Chapter 1 Best Friends Don't Sleep With Each Other

“You’re not a baby that I’ll always have to put to bed after you’re drunk,” Marianne scolded Alexander—her childhood sweetheart, but he only smiled at her. “I’m your baby, aren’t I, Anne?” Alexander said with a playful smile. Despite his drunken state, she found him irresistibly charming, and his words made her heart race. Although he often said things like this when he was drunk, she couldn’t quite get used to it. Maybe he wasn’t aware of the effect he had on her. How would he react if he knew he was the guy she had always had her eyes on? “No, you're not! Now, let's move to your room” Marianne stood up and went to help him. With his arm draped over her shoulder, she led him to his room. They had just gotten back from a party with their friends, and she had decided to take him home because he was drunk. Jake, his friend hadn't agreed to do it, so she volunteered. As they got to his room, she pushed him onto the bed, momentarily forgetting he was holding onto her, causing her to fall directly on top of him. Marianne's breath caught, her eyes widened, and her heart raced quickly. She gulped, trying to overcome the temptation. All her life, she had loved him, and it had always been him. She hated to remind herself of the painful truth—that Alexander would never see her as anything more than a friend. It hurt her deeply, but she didn't feel the need to force him to love her. After all, he valued her more than he did his girlfriends or exes. But still, she hoped that someday he'd see her more than just his bestfriend. Trying to calm herself, she sat down beside him on the bed and began to help him remove his shirt. Even though she had done this before, tonight felt different, and she couldn’t keep her desires in check. Perhaps it was because she had missed him—he had just returned to Silverton today after spending an entire month in Baltimore. She swallowed hard as she helped him up and removed his shirt completely. Even in his drunken state, he looked cute. Her gaze lingered on his soft, inviting lips, and she struggled to control her impulses, but damn it! How long would she keep torturing herself like this? She desperately wanted to know what his lips tasted like. The temptation became too powerful to resist. "I'm sorry, Alex. I’ll just steal a brief kiss," she thought to herself. She brought her lips closer and gently pressed them against his in a soft kiss. Though she meant for it to be brief, she lost track of time and found herself kissing him longer than she intended. She had a chance to stop this madness, or so she thought, but when he started kissing her back, she couldn’t pull away. Perhaps she had been wrong—maybe Alexander had feelings for her but was hiding them because of their friendship, or maybe he was just acting this way because he was drunk. Despite knowing it was wrong because of his drunken state, she wanted to be greedy. As he kissed her, she closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him back. Before she realized it, they were both naked with their clothes scattered randomly across the room. The next morning, when Alexander's eyes fluttered open and he noticed a figure in his arms, he was surprised. At first, he thought Jake, his best friend, had spent the night at his place. But as he looked closer, he realized the figure didn't resemble a man at all. What had happened while he was drunk? His gaze moved immediately to the person's face, and his eyes widened upon seeing that it was Marianne. He stared down at himself and saw he was only in his underpant. Looking at the sleeping Marianne, he discovered she was also naked, which made his eyes widen even further. Memories of the previous night started flooding back. What had they done? "Good morning, my...," Mrs. Skarsgard, Alexander's mom's words caught in her throat as she took in the scene. Marianne slowly opened her eyes and saw Mrs. Skarsgard staring at her with a smile. She glanced at Alexander, who was looking back at her with a questioning expression. Marianne quickly looked at herself and, seeing she was naked, her eyes widened in shock. She hadn't expected their night to go beyond kissing. How had they ended up like this? "My goodness! I had no idea you both had feelings for each other. What was I expecting, with how often you're together?" Mrs. Skarsgard smiled. She was very fond of Marianne and had always wished her son would take an interest in someone like her especially since they grew up together. Alexander ruffled his hair, feeling a mix of emotions. "Love? It's a misunderstanding. Anne and I don't feel that way toward each other," he clarified. "What? You sleep with someone and call it a misunderstanding? Marianne has never been intimate with anyone before; you're the first person she's ever slept with. How can you be so heartless?" she asked in disbelief. "You know what? You both are getting married," she declared. "What?" Alexander exclaimed in disbelief. Marianne's heart skipped a beat—this wasn't what she wanted, at least not yet. She was the only one who loved Alexander. He didn’t love her, so marrying him would mean forcing him into a lifelong commitment with someone he didn’t have romantic feelings for. Mrs. Skarsgard grabbed her phone and called the Corelle family about the wedding. Frustrated, Alexander got out of bed, dressed quickly, and stormed out of the room. Marianne bit her lip, distressed. This wasn’t what she wanted—how did it come to this? No, she needed to stop it. "Mom, I don’t think this is appropriate..." "I know you like Alex, Marianne. I’m not sure about his feelings because he's unpredictable, but he clearly cares about you, given how he treats you. I’ll ask the maids to prepare breakfast for you," Mrs. Skarsgard said with a smile before leaving the room. Marianne bit her lip harder this time. This wasn’t right, especially since Alexander already had a girlfriend.