When Serena woke up the next morning, she still found herself completely exhausted. The pure excitement from the day before had worn her senses down. Her body ached from the stress of it all, and now the phrase "a new day, a new beginning" wasn't going to apply to her ever again. She still had to face all those photographers and reporters; not to mention her classmates and professors.

Minutes passed before she actually pushed herself to sit up on her bed. The morning sun bleached the carpet and warmed the room. Silence; it was something she had grown to appreciate back at school. She stretched her arms out, trying to work out the kinks on her shoulders. It felt like she had been in a car accident, though no outward bruises were visible, everything on the inside felt sore and stiff. She had tensed up for the blow of the news reports and rumors that had shocked her world yesterday, and now her body was paying in ten fold.

Did she have to go? She felt like her old teen self not wanting to get up for school that morning, but this time she couldn't just convince Luna to call her in sick. She couldn't fake a temperature with a blow dryer to the thermometer or a pinch to her cheeks to make herself look flushed. Though, to her, Darien was hardly ever right he had been yesterday. She had to act like an adult. She couldn't run away from these problems she was facing. She would go to the engagement luncheon today to visit with her socialite acquaintances; she would go to the unexpected press conference this morning to charm the media; she would do her duty as an adult.

A knock to the door jolted her from her thoughts. "Come in," she said softly with still a bit of grog in her eyes and voice, "Oh… good morning, Ami."

"Good morning," The short haired brunette gave her friend a half smile. She was still in her pajamas, but looked as fresh as ever; a special power that Ami must have possessed. "I didn't wake you, did I?" the med student asked her; noting the sleepy look still on her blond friend's face. "I can go back to—"

"No… I was awake," Serena interrupted. She could use the down to earth company of her roommate right now. Just to talk to someone normal would be a nice change from the craziness that was about to befall her for the rest of the weekend. "Are you hungry?" She asked with a smile, knowing the girls answer.

OOO

With the usual quietness of the Welcott home Serena was quite surprised by the hustle and bustle that she found the kitchen in that morning. Mr. Welcott hadn't kept an 'in-house' chef in the home since his daughters had started high school. There was never any need for one since he was always off on business and his girls had quickly learned the ways of restaurants and take out, but today was different, it seemed. With one head chef, three sous-chefs and several prep-cooks running around the kitchen there was little room to wonder to the fridge and find something for breakfast.

Both of the girls found themselves getting bumped into, constantly, by the hired help, and on several occasions they were yelled at for being in the help's way. "Let's just forget about breakfast for now, Ami." Serena said as she turned to leave the kitchen, but found herself running right into Luna, who was entering with a clip board in her hands.

"Oh! Serena!" Luna said trying her best to help the girl off the kitchen floor. "Are you alright? I didn't see you there?"

"Ugh…" Serena pulled herself up as she rubbed her back side, knowing something was going to be bruised. "Luna… What's going on in here?"

"With so many people in the house, you father decided to staff the entire property." Luna gave a tired smile; her job had gone from just assisting Mr. Welcott in business matters to running the entire Welcott household. "These are some of the chefs from the restaurant downstairs to help us out for now, but if things keep up the way they have been, we're going to have to get a full time cook…" Luna took a deep breath in as if she had something else to add. "Oh, by the way, breakfast is starting in a few minutes in the dining room," Luna muttered off as she started to write something on her clip board; she must have remembered whatever she had been pondering. "So much to do," she mumbled to herself as she finished her thought on the clipboard then looked up at Serena and Ami with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Serena started. "Ami and I don't need a cook to make anything this weekend. We can order out and eat from the fridge—" Serena chimed in, but found herself quickly interrupted.

"You and Ami aren't the only one's staying here for the weekend, Serena…" She flipped through her papers, looking for the list of people she had to accommodate for the week. "Let's see there's you're father, Mina, you, Ami, Me, a few of your father's associates, Darien Hart…"

"Darien Hart!?" Serena exclaimed, surprised. "Why does he have to stay here? Doesn't he have a hole he lives in or something? He's always here!" Ever since she had gotten back into contact with her family around every corner there he was. Bam! Darien Hart! She was getting a little annoyed by it. "Ugh… Ok, is he going to be at breakfast this morning, please say no?"

