Kissing The Wind

Sydnee was standing together with her classmates who wore big smiles upon their lips. The day had come that they had completed highschool. She was nervous and ecstatic at the same time.

The duke did not attend her graduation day but the butler by the duke’s side was with her. He kept on reminding her that she should not be nervous, but the more he reminded her, the more nervous Sydnee was.

“Alright, alright, I got it,” Sydnee said and sighed. She waved her hand to let him known that it was her turn to receive the highschool diploma. She walked towards the stage.

“Congratulations!” The director said to her and smiled.

She received it with a smile and stood steadily on the stage to let the person below took a picture of her. Then she stepped down from the stage.

“You’re beaming too much. Please hide your smile or else I won’t see a thing!” Selena joked when she was back to her seat. The girl was sitting beside her and was teasing her since earlier.

Sydnee rolled her eyes. “Stop that. There are many eyes on us, right now.”

Selena giggled but stopped teasing Sydnee. She was happy because she had completed her mission in that academy. During the past few months, she was observing Sydnee and even tapped a wire to listen to Sydnee’s activities outside the academy. But even doing so, Sydnee never got in touch with any of the known spies around the kingdom. She was sure that Sydnee was not a spy and she totally let her guard down in front of the girl.

The graduation day also signified that she should go back to the palace. Having Sydnee as her friend during the past few months, Selena was already accustomed with her. It was a pity that she studied in the academy only to complete the mission.

After the graduation ceremony, Sydnee and Selena bid goodbye with each other. Sydnee took a ride towards Obando while Selena took a ride towards the capital.

Sydnee looked beyond the car’s window. She watched as the sun set on the west. The glass was down so the cool breeze was fanning her face.

“Young Lady, the duke instructed me to bring you outside for dinner,” the butler who was sitting on the passenger seat said. There were only three people inside the car. She, the driver, and Duke Theodore’s most trusted butler.

“Okay,” she said and cleared her throat. “Is he alone?”

“Lady Geneva and Catarina would be there also.”

Sydnee knitted her brows. She did not want to be with Catarina even for a minute, that’s why she had been avoiding the girl since a few months ago. But tonight, she could not escape her any longer. She sighed again.

Not long after, the car parked in front of the restaurant. Sydnee froze in her seat. It was the same restaurant where Anthony brought her a year ago. If she was not mistaken, Anthony’s family owned this restaurant.

The driver opened the back door for her. “Young Lady,” he greeted.

Without a choice, Sydnee drew a breathe and hopped off the car. She walked towards the restaurant’s entrance while the butler was following her behind. Just like what she remembered not long ago, it had the same interior design. There seemed to be no changes at all.

“Young Lady, this way please,” the butler said.

She followed him. After a few minutes, she arrived at the VIP room that Duke Theodore had booked in advance. The truth was that she believed that this dinner celebration was not needed, but in order to put up with the tradition, she had no choice but to greet them with her perfected smile as she expressed her gratitude.

At first she was surprised to see some unfamilair faces inside the huge VIP room. It seemed like both Lady Geneva and Duke Theodore had invited a lot of guests for the dinner celebration.

“Now that you have completed high school, it is time for you to choose the course you want for college. What do you want to study?” Lady Geneva asked while grinning widely. If she had not known, she would think that Lady Geneva was happy for her. It was no wonder that nobles tend to fool the public easily.

“Thank you for inquiring, mother. I have not chosen a course yet, but I definitely no disappoint you,” Sydnee said and she too smiled broadly at the Lady.

All the guests had an approving look on their faces. But Sydnee just wanted to end it all. Her lips were twitching because of non-stop smiling to put an act for the guests. She sighed secretly.

But she froze when someone entered the VIP room and greeted everyone in sight. Lady Geneva beamed excitedly and stood. “Duke Anthony, it is nice to have you here. Thank you for accepting my invitation.”

Anthony smiled at Lady Geneva and lowered his head to greet the lady. He then looked at Sydnee’s direction. The smile on his lips deepend. “It was fortunate to finally meet your daughter, My Lady.”

“It is my pleasure, Duke.” Lady Geneva then turned to Sydnee. “Come here, child.”

Sydnee was trembling because of nervousness upon meeting Anthony’s eyes. It had been almost a year that they did not meet and Anthony had changed greatly, from being a gentleman to an imposing Duke.

The last thing she remembered about him was the note that she placed on the table, stating that she wanted to go back home. She did not even say goodbye to him face to face. It was indeed a rude behavior but she was still innocent back then and did not know the basic courtesy of being a noble.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Sydnee tried hard not to bite her lips as she stood in front of Anthony.

Lady Geneva noticed the weird atmosphere between the two and she cleared her throat. “Duke, this is my daughter, Sydnee Mondragon. Sydnee, he is the Duke of Consolacion, Duke Anthony Bermeda.”

She saluted and greeted him. When she raised her head again, Anthony was smiling gently at her.

“Your daughter is beautiful. Congratulations, Lady Geneva. Here is my gifts for your daughter. I hope that she will continue to strive harder for the betterment of the Kingdom.”

Anthony signaled the butler to hand over the gifts that were placed inside the chests. Lady Geneva then ordered the maids waiting for orders in the corner to put the chests aside.

“Thank you for your generous gifts, Duke  Bermeda,” Sydnee mumbled.

Anthony looked at Sydnee who had grown a lot since the last time he had seen her.  He was amazed when he learned that Duke of Obando accepted her as an adopted daughter. Sydnee really exceed his expectations.

“You are welcome,” he whispered.