Peyton Griffin's POV

When everything is perfect, a euphoric feeling courses through our veins. From the tips of our toes to the crown of our heads. Nerve endings will go haywire, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. It gets so perfect that you want to pinch yourself to ensure it's not a dream.

That Ladies and Gents is the feeling of kissing Caleb Parks.

As the tears pour down our faces, I kiss him as hard as he kisses me, but we don't fight for dominance. I allow him to explore every corner of my mouth and return the favour.

If I'm being honest, it's the best kiss I have ever had because I can't explain it.

A seed of doubt plants itself in my mind; if Caleb was a novice as everyone claims him to be, how is it possible he is this skilled with his mouth?

It's a shame that the person giving me such a euphoric feeling will never see me again, and this kiss will remain a memory.

As the kiss progressed, I chose this moment to answer the question I had asked myself earlier tonight. Jordan may have been the man I thought was for me a few months ago, but little did I know how wrong I was. And I am hardly ever wrong.

If it was Jordan that wanted something from me, and if he got fed up with asking, he would forget about it and pretend I didn't exist for a couple of weeks.

I know it sounds like a toxic relationship, but hey, could you blame me?

Look at the man that raised me and how my concept of love is as appealing as watching a rat trying to do doggie style with a snake.

I won't point fingers because I know we are all at fault for our downfalls, but sometimes I think about where it all started.

Now I don't mean my Grand Papi or Father dearest. I'm talking about the sole reason for my practical existence. The reason I don't have a woman to call a mother. The reason why I am who I am today.

The British Empire.

The rightful heir to it would be my sister and me. But after experiencing how my life could be without it, I find myself thinking, was it all worth it?

Could I still stay selfish and still be selfless?

Could I continue living here, push the consequences aside and just enjoy my life for a moment?

How ironic that even the woman who birthed me knew that I would know little to no joy in this life yet. I was still forced to live in it.

I do what I do for the people I love. For the people, I live for. For the people who deserve so much more than the life, they had been dealt with since birth. Most importantly, I do what I do because I know deep within me, I don't deserve the happiness I want for these people. I would gladly squash all chances of getting it if they got a chance to have theirs through that.

So without further ado, I pull out of the kiss and look into hazel mirrors.

Time slows down. The broken girl I see in his eyes is far from the picture I depict myself as.

He softly rubs his hand on my face. Our laboured breaths and the crunching of Jack's chewed popcorn can be heard in the room.

"If you let me go tonight, I promise I will be there when you get your happy ending. Deal?" I say, still keeping eye contact.

Caleb sighs, "You're not going to stay to meet her, are you?"

I looked at him because he already knew my answer, "What if I say you are my happy ending, that you are the person that should never leave? Because the ending is already here."

I gave him a small laugh at his attempt at humour, but I cut it short. I know what he is doing. I've done it countless times to get out of sticky situations.

"Do we have a deal, Parks?" I try to keep my voice monotone as I look anywhere, but his eyes, afraid to see who will look back at me.

My eyes land on Jack in the background. His eyes harden as he chews the white snack. I presume he has put his gift of computers to use. He must have found out why I couldn't stay, but no matter how good he is at hacking the net, he'll never know the secret Marcel told me on Halloween night.

"Deal."

I surprise us both and lean upwards. I peck Caleb at the corner of his lips, not wanting to make it too memorable because it might just be our last.

"Goodbye, Caleb."

Now that his hands were no longer cradling my face, I felt naked, but I was not going to give in to my desire; to go up to him and hug him one last time.

With one last smile, I walked out of the music room and looked at Jack with a sombre expression on my face.

"Do me a favour and call the pilot to the private jet."

I was on autopilot after that; I packed up my shit and slipped his jacket back on. I didn't even register when the guys put my luggage into the car. To keep this goodbye short and prevent my resolve from crumbling, I only allowed Jack, Jacob and Shawn to come along. I doubted Caleb would have come, and I'm not sure I can face him again.

We stood in front of the private jet on the airstrip. The charcoal colour of the machine reminded me of how bleak my future would be.

"And to think I was this close to having my way with you," Jacob says. His attempt at humour makes a sad smile grace my face.

"I would be lying if I said that you haven't grown on me over the last few months," I say, "You all are aware of what would happen if I stayed here any longer."

"Yes, but isn't your happiness worth the aftermath?" Jack asks.

"If you looked at it that way, I would be selfish. The people I left back in the British Empire are waiting, and I am wanted, dead or alive but still wanted the least." I reply when Shawn sighs loudly.

"Before you leave, I have a deal to offer you." He looks me in the eye to gauge my expression, but my features are already schooled.

"If you promise that when all the heat in the Empire blows over and you are still alive and kicking, what happens next?" He cocks a brow.

"How exactly is that a deal? You do know how deals work, brother?" Jacob looked at Shawn with a pessimistic eye.