"No, he's getting a few things done for your father this morning. Thank goodness too; he's really lifting some weight off of my shoulders." She checked a few things off on her list and looked back at the girls. "You better get going. You know how your father feels about tardiness." The woman stuck the pen that she had been writing with in her hair and licked her lips before walking off to speak with the head chef… who only seemed to know French. Sacrebleu!

OOO

When Serena left the kitchen she was happy to find that the rest of the house was still relatively calm. Though there were a few maids hanging around, cleaning… something… they were pretty intent on being silent. Serena swung the door open to the dining room and was happy to see her father sitting at the head of the table. She hadn't seen him sitting there without the entire dining room filled with lawyers and paperwork since her mother was still alive. It was a nice sight to see.

"Good morning, Daddy," Serena's voice rang as she took a seat that had already been plated. She smiled as she directed Ami to sit next to her; knowing the girl might be a bit confused on where to start. Though she and Ami were still dressed in their flannels, Serena's father was clad in an Armani suit. It made Serena wonder if they were appropriately dressed, but that soon passed. No big deal.

"Good morning, Sweetheart. Good morning, Ami… that is your name, right?" Mr. Welcott looked over his newspaper and glasses as he peered at Ami with a kind, fatherly, smile. "I'm afraid we didn't get a proper introduction due to yesterday's events." He continued to fold his newspaper so that he might put it to rest for the time being.

"Yes… Yes, that is my name…Ami…" Ami said meekly, with a nervous giggle as she avoided eye contact with the powerful man.

"Hmm. Good," he took a bite from his dry rye toast and looked to his daughter; being sure to finish the bite before speaking to her. "I trust that you both slept well?" He asked turning his head back towards Ami to include her as well.

"Good morning, everyone!" a blond bombshell smiled widely as she burst into the room. She too, like her father, was completely dressed. Her white Bermuda shorts and flower well fitted blouse looked bright and fresh.

"Mina, you're late." Mr. Welcott reprimanded as she stared at his youngest daughter from over his glasses. "Until Serena is of and married we will be having these meals together on a regular basis. I expect you to be on time." His voice was brutal and full of strength making even the most confident sink in her chair slightly like she had done when she was a little girl.

"Yes, Daddy…" Mina said with much less zest than she had a moment or two ago. She hated it when her father made her feel small. He liked doing it on a constant basis too; one of the few reasons why she spent so little time at home now-a-days. "So…" She grabbed a piece of melon from the plate of fruit before her and put it in her mouth.

"So…" Serena suddenly felt bad for her sister. She knew Mina didn't deserve the harsh treatment from her father, and she also knew that her father did love Mina, but for some reason… Ugh, never mind. The elder of the two sisters looked to her father, trying to cut the tension in the air as soon as possible. "So, what time do I have to be ready for the press conference and luncheon today, Daddy?"

"The Conference starts at ten thirty… Lunch starts at twelve o'clock," her father answered as he picked up his news paper one more time; a fork full of eggs on its way to his wide open mouth.

"Oh! Serena," Mina's mood suddenly lifted at the mention of the two 'exciting' events that were taking place that day. "What are you planning on wearing?"

Serena took a drink out of her orange juice and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know… I have this purple stripped shirt and some corduroys that would work, I guess." She took another sip of her juice thinking nothing of the choice in which she had just, randomly, made.

Ami chimed in, ever the pleasant girl. "Oh! I love that shirt!" She said; her voice sweet and soft all at the same time.

"Corduroys? Are you serious?" Mina, fashion extraordinaire scoffed at the idea. "No one wears corduroys and a J.D. Nickel—"

"J.C. Penny." Serena corrected.

"Yeah, whatever. –to a press conference. This thing is going to be everywhere. E! Extra!, Access Hollywood, MTV… You can't wear A.C. Lenny."

"It's J.C. Penny… and it's not a brand it's a store, Mina." Serena corrected her sister again. Hadn't the girl at least seen one in passing?

This time Mina ignored her sister's interruption and went on; only rolling her eyes at her sister's silly store. "From what I've seen my waist is a little bit thinner than yours… and my boobs," she looked down at each of the girls and poked them a few times. "Are a bit bigger… thanks to Dr. Dre—Drew—Dreshton! I can never remember his name… Anyways! You're not going to fit right in anything that I own. But luckily," Mina smiled as if she were incredibly pleased with herself. "I know it's the weekend and really short notice, but I'm sure I could pull a few strings and get in touch with Versace or Prada or someone."

"That's crazy, Mina! Look, I'm perfectly happy with what I have," Serena finally cut in, after looking at her sister for the last few moments with a dropped jaw. It wasn't the names that she had just dropped that had stunned her. She knew quite well that her father was wearing Armani, Luna was wearing Valentino, and that Mina, right in front of her, was wearing Ralph Lauren. It was the simple fact that these designers would actually bow down to any demand the heiress made, especially with only an hour until the press conference and a few after that until the Luncheon. "And you're not going to be able to get them to do that, anyway. No way!"

OOO

A few hours later Serena looked at herself in the mirror in a new Temperley London sapphire blue dress. With black detail at her bust and lace at the hem the dress was quite adorable on her, but so unnecessary. Yes, Mina had won.

She was now waiting for the press conference to start, and her stomach was doing back flips. What was she going to say? What kind of questions were they going to ask? How was she going to answer these people?

"How do I look, good?" a male voice sounded behind her. Serena looked up to see a blond hair, green eyes man playing with his hair slightly. Only moving a few strands ever so much to one side or the other. The man looked just like Darien… well not just like Darien. His eyes didn't have the same dark intent that pulled you in every time you looked at him… And he was blond…

Serena pointed at him quite rudely; a bit shocked at who she was seeing. "Are you… Are you Andrew?" She asked. He was all grown up in his black cashmere jacket, grey top, and jeans… goodness, she hadn't seen him in, what? Six or seven years? He's definitely grown.

"Yeah… and you would make you, Serena? Right?" He pointed back and gave her a charming smile. "And we're getting married…" he gave her a look up and down, assessing her looks and body before he made his final decision. "Yeah… I could marry you," he nodded to himself.

"Wait… wha?" Serena stuttered, a bit surprised, and not knowing how to react to such a quick evaluation. This guy didn't even know her… yeah he didn't seem rub her 'the wrong way' like his brother did, but… he didn't even know her! Then again, she had said yes with no preconceptions of what he was like in either personality or looks… so who was she to judge, really?

"Come on, babe, we're on," he said, his words suddenly reminding her of the rock star mentality. With no time to object, he put his arm around her small waist and led her out onto the stage. Without a second's recognition a thousand bright light bulbs went off all at once; catching her stunned look of confusion on film forever.

"SERENA! ANDREW! SERENA! SERENA! ANDREW!" The reporters yelled all at once so that neither could fully hear their name clearly. The room was loud, filled with about forty reporters all wanting the same thing; answers.

"Ok, ok settle down." A representative of Hart Enterprises opened, he put his hands up trying to get everyone's attention and quiet them down. "Ok, I have Serena Welcott and Andrew Hart here, prepared to make a brief statement and answer a few questions. Ok? This is going to a short press conference only a few questions will be allowed and they all should be appropriate, got it?" He pointed to a few key reporters, all with different badges, but all having one thing in common. They were all from dirty tabloids bent of selling lies.

When the Hart Rep stood down and motioned that Serena and Andrew could now step forward to the microphone Andrew was the first to get to the podium. "Ok! Look. Look." He started with a charming smile. It seemed as if he was going to be playing this all by ear. Had he given any thought to this at all? "First, I would like to say that the rumors of Miss Welcott and I getting married are true." Several bulb flashes suddenly sparked, followed by a few sporadic ones. "The wedding is going to be taking place some time this summer, but other than that we don't have any plans set in stone. The Hart and Welcott Enterprises have been close friends for some time. Our families have known each other for years. In fact, without the help from one to the other; I don't believe either us would be where we are today. Serena and I have known each other since we were very young. Good friends, good friends," as Andrew went on Serena started to notice certain quarks about Andrew that others didn't seem to home onto. When he lied he licked his lips more than usual.

