[017] friend to fiancée

                              All it took was one anonymous report online to make Harvey Grosvenor's entire empire come crumbling down.

                             With one vague tip about Harvey being a disgusting rapist, other women would come forward with their stories. All of the accounts and the evidence of his unruly behavior as well as his affairs was enough to make everyone turn on Harvey and hate him. They were boycotting his fashion line and he had quickly become the most hated man in America. Even Jillian had managed to finally leave him and the two were going to get a divorce. Harvey's life was over and Alice knew exactly who to thank for it.

                            But when Alice tried to, all Roman would do is shrug and say, "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, Allie." He did, of course, but neither of them planned on talking about that night ever again. Roman had done his part and now they could begin to move on with their lives.

                            Alice was feeling a little more hopeful by the time they arrived at Eastnor Castle, quickly getting themselves acquainted with the scenery. Although Alice had never been to the castle before, she had to imagine what it looked like from all of Roman's stories. And honestly, Alice was really excited to meet Caroline properly. She had only heard about her and this castle through Roman and even Catherine who happened to be their mother's favorite. Especially Roman. He was a true momma's boy but that was to be expected when his dad was the closest thing to Satan on earth.

                            "Think you'll be fine on your own? Or will you miss me too much?" Roman asks, glancing over at Alice.

                            "I think I'll manage for a little while. I hope you don't end up missing me," Alice answered, shaking her head.

                            "Bitch," Roman immediately starts.

                            "Asshole," Alice finishes with a grin.

                            She gives him a kiss on the cheek for good measure before he walks away and leaves Alice on her own. She sighs and walks in front of the castle, looking around and admiring how beautiful it all looked. It really was something straight out of a fairytale. She wouldn't mind leaving her entire life back in the city and staying here. Funnily enough, she saw herself being here with Roman.

                            "Alice?" Catherine calls her name.

                            She turns around and smiles when she sees the youngest Roy sister. "Hey, you."

                            "Hey, I'm glad to see you again. I was beginning to think that you disappeared off the face of the earth or something. I was really worried about you," Catherine stated.

                            "I wasn't feeling too well," Alice vaguely responds as she decided to keep walking. And thankfully, it was enough for Catherine who thankfully decided not to pry.

                            "Sorry. I heard about what happened with Harvey. You worked with him a while back, didn't you?" Catherine says as she walks alongside Alice.

                            Alice shakes her head. "I just interviewed him. Yeah, I heard about that too. It was pretty insane."

                           "At least that piece of shit finally got exactly what he deserved," Catherine nods. "Hey, you and Roman seem to be closer than ever. I even saw you kiss him on the cheek. He never lets anyone do that."

                           "Really?" Alice raised a brow.

                           "Yeah. You think something might happen during this special occasion?" Catherine teases, playfully nudging Alice.

                           "Something? What kind of something?" Alice furrowed her brows. She didn't really understand what Catherine was saying. Or maybe it was too early in the day for her to think straight.

                           "The hanky panky, what else?" Catherine responds.

                           Alice chuckles. "Yeah... I don't think that's going to be happening anytime soon."

                          For one thing, Roman avoided sex like the plague. And for another, Alice wasn't sure if she'd be ready for something like that right now. Although the nightmares had gone away and she was one hundred percent sure that Harvey would be too busy getting sued to death to come after Alice, she wasn't sure she'd be in the mood to do anything like that for a while. 

                          "I'm surprised Damian let you out of his sight for this long," Alice adds, deciding to change the subject. While Alice didn't really want to talk about herself in that moment, she was also genuinely curious as to what was going on between the two of them.

                          "I am more than capable of doing shit on my own without Damian," Catherine scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Why does everyone seem to think otherwise?"

                          "Because lately, most of your decisions have been influenced by him. Damian's an asshole, Cat, so just be careful," Alice warns her.

                          Catherine smiles softly at Alice. "I appreciate you looking out for me, Alice. But I'll be fine, I promise."

                           As the night commenced, everyone got ready for the party. And well, Alice was right by Roman's side and the two of them would even end up matching. The color of her dress matched his tie, something several people happened to notice. Even though they were all here for Shiv and Tom, it seemed as though Alice and Roman were quickly becoming the hot topic at the party.

                          There were still some people who couldn't believe the two of them had gotten together and were planning on getting married. Alice was beautiful and Roman was... Roman. They were an unlikely pair as friends, and they were even more unlikely as a couple.

                          "Don't you two look so cute? I'm tearing up at the sight of you," Damian teases.

                          "I didn't know you were capable of genuine emotion. So you must be... half psychopath then," Roman remarks smugly, sending him a fake little smile.

                          Alice glanced between the two of them, wondering where the hostility was coming from. Had something happened between the two? And if so, how come Alice didn't know about it?

                         "I believe the term is sociopath actually," Damian corrects him. He could be a smartass too when he was ready.

                         "Doesn't make it any better, now does it?" Roman shot back.

                         "As entertaining as this is, I think I'm going to go and get some more champagne. If you excuse me," Alice remarked. She felt like the awkward outsider looking in and with neither man wanting to fill her in, Alice figured the best thing to do would be to leave.

