " mikkel smiles absentmindedly at the thought, it was something out of a sitcom. " so was a verbal dressing-down in order, or silent judgement? "

" okay, but — like, all you do is waste your time so it's in character for you. " this little act he has going on is not cute, but fortunately for him, her mood became instantly better once freed from the weight of her bags. " honestly, i'm not even going to argue that because there's people worse than you, you know. like kaone for example. this place is like so fucking claustrophobic it had me hallucinating! i thought he was hot! "

" if you're trying to make me jealous, it's not working. " eye nearly twitching, he clearly was. " and don't diss my bro like that, okay? kaone's still hot even if he rejected you, or whatever it is that went down between you two. don't tell me, i really don't want to know. " jean cleared his throat. his words were not coming out as intended, so much for being nonchalant.

    “ for the love of everything that is holy, i am begging you to assure me you did not bring an escort as a plus one to a royal fucking wedding. and don't you dare tell me she's just an instagram model because everyone knows it's the same fucking thing. ” ― @constraiint

" no, of course not. i'm hurt you think so lowly of me... i mean her main following's on tiktok, it's completely different. she's a travel vlogger... or something. regardless - she's a classy girl, no one will think twice about it. "

" okay, but it literally does? you literally look at my story on your burner account. " not like she minded, it felt powerful to know he was still hung up on her. " well? " she repeats as she extends her arms, waiting for him to take the bags from her.

" what? i have no idea what you're talking about. as if i'd waste my time to- " he catches himself, this was exactly what she wanted, getting him all worked up and wrapped around her finger again. not today! and maybe there was some truth to the accusation... but there was no possible way she could know that. he set his jaw, the internal conflict clearly written across his face. " fine. only because i'm a gentleman. "

" jean... " giulia greets, tone hanging somewhere between humour and a warning. a light flick of the wrist bares the time – twenty minutes to spare ! she'll bite. " you're lucky i'm feeling philanthropic, " she starts, slipping onto the bar stool beside him. " just one then – wouldn't want you getting ideas. go on, impress me ! what drink will earn you a precious fifteen minutes of my company ? " if she's to listen to him mope over suvi, the drink should at least be good !

" excellent! i'm so honored, genuinely. " he theatrically placed a hand over his heart in show of gratitude before beckoning over the bartender. " an espresso martini for the lady. " italians and espresso, surely that was the correct choice? he subtly leaned towards her, the distance between them familiar (maybe overly so). jean flashed her an uncharacteristic, sheepish smile - as if their interaction was already some intimate secret. " i hope that's a passing grade. "

" if you're going to follow me around you can at least make yourself useful and carry my bags. " the odds of him following her were low considering they were both walking on the main pathway to their houses. " well? "

if anyone had been in their vicinity, jean could've died on the spot of embarrassment. not that he'd been outright following suvi - it'd be a lie to say he wasn't acutely aware of her presence in front of him, even if it was just coincidence. " typical of you to assume my world still revolves around you. " he should've left out that 'still'. a wince. " you have that handled, by the looks of it. "

    at 1400  koromiko  lane  with  jean  grimaldi  ―  @constraiint

" uh, yeah. of course! " jean was quick to affirm, though his expression said otherwise. he considered how best to break the news. he opted for confusion. " now that i think about it, hm... i may have offered. i can't remember. "

( @1nfatuated & @constraiint )

" you all have it so fucking wrong. if anything, this is the most appropriate event to get blackout drunk. no cameras, no journalists, no random aunties that will scold you for it later. " and no peasants! well, maybe just ones that act like peasants. for example, jean! " let's all grow the fuck up and not be scared to get a little wasted. like you're all literally going to be fifty soon anyway. " she hands everyone two shots. " cheers! " she downs it. ( @1nfatuated, @constraiint or @trxascrxs )

jean obediently downed the shots as if he were put under a trance, which wasn't entirely inaccurate. suvi had that sort of supernatural hold over him. he remembered, suddenly, that he'd decided to be nonchalant around her and consciously relaxed his posture. " you know i never turn down shots. " he cleared his throat, painfully aware of how blatantly submissive he'd just been. " i hate to admit it, but she has a point. let's party! " @trxascrxs @1nfatuated @sirenoire

" it's 12 degrees — why did they host this outside? "

" this should help, " jean smiled with encouragement, thrusting a drink into the duke's hand.