Now, most of what the man had said was the truth. It was true that their two families had been close, but Serena barely knew Andrew. They had hardly spoken to each other in their youth. She had spent more time in Darien's presence bickering than she had in Andrew's, and he was confirming it all with his excessive licking.

The next thing Serena knew Andrew was finished with his statement. He had spoken for both of them, which in truth didn't bother her so much. She didn't really want to go in front of all those photographers and video cameras and deliver a statement, and she was happy to take the back seat on this one, but as soon as he was finished it was her turn. The reporters seemed done with Andrew. Now all they wanted was to talk to her; ask her questions.

"Serena! Serena! There are allegations all of the internet and tabloids of your marriage. When was it decided that you and Andrew would be getting hitched?"

Serena struggled to look at the reporter who had asked her the question, as she was quickly blinded by lights as soon as she had stepped up to the several sets of microphones that were propped up on the podium. "Uh… Last month." She answered simply. Not having much more to say than that.

"Come on! If you two are so in love, let's see a kiss!" One reporter yelled out from the back of the crowd. Serena suddenly stiffened. She hardly knew this guy and now here she was being told to kiss a man in front of the millions of people that were going to be watching this press conference later that night on their entertainment channel.

Andrew chuckled and looked at Serena. Apparently he had been prepared to put on a show if need be. He snaked his hand around her waist and pulled her forward dramatically, like in one of those cheesy 1940s films; looked into her eyes. The entire thing felt staged to her, but apparently everyone else was just licking it up. Cameras started to flash all over the place. To Serena, the entire room was one big light bulb.

She took a deep breath in as she moved in for the kill; smashing his lips to hers in a long passionate kiss. With such a tacky lip lock like this; wasn't she supposed to pop her leg up romantically for some reason, as if she were enjoying this?

She didn't push him away. Oh, no! That would have looked bad, but she definitely didn't enjoy it. Andrew seemed like a nice of enough guy; a little flighty and completely tainted by this lime light life he lived in, but nice just the same. Serena just didn't enjoy it. Weren't first kisses supposed to be… ugh… she didn't know… warm… not making your stomach turn in discomfort, but more like butter flies were swirling around all over it? The good kind of, "I'm going to throw up" feeling. Wow, Serena that sounded really romantic… When she finally got out of the kiss all she could do was lick her lips and wish she could wipe her mouth of the slobber he had just left all over them, but she refrained from doing that, and tried to look as if she had enjoyed it with a smile.

The press seemed to have enjoyed the display of affection; they clapped, and cheered them on. Many cameras went off. Thank goodness that had appeased them. Serena didn't think she could do it again.

"Miss Welcott! Mr. Hart went into some detail about the relationship between your two families in his initial statement; was there anyone else, besides the two of you, which had a hand in this decision?"

Andrew suddenly put his arm around her, startling her slightly. "Well, unfortunately our parents did push the two of us together… they introduced us in the first place, and even persuaded me to finally pop the question, but honestly, what marriage doesn't have those pesky parents and in-laws putting in their two cents, right?" He laughed, allowing the others in the room to join in on the little joke. Serena, quite honestly, didn't understand what was so funny about this. As a man in his prime, Andrew was sure taking this well.

As Andrew let his fiancée loose from his hold he backed off, allowing another reporter to ask a question, "Speaking of your family ties. Serena! What is your relation with Darien Hart! Is it true that you have a sexual relationship with him, and are carrying his child?"

"Wha!?" Serena suddenly started to feel her anger and frustration from the day before swell in her stomach. "Look here!" She started to point an angry finger at the reporter who had asked the question. "You half witte—"

Andrew suddenly butted in, trying to stop Serena from making a fool of herself on national television or in the papers. "What Serena is trying to say is that any allegations of a relationship with my brother are completely false."