                          And with that, Alice walks off and she grabs a glass of champagne from the nearby waiter. Just before said waiter could leave, Alice makes sure to steal another glass from him before she finally let him go. Alice finishes the first glass in seconds and just as she prepared to finish the second one, she felt taps on her shoulder.

                           Alice turns around and just like that, she realizes that Roman's mother had managed to find her. She looked as elegant as ever and if Alice was being honest, she even felt a bit intimidated by her. But Alice smiles anyway, hoping she didn't already ruin her first impression by looking like an alcoholic.

                         "The party isn't that boring, is it?" she asks.

                        "What?" Alice questioned.

                        "I saw you drinking like there was no tomorrow," Caroline commented, holding on to a glass of her own.

                        "Sorry. I, uh, I was just really thirsty," Alice softly chuckles, looking away from her.

                        "There's no need to bullshit with me. I'm feeling pretty bored myself," Caroline admitted, talking so candidly that it shocked Alice. But it was a pleasant surprise.

                         Alice lightly chuckles, instantly relaxing a little bit more. She had a feeling that this conversation was going to go a lot easier than she thought.

                          "It's wonderful to finally meet you, Alice. I've heard lots about you from Rome," Caroline continued.

                          "Good things, I hope," Alice chuckled.

                          "Nothing but good things. And because of that, I like you already. I also happen to be a fan of Moderne," Caroline remarked. "I like the changes you made. It's fresh."

                          "Really? That's wonderful," Alice's smile grows.

                          "Look, I'm aware that you and Roman getting together didn't happen in the most... natural way. No doubt it was his father's way to try and keep Rome in line," Caroline adds, making Alice's smile falter.

                          And it was also Alice's dad trying to keep her in line too.

                          Alice nods. "Yeah. I suddenly went from his friend to his fiancée just like that. I still can't believe that."

                          "Don't worry about it. My son adores you. He worships the ground you walk on," Caroline remarked, shaking her head.

                          "He has a funny way of showing it," Alice chuckled. 

                          "Trust me, he does. You haven't seen how he gets when he talks about you. Especially back when he was younger. You two getting married might be the best thing that's ever happened to him," Caroline states. "Just... promise me one thing."

                          Alice nods, growing serious. "What?"

                         "Take care of him. He'll need you a lot more than he'll care to admit. You might just be the only one he has back home," Caroline warns, patting her on the shoulder.

                         And then she walks off, leaving Alice alone to think about her words. Truth be told, it was a little frightening. Alice tended to freak out whenever the slightest responsibility was placed on her. Somehow, someway, she always managed to fuck it all up. Alice looks around and smiles at a couple who walks past her before she decides to leave and head upstairs to the room she was supposed to be staying in with Roman. Her dress suddenly felt too tight, and all Alice wanted to do was breathe. She hadn't been able to properly do that in a while.

                         Closing the door behind her, Alice leans against it and takes a deep breath. She slowly walks over to the bed and sits down on the edge of it, glancing down at the ring on her finger. Suddenly, it no longer felt like an expensive diamond ring. It felt like an anchor holding her down. Maybe Alice wasn't as ready for this as she thought she was. Even if it was fake, Alice knew that her entire life would change the moment she and Roman made things official. And she was terrified that she'd ruin it all. 

                         Alice Kim was absolutely addicted to self-sabotage.

                         Alice wasn't sure how long she had been up there in the room for. But eventually, Roman came into the room. He looked a little surprised to see Alice there and also... relieved as well.

                        "You left me down there all alone, you bitch. I was looking for you," Roman says, closing the door behind him.

                        "Sorry. I just needed to be alone for a while," Alice shakes her head before brushing some of her hair out of her face.

                       "Well, do you wanna go down to the docks with me and the rest of the gang? Kitty Kat and I managed to score some weed," Roman offers with a smile.

                      Alice chuckled. "That sounds wonderful. But... I might just stay here. Do you think you could save some for me and we could smoke together?" 

                     "Fine. That sounds like a plan. Hey, are you alright?" Roman asked.

                     "I met your mom earlier. She's every bit as colorful as you told me she'd be," Alice starts.

                     "Does she hate you?" Roman frowned.

                      "No. She loves me. That's not the problem. I... I guess I don't know what the problem is. I think there's something wrong with me," Alice admits with a sigh.

                     "Maybe I'll smoke weed with you first. Let the others wait a while longer," Roman offered and Alice smiles in response.

                     And sure enough, the couple ended up smoking weed in the bedroom. It was risky and the both of them knew that they could get caught at any moment. But the weed made them feel just a little better and Alice's nerves were gone entirely. They were now lying together in bed and the high was beginning to kick in quickly.

                      "Shit," Alice chuckled, looking over at Roman and reaching over to stroke his hair. "Where the hell did you and Catherine get this weed from?"

                      "Fuck if I know. I don't think we've gotten this high in ages," Roman says as he meets her gaze. "Can I confess something?"

                      "What?" Alice responded.

                     "I like it when you stroke my head like that," Roman admits.

                     Alice giggles. "Of course you would. You're my little puppy. I've got your little tail wagging and everything."

                      "Shut up, you're so annoying," Roman groaned.

                      "You're the annoying one," Alice argued.

                      "No, you're way more annoