The Mischievous Mrs. Maxfield

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Harrowing Road to Happily-Ever-Afters

A/N: Hello everyone! Well, here we are—at the end of this long, epic journey. It's been a wild ride for me, never having written anything before where a few thousand people read along as the story unfolded. TMMM is special for me and it may be for you too, from start to finish, or even just in a few moments that felt magical to you.

I want to thank all of you who voted, commented, and reached out to me about what TMMM meant to you. Without your support, praises and critiques, I don't really know that I would've gone this far with the book so this is dedicated to all of you... Have fun!!!

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The next three days were the longest of my life.

When you'd written your heart out in a letter to a prince, you'd expect him to come riding down your doorstep on a white horse and take you away to the castle where you'd live happily ever after.

Fairy tales were far simpler in books than they were in real life because Brandon didn't.

In fact, I hadn't seen him or heard from him in the three days since I left him with the letter.

I contemplated many scenarios—that the letter fell forgotten on the floor, that he read it and decided it wasn't good enough an explanation or an apology, or that he read it and in his haste to get to me, he slipped and hit his head, lying in a pool of blood alone in that house for days.

I had to yank myself out of my morbid thoughts and told myself to give him time. 

It was the least he could ask from me and while it wasn't much, it still hurt.

Despite my bleeding heart though, I smiled my way through the days that followed, determined not to let anyone else down. 

Before we knew it, it was the day of the masquerade party.

I'd just gotten home from Oakley Stead after spending the morning making final rounds with the event planners, and I was sweaty and grubby from the physical work. 

The Championettes had a mini-meeting there too, and with a faint smile, I recalled the look on everyone's faces when I said I wasn't going to go and that Layla would do beautifully, giving the speech and thanking everyone who came for our cause. I didn't mind working the hours away but I wasn't sure I could fix a smile on my face and be an expert hostess tonight, when I was exhausted heart and soul. Also, I didn't want to be asked about Brandon especially when I had no real answers to give.

Catherine nearly had a coronary, blustering that it was a stupid idea for me not to attend when I busted my ass off working to get this ball underway and that if anyone deserved to see it in all its splendor, it would be me.

I thanked her for her compliment, which surprised her when she finally realized that she did give me one, and explained that it was enough for me to have done what I could to make it happen. I also told them that this was most likely going to be the last event I participated in with the Championettes. 

I was quitting.

Why? 

Because I wasn't sure where my life was going to go from here. Before I can save the world, I had to find my own place in it first, now that I was adrift again. 

Whatever became of me and Brandon would change my life and I didn't want to make promises I couldn't keep. If Brandon didn't want me back, I wouldn't take any of his money, and without money, I was of little use to the Championettes. If Brandon came for me, then I had to devote my time to healing the wounds we'd left on each other. This time, it was the two of us who needed saving. The rest of the world could wait a little.