"Yeah!" Serena added trying to get some word in on the matter. "And the truth of it is that I don't even like Darien Hart! He's a big jerk!" She wasn't necessarily sure if that was appropriate for the press to hear, but she was being honest and she couldn't help that it had just come out that way. She tried to calm her herself so that she wouldn't come off as childish to the press, but found that it might be a little too late for that. "Darien just isn't my type. So let it be heard right now, because I don't want to hear any more about the matter. Darien and I have never and will never have a relationship together."

OOO

Serena smiled as he looked at her profile in her full length mirror. Sure, the expectations and prices of these designer clothes were pretty ridiculous, but god did they look good once they were on. She smoothed out a wrinkle in the knee length dress suit she was wearing as she admired the completely white, fitted, Dolce and Gabbana ensemble. It was pretty, no, it was gorgeous on her.

"How did it go?" Ami asked from the doorway as she stepped into Serena's bedroom. "The press conference, I mean."

"You know how it went, I'm sure you saw it." Serena said a bit sarcastically as she continued to admire the image of herself in the mirror. Out of the two outfits her sister had arranged for her this was her favorite. She just couldn't stop looking at herself and smoothing out any small wrinkle that might invade the perfection of it.

"Yeah… I did, but I think you handled it well. Andrew seemed nice…" Ami added as she looked at her feet with a smile. "You're lucky. He's so cute… and I can't believe he kissed you! The girls back at school are going to be so jealous."

Serena sighed. "Yeah…" was all she could muster out. He was cute, charming, funny… but he wasn't in love with her… and she wasn't in love with him. She was happy to do this for her father; she just wished she could love the man that she was marrying for the family business. Oh, well… maybe she could learn to love him.

OOO

As Serena looked out the window as the limo rounded the bend she got her very first look at the Hart Estate. It was beautiful. Unlike, the modern contemporary look of her father's condo above one of his hotels, this place was older, more classic. Its character had been etched out one hundred years ago in its brick walls and lush grounds. Serena was left in awe of its beauty as she stepped out of the car and onto its paved driveway.

"You've made it; I see," A smiling Mr. Hart greeted as he walked up to the car, both of his sons in tow. "Most of the guests have arrived and are around back; your father included." He continued then held out a hand to Ami who stood quietly behind Serena. "You must be Serena's friend, Ami. Daniel told me that you would be accompanying my soon to be daughter in law."

Ami took his hand and shook it with little vigor. This entire trip had been full of surprises. She had met many people that, a month ago, she had only thought of as figments of entertainment's imagination.

"Darien," Mr. Hart turned to his eldest son with a smile. "Would you mind taking Miss Luna and Serena's friend around back."

Darien nodded and gave Ami a dashing smile. He held his arm out to her and then to Luna who was still making sure that everything was in order with the driver and her clipboard, which she would be leaving behind. "I would be honored," he said charmingly and led the two to the back, where the luncheon was to be held.

"Alright, Andrew knows what to do next," Mr. Hart said as he patted his youngest son on the shoulder. "Andrew, take care of Serena, I'm sure she's quite overwhelmed. And Serena," he looked to the beautiful young blond with soft, gentle eyes. "Don't feel too nervous, ok? You'll get used to being in the spot light."

What? Serena was a little confused. Did it seem that obvious to the people around her that she wasn't comfortable with all of this fame and glamour? That, by know, two years after leaving this world of money that she had grown used to her meager living at school?

Andrew, like his brother had with the other two women before, offered his arm out the waiting Serena. He winked and gave her a smile before leading her into the house. "We're going to be announced and come through the back of the house. It's a little bit cheesy and overdone, but it's what my father thought was appropriate."

Both of them walked in silence into the Hart Property; their shoes clicking against the old wood floors before stopping right in front of a set of aged double doors leading out into the back gardens. The room felt static as only the sounds of their quiet breathing and the muted playing of orchestra music from outside struggled to fill the room. "Before we go out," Andrew turned to her and started to dig in his pocket. "I was supposed to give this to you before the press conference, but I forgot. Luckily, no one noticed…" he chuckled. "Or that would have been hard to explain." He pulled out a little black velvet box from his jacket pockets and opened it to reveal a hideously large tri-stoned diamond engagement ring.

