Chapter 73 - James In The Hot Seat!

Tanaga, Jeff, and Ramon were enjoying their conversation, but when they heard what Alexander and Daniel were talking about, all three of them turned their heads towards them and listened intently.

Tanaga and Jeff could only shake their heads, knowing the mistake they made in the past. They didn't want to get involved and continued on with their conversation, ignoring Alexander and Daniel. However, Ramon couldn't help himself and interject.

"Alex, Daniel, if you don't mind me giving a piece of advice, how about hearing me out for a moment." Ramon was sincere with his request; he needed to stop these two from making the same mistake as Tanaga and Jeff. 

King Alexander paused for a moment and turned his attention to Ramon, "Sure! Speak and tell us what we should or shouldn't do," He responded, his eyes calmly looking straight at him. 

Daniel also gave all his undivided attention to Ramon. He was curious as to what he had to say. He, the only bachelor in the whole group. He couldn't wait to hear what kind of advice he could offer when he didn't have a child of his own.

But Daniel didn't like the idea at all. It had nothing to do with the person being recommended; it was because he felt that his daughter was still too young to be thinking of boys right now. However, he couldn't deny the fact that he also saw how Pearl was looking at Prince Edward; she was filled with admiration. He was hoping that was all it was.

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"The way I see it, it's better to let them be. Prince Edward is now officially an adult and will be going to college soon. Pearl is only 15 right now and probably not even paying attention to boys. Both of them will be around other boys and girls in school, so I wouldn't rush anything and make a decision for them for things such as marriage. Who knows what will happen in the future?" Ramon's face was so profound that both Alexander and Daniel were in deep thought afterward.

Jeff and Tanaga, although acting as if they were not paying attention to Ramon's words, heard every word he said and decided to chime in with their ten cents as well.

"Ramon is right; just look at what happened to us. Luckily we were able to correct it before it was too late. We shouldn't get involved with the children when it comes to their love lives. Let time take its course and let them marry for love and not for duty. As we all did." Interjected Jeff and followed by Tanaga with, "Jeff's right, forget matchmaking them. If they are meant to be, they will be together in the end."

After hearing the trio, both Alexander and Daniel nodded their heads in agreement, and simultaneously both heaved a sigh before picking up their drinks.

"Cheers, to someday our hopes and dreams to become one big family come true." Said Alexander while he had his glass raised. The other men did the same and raised their drinks together.

"Cheers!!!!" They all said in unison before gulping the liquids in their hands in one go.

===

"Thank God! It's finally over." Alexa said while sitting beautifully like the Queen that she is. "So, when are all of you heading home?" She added while looking sad, knowing that they all would be going back home soon.

"Our plan was to stay another day, and Sunday, we will be heading back home. I still have filming to do, and I don't think the director would be happy to postpone it for another day. Plus, Jeff has a lot of work waiting for him when we get back." Ann said, looking as sad as her cousin. 

"We will leave tonight; everything is ready for departure already. We are just waiting for the party to be over and we will go straight to the airport from here. Daniel has to fly to the Geneva convention, and he needs to make preparations." Said Andrea nonchalantly. 

Ashley wasn't saying anything when they will leave. If it were up to her, they would stay much longer and spend time with the children. However, she knew that Tanaga had many businesses on hold as well as Jeff. Most of their businesses nowadays were collaborated between THJ and WGI.

"What about you Ashley, what's your plan? I hope you're not planning to leave right away?" Alexa asked while anxiously waiting for her to reply. 

"Hmmm, I don't know yet. It's up to Tanaga when we will leave. If it were up to me, I want to stay a couple more days." She was trying to sound cheerful, but it clearly showed from the sound of her voice her true feelings, the sadness.

Suddenly an eerie quiet enveloped the whole east wing parlor. All the women were sipping their tea quietly without uttering a word.

===

Meanwhile, Ashton was looking all over the ballroom and the garden for Ava and James. However, he couldn't seem to find them anywhere. He then suddenly remembered that he could just call them. So he quickly took out his cell phone and dialed James's number.

While he was waiting for James to answer, he walked back from the garden towards the room where his other members were waiting for him. After several times of letting it ring, there was still no answer. He then hung up and tried Ava's number with the hope that she would pick up. Nothing...

Just as he was about to open the door, he heard a burst of loud laughter inside the room. He stopped for a moment debating if he should enter or not. It seemed that the other members of his group had some company inside. However, he was not in the mood for a meet and greet at the moment. He had more important matters than meeting some fans at the moment.

Just as he was about to turn around, he heard a voice that sounded like Ava; he paused. Contemplating if he should go in to check for himself or continue listening from where he was in case he only heard things. But, when the laughter died down, he had no choice but to see if his assumption was correct.

===

Inside the room, a small gathering was going on. After everyone left, the children were gathered by Ms. Williams and Ms. Shannon and taken to the west wing of the palace, where the members of EXODUS were resting. From what Ashton could hear from the other side of the door, it seemed that they were having so much fun. He hesitated if he should join them or not.

Then he heard the doorknob turn, and the door suddenly opened. He was going to leave in haste, but it was too late. Ms. Williams and Ms. Shannon came out and saw him as he turned to leave.

"Ashton! You're here! Why don't you join the other children and the members of your group? They seem to be having fun with his highness, Prince Edward." Said Ms. Willams loud enough for everyone inside to hear.

There was nothing Asthon could do but turn around and go inside to join the after-party.

"Thank you, Ms. Williams. Hello, Ms. Shannon. I want to thank both of you for the hospitality we received the last time that we were at your school. I hope that you will welcome us once again next time we come back here for another tour." He said politely, with the sweetest smile plastered on his face.

Ms. Williams waved her hands, "No need to thank us, we're the ones who should thank you and your members. All the children in our school were overjoyed with the chance to meet their favorite idol group." She then bid Ashton goodbye with the promise that they could come to visit anytime.

Once Ashton came inside, everyone was glad to see him. They were playing the game truth or dare when he arrived. It was James's turn, and he was being asked a question by Jeffrey. Ashton found a seat right next to Akira so that he won't be too apparent to everyone,

"Truth or dare?" Asked Jeffrey while staring intensely at James, who was sitting in between Ava and Lady Crystal.

James chooses truth instead of dare. Everyone clapped their hands. They liked that James had chosen the truth; now, they could ask him a personal question.

"Alright, since you chose truth, you must answer anything we ask truthfully. Here we go!" Jeffrey shouted for everyone to hear. Everyone became quiet, all eyes were staring at Jeffrey and they were holding their breaths. They were very curious as to what he would ask James.

"Out of all these beautiful ladies in here, is there someone you like?" Jeffrey's question was direct to the point but gave James a little leeway. 

"Yes! That's an excellent question!" Shouted Prince Edward, he was grinning from ear to ear. All the girls were pretty, but they were still in their teens. He would be surprised if James answered yes.

Everyone turned their heads towards James. Waiting for him to respond to Jeffrey's question.

James sat there quietly; he was in deep thought, trying to think of how to answer Jeffrey's question. What should he do? 

If he said yes, would they know right away that he was thinking of Ava? A good chance was that they would assume that it was her since he had been hanging around her all this time. 

But, if he answers no, would they stop there? 

He couldn't make up his mind. Finally, after contemplating for a while, James found his courage and was about to answer Jeffrey's question, when....