"He's right, but I don't think you want to make this deal, Shawn. Things might get messy, and I don't mean in the Empire," I advise him, but I know it's in vain.

This is my fate, and I have no other option but to follow through despite the drastic consequences.

"When everything blows over, and no one wants your head on a silver platter, promise me one thing?"

"What?"

"You come back to him."

-

I stared out the window as the clouds passed.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

My brain chose this moment to show me all the memories I had made here, especially the ones with Caleb.

It started from our little episode in the kitchen, our dates, our moment in the orphanage, and the talent show. It just kept playing in randomly, and it chose to torment me more when it showed the broken look on Caleb's face when I still insisted on leaving.

I found myself pressing a hand to the lips where Caleb had placed his not too long ago, and I felt it all slip.

No one was here to see me at such a breaking point in my life, all the more reason to let myself do the one thing I have wanted to do for a long time.

I cried.

I allowed it to flow, knowing that there would be no one to comfort me, knowing that this was my entire fault.

On the inside, I always had this paranoia that my loyalties to people would one day get compromised, and these people are just the beginning.

I vowed to protect my sister, but she had sleepless nights with her new bedmate. My stepbrother and best friend would at least admit their feelings to each other and stop playing keep-away, but as far as I know, that wouldn't last as long as Father dearest had a say in the matter.

I came here to hide, to buy myself some time to think. I never knew the list would get longer. But now I have other people to worry about. When I left and refused to comply with my father's wishes, he would likely use them as leverage against me.

Knowing fully well that nothing would faze Charlie, Lola and Danny, not after all we have been through.

It's funny how something else came out of this.

I vowed to know why the six-year-old I didn't say goodbye to; didn't have her parents, and I found something more drastic than I ever hoped for.

Caleb Parks, America's number one sweetheart and rising Artiste was broken, but not beyond repair. I fixed him, or at least tried to, and then broke him beyond repair.

I will go back and ensure he got his happy ending, even though I wouldn't be in it because I wouldn't stay for long. I would fix him back up so that whoever he chooses to spend the rest of his life with wouldn't have to deal with all the baggage that came with him.

At the end of it all, I would be alone, and everyone around me would be happy. That's how it's meant to be.

-

The civilians of the Bahamas looked surprised and concluded to do a double-take at me as I walked through the airport searching for my stepbrother.

Not that I would blame them, it's not every day you see a Griffin walking alone in broad daylight without any security detail. Soon people put two and two together, and the press made a beeline toward me.

On plan, I wiped out a large hat and my phone.

"I thought I asked you to pick me up from the airport and not have a quickie with Charlie, then come pick me up?" I rant while making a sharp turn.

The woman who took note of the wandering Griffin had whipped out a camera and was hot on my heels while I ran into people to lose her.

Danny groans and a moan comes out of the phone, "I swear on all that is holy. If you do not get your ass here, you will be missing an important organ by nightfall."

I say through gritted teeth and duck under a conveyor belt. Turning back sharply, the woman was not giving up. And now she has a couple of friends holding cameras and notepads hot on my heels.

Just when I thought things would get better, the announcer says, "Is anyone seeing this? There is a Griffin in the building, I repeat a freakin GRIFFIN!"

Thanks, lady. Get back to fucking the pilot. Note the sarcasm.

With a huff, I roll my eyes and look for the nearest exit. It is still far from here unless I take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator.

Today is not my day as I tackle the stairs two at a time.

The people in the airport are jumping out of my way on impulse while others hold their loved ones closer to them.

What has the Empire been up to since I left? The frightened look of civilians looks paler than before.

I finally finished going down the stairs and ran out of the building to face a mob of paparazzi coming my way. This does not look good.

A car drives from around them and skids to a halt in front of me. The glass dips, and I see a familiar face.

"Are you gonna get in? Or are you going to explain to the public why you are here in broad daylight?" Sarcasm drips from his tone while he repositions the sunglasses on his face.

Not needing to be told twice, I open the passenger door, dump my suitcase in the back seat and get into the car.

Shane pulls the car in reverse, narrowly missing a photographer by a hair's breadth before he puts it in drive, and we hightail it out of there.

I have no idea where my phone is, and I can't even be bothered because there are bigger things to handle.

"What the hell is going on?" I voice out as he makes three sharp turns, nearly making me swing right out of the car window, but we thank Walt for the Einstein that created seatbelts.

"As much as I would love to answer that question, Peyton. We need to get out of this situation first." He grits out when he drifts and runs over a stop sign, nearly running over a cat and a dog having a field day with a rat.

"What are you talking about?" My eyebrows furrow.

Ignoring my question, he changes gears. We speed down the highway avoiding different kinds of cars. "Check if we've lost the cars."

"What cars?" My frown deepens.

"The three black cars that are following us." I look behind me and see no cars.

"No cars are behind us."

He exhales in relief, "Good."

Shane takes the next exit and enters the rundown part of town. A blanket of darkness rests on us as he drives in an alley, and we park at the very edge of it.

Twilight was making an appearance which made me wonder; how long have we been driving?

"Now you can play, Curious Cassie." Shane stops the car and gives me his attention.

I narrow my eyes at the stupid nickname that he just gave me but decide not to comment on it just yet.

"What the hell was that hot wheel chase about?" I start my interrogation.

He grins, "Well, we kind of pissed off a couple of people while you were gone." He scratches the back of his neck and avoids eye contact, making me narrow my eyes further.

"Who's this 'we'?"

"The Empire and I. Since you left, things have been shaky. Your father fell sick, and Joey took over. He has successfully made us look like tyrants. The Civilians are scared to come to a five-mile radius of the Griffin Estate."

"I don't get it. Last time I checked, you weren't a part of the Empire." Shane widens his eyes and acknowledges his slip up, but I'm not done.

"If Father was sick, why not hand it over to Lola to handle this; since she is his favourite daughter? Not forgetting that if the Empire was a threat to the public, you wouldn't be affected in any way. Besides, I'm pretty sure the UK and USA became allies because we are here. And we are tyrants, but we get jobs done in the form of deals and only result in killing off people when the deal is not kept."

In case you've forgotten, Shane Li is the first and only boy of Mrs Sandel and let me tell you this, he's part Chinese. And to jog up your memory further, the people of the British Empire can behave like a bunch of spineless pricks that can't get along with anyone who isn't exactly a hundred per cent British. If you're like Charlie, who is a descendant of a member of the British Empire, and they didn't let you into our wonderful family, then you could say we were being Racists.

"Care to explain, Shane?" I make sure that my gaze hones in on his face so that I can tell if he's lying or not.

Shane sighs and looks away, "I ran a deal for Joey which went south, so not only am I wanted here, but China has revoked my citizenship. Long story short, I'm a wanted fugitive, and that asshat called Joey can't help me. Since he is not the rightful leader of the Empire. I figured that if I could persuade you to take over, maybe you could clear my name and stop the Empire from crumbling to pieces."

I expected many things to happen while I was gone, but that was not one of them.

I mull over what he just said, and something else clicks, "Why on earth will I want to run the Empire? Those people don't see me as a person fit to be around, not to talk off being their leader."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe Troy told them to act that way towards you to make sure that you feel inadequate to lead?" It's his turn to interrogate me.

I roll my eyes, "Regardless of not wanting to cross their boss, what happened to Lola or I don't know Torent?"

"You know the etiquette; it must stay in the family, no matter what happens."

I run my hands through my hair and take steady breaths.

I left Caleb for this. I don't know whether to be happy that he would never know the kind of baggage I carry around with me or to be sad. I threw away my only shot at happiness to ensure that the people I call family get theirs.

My life, everybody.

"Would this be a bad time to ask about your trip?" He has a guilty smile on his lips.

I shot him a look that said, 'really, you want to go down this lane.'

"I am known for my impeccable timing, aren't I?" He grins at me.

"It went better than I thought it would. In fact, it went so well that I have a question for you, Li. Was your father a lawyer?"

Shane doesn't trust his words because he nods.

"Interesting. You wouldn't happen to know where my mother's will is, would you?" I grin sweetly at him.

"Unfortunately, I do. But Peyton, I want to make a deal with you." He inquired, "If we make it out alive, I want you to clear my name in China."

I nod, "Wouldn't I need to clear up your name here first?"

He gives me a look that tells me he is wondering about my sanity levels, "When you become the leader of the empire, don't you automatically get a say in what goes and stays in the political affairs?"

"Obviously, but that rule stopped surviving since the Empire partially moved here from the UK."

Shane tsks, "You have a lot to remember and even more so if you are to set things right."

"Now that we've gotten the status update about the Empire and you, what happened to Charlie?"

Shane smiles at the mention of his younger sister, "I left her in the hands of Torent, so I'm allowed to assume that they are both fine."

"By fine, you mean that they both forgot to come to pick me up because they were blowing out their minds, then yes."

I can already imagine the look on Charlie's face when I get my hands on those two.

I blow a stubborn curl of blonde hair from my face. My hair is now back to its natural blonde state, and I didn't bother to wear my contacts today, so it's not a wonder for people to have quickly recognized me.

"As for Lola and Kendall?" His name alone left a bad taste in my mouth, but I should at least have a heads up before I walk back into the Griffin Estate.

"Kendall has been shady lately, and Lola and I are not on speaking terms as of late." His eyes darken slightly, a clear sign for me that I have entered a very touchy subject.

You win this round, Shane, but if you want my help, I suggest you make honesty your best policy unless your loyalty may be compromised.