Serena suddenly started to feel sick at the sight of the diamonds. Nothing had seemed quite as real as this. She held back a gag before he took her hand and slipped the heavy thing on. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate such a gesture of grandeur; it was just that this entire ordeal hadn't quite felt real until that very moment. "Oh, god…" She mumbled to herself trying to hold back the rumbling feeling in her gut, thank goodness Andrew only thought of her words as a statement of surprise at such a large, expensive ring.

"May I now present the future Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Hart!" an announcer sound from outside as the doors before them swung open. Andrew led the shell shocked Serena out onto the large stone porch, smiling and filled with a false appeasing happiness.

"Thank you all for coming," He said over the crowd as they clapped, whistled and cheered. "Please enjoy the refreshments, and have a good time." After finishing the greeting he let go of Serena's arm quite easily and didn't bother to tell her where he was going or that he even was. This entire union just felt so damn empty, was her only thought as she met with Ami and Luna who were chatting with each other on the back lawn.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it Serena?" Luna said with a smile, as if she was reading Serena's mind. "Just a little peck here and a little smooch there, some media pictures, and a few good words, it's not that hard." Mr. Welcott's assistant tried to make her feel better, but it wasn't working.

"I'll live through it," Serena finished as Ami handed a glass of soda to her. Thank goodness for Ami. The girl was a life saver. "Oh, god…" Serena nearly crumbled to the floor, wishing she could hide as Darien started to head in their direction. What in the world did he want; to laugh in the glory of his brother's future wife?

"Honestly, Serena I don't understand why you dislike him so— Well, hello Darien. This party is lovely." Luna smiled at the handsome new arrival. He was much taller than the petite as she had to put a bit of effort to look up at his over six foot frame.

"I'm glad, Miss Luna," Darien have her a charmingly handsome smile as he shifted his attention to the future Mrs. Hart. "I hope that it meets your expectations, Miss Welcott. It was all done for you, after all." His voice was deep filled with this sultry sexuality that Serena couldn't recognize.

"It's fine." Serena said sharply, realizing that she sounded a bit unappreciative to the people around me. "I'm mean… It's lovely," she gave a Darien small smile and took another sip of her soda. "Thank you." She added in as an after thought.

"You look nice." He added, gesturing to the all white outfit she was wearing.

"Thank you," the same quick tone she had had before entered her words. She was on guard, waiting for him to make his move; make her feel small and stupid; all while others still thought him witty and charming.

"Darien!" a woman's voice sounded from behind him, her accent with a slight Latina feel. "Darien! There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere," her voice, like many around, had some form of falseness within it. Something that Serena just couldn't believe in. She was finding a lot of that lately in the people around her.

Darien sighed with a little frustration as Rei Lopez made her way across the lawn with a glass of red wine in one hand and a hand bag in the other. "Oh! Hello! My name is Rei. You must be the bride to be. Congratulations!" She smiled then looked at Darien with a slight glare. She grumbled slightly muttering under her breath and took a sip of wine from the glass. "You left me all alone with them…" then turned back towards Serena with a smile. "You must be so excited. I know I would be… marrying one of the most sought after bachelors in the world… well it just makes me excited for the day Darien finally pops the question," she giggled trying to make it sound as if she were joking, though secretly she wasn't.

"Oh… I didn't realize the two of you were that close?" Serena gave Rei a charming smile, allowing the super model to go on, and loving the fact that Darien looked rather annoyed by the entire conversation.

"Oh! Yes, of course we are. We've been together for five months?" She looked up at Darien as if asking for a confirmation and getting none. "Well, that's like five years in Hollywood time."

Serena laughed and took another sip from her glass, eyeing Darien with a hint of mischievousness. It was his turn to feel uncomfortable. "I'm so happy for you two." She smiled and tilted her head, trying to give off the feeling of sincerity.

"Yes… I—" Rei was suddenly knocked from behind as some poor server tripped over his own feet and fell right into the Super model, jolting her forward and releasing the red liquid out of the confines of its wine glass and all over Serena's beautiful white Dolce and Gabbana jacket.

Serena yelled out a small scream watching the liquid fly. No! She thought to herself as her eyes started to water. First of all the outfit was outrageously expensive, and not only that but she had looked great! Perfect, for the first time in front of Darien Hart. He had had no reason to pick on her, or make some snooty comment about her figure, and now… now all of that was ruined.

"Oh my goodness!" Luna exclaimed as she grabbed her cloth napkin from under her drink and started to dab at the coat.

"What the hell do you think you're doing you stupid—" Rei suddenly exploded as she berated the poor server who had bumped into her. "Look at her outfit. It's ruined!" She continued on her tirade, while the poor man cringed in fear at the Super Model with razor like claws. The woman was harsh, and unforgiving.

"Rei, calm down." Darien grabbed the raven haired woman's arm trying to pull her away from the initial assailant. "It's alright. I'll take Serena into the house and get her cleaned up." He looked at Serena with a sigh. "The rest of you, please continue to enjoy the party." Darien offered his arm yet again, but this time to only Serena.

When they entered the house and walked to the kitchen the entire place was almost dead. Since the whole event had been catered, there had been almost no reason to use the kitchen, and everyone was enjoying the beautiful day out in the sun in the back gardens. Darien and Serena found themselves alone.

"Sit," Darien ordered as she started to go through the old oak cabinets throughout the kitchen. He looked under the sink and found a bottle of Dawn dishwashing soap, which he pulled out and set on the granite counter. When he noticed that Serena hadn't moved her looked at her with those same sincere eyes that he had used the day before. "I mean it; just take off the jacket and sit, ok?"

Serena glared, not wanting to take orders from the man, but did anyways. She slipped the jacket off revealing a lovely simple sleeveless dress that just hugged every bit of her curves. Even without the jacket the white ensemble was still breath taking. "What are you doing?" She asked as she lifted herself up on one of the bar stools that accompanied the huge island in the middle of the kitchen.

"My grandmother…" He continued to look through cabinets trying to find his last ingredient. "Had a recipe for wine stains… I'm just looking for… Ahah!" when he looked into a small cabinet in the corner filled with first aid supplies he grabbed the brown bottle that was hidden in the back. "Hydrogen Peroxide!"

"That's a twenty-five-hundred dollar jacket. Don't you think that we should leave it to the professionals to take care of?" She asked, a bit snaky, and upset that the jacket had been so quickly ruined after obtaining it.

"Are you insulting my grandmother?" he asked with a raised eye brow then continued to look at the jacket. "Look, I've used it on Hugo Boss slacks, on Versace jackets, and Ralph Lauran shirts, will you please just trust me? It works."

Serena grumbled and crossed both of her arms in a guarded position. "Fine, just do it. It can't get any worse, anyways." She said.

He took a clean wash cloth from a small pile next to the sink and wet it a little. Setting it down next to his two ingredients, he uncapped the soap and started to squeeze it onto the jacket; nothing happened. Next he twisted off the cap of the brown bottle and slowly started to pour the clear liquid onto the jacket. The stain just started to fade away, like magic.

"Oh, my god! It's gone!" Serena squealed as the once perfectly white jacket was white again. "I can't believe it!" Without thinking she smiled to Darien, happy that the expensive piece of clothing had been saved.

"See, I told you." Darien chuckled as she admired the beauty of the smiling Serena. This was the first time he had ever been able to make her smile. The first time… and they had known each other for quite awhile.

"What's that for?" Serena pointed to the wet wash cloth that he had grabbed earlier, wondering why he had it since just the mixture alone had removed the horrible stain on her clothing.

"That," he picked up the wash cloth and handed it to her, "is for your make-up. Your crying has made it run a little. You look like a cheap hooker." He chuckled as she suddenly started to panic and race to the metal toaster on the counter to look at her reflection.

"Oh, god!" Serena tried to dab off the running mascara but seemed to be having a little bit of a problem. She did! She did look like a cheap hooker! "Ugh… I can't go back out there like this," she sighed, continuing to try, but finding no light at the end of the tunnel.

"Sit down," Darien ordered again.

Serena, so disheartened by the bad luck she had already dealt with, sighed as she went back to the stool she had been sitting on before. She threw the wet wash cloth down and held her head in one hand, leaning on granite for the support of her sorrow. How could anything possibly get any worse? Wait… don't ask that, knowing her luck, it would.

Darien took the washcloth in one hand and looked at her. "Sit up straight." He said, again in his demanding voice, which yet again she listen to. He started to dab at her face, carefully taking off the smudged and dripping make up; being extra careful to be gentle. "You know, I'm disappointed in you," he said as he flicked his eyes down at her briefly then went back to dabbing the make up off of her face.

"Oh, because I was so trying to live up to your expectations," Serena remarked sarcastically. She sat incredibly still, not wanting the man to poke her in the eye or smudge anything more than it already was. "Ok, I'll bite… why?"

"Do you know why I'm not the one you're marrying and Andrew is?" he asked, stopping for a moment and looking at her, his face hard. Before she had a moment to respond he answered for her. "Because I said no. They asked me to do it, and I said no," Darien went back to dabbing the makeup carefully off of her face.

"That's not a surprise. We're not exactly best friends, now are we?" Serena added matter-of-factly.

"Yes, I know, you don't even like me," he added, quoting the press conference from earlier that day. "But that's not the reason I said no, Serena." He started to move farther from her eyes, getting the remnants of what had dripped down to her cheeks. "I said no, because I didn't want to marry someone that I didn't love; that I didn't care about. There's no respect in that… and quite honestly, I thought you would say no too. I thought you were smarter than this."

"My dad has done a lot for me and my sister… it's the least I can do." Serena tried to defend herself, but knew there was no way she would actually sound right in this matter. Marrying someone just because it would bring together two fortunes was an archaic practice… and yet she had still said yes. Darien was right, but even so, she couldn't go back on her word now. She had promised to help her father out, and that promise she would keep.

"You're throwing your life away, Cotton Tail." He said finishing up and looking intently down at her. "Andrew's a good guy… but he's not the one for you. You two have nothing in common."

"Well, I haven't come across anyone who's right for me anyway. Might as well get it over with," Serena said sharply.

"The hunt is the best part," Darien smirked then looked down at her perfectly shaped pink lips. He dabbed the washcloth for no particular reason around the side of them then leaned down and laid a soft kiss across them. It wasn't passionate or incredibly hot. It was just warm and soft. He had been unbelievably gentle as his lips met with hers for the first time and as soon as it started it was over. "I had to try it out for myself," he added with a gorgeous smile.

Serena sat completely stunned. She hadn't expected it at all and really didn't know what to think of the entire thing. She didn't like Darien. She didn't like how he treated her half the time and didn't appreciate his spot light mentality, but that kiss had been something else. She laughed, a bit embarrassed, not knowing what to say.

"Don't read too much into, sweetheart. I just have to seduce you before my brother does."

"Ugh!" Serena glared at him, pushing him away as she got to her feet. "You're such an egotistical asshole, you know that? Stay away from me!" She took her jacket from the counter and stomped out of the room, her white heeled shoes clacking the entire way out of the house.

OOO

Author's Note: So, sorry about how long it's taken me to get this chapter out. I hope I made it up to you by having an extra long chapter. I just started a new job at a hotel and now I seem to have no time! With 32 hours at the hotel and 16 hours a week at my school, my time has now been split by my boyfriend and my roommate. Finding time to sit by myself in my 'writing spot' (Yes, I have one of those. I don't like to write anywhere else) has been really hard, and I've actually been wanted to finish this chapter for about a week now, but have had no time.

I hope you like it. Just so you know that mixture does, in fact, get out wine stains. And all the outfits that I put on Serena are actually outfits that I found at the Saks Fifth Avenue website, and that jacket… yeah that jacket actually does cost about $2,500.

Now that I work at a hotel I've come up with some new ideas for another story that I would like to write as soon as I finish this one. It's going to be entitled "The Palmer House Suites" so look forward to that starting as soon as this one is finished.

I can't think of anything else to say other than please tell me what you guys think. I would really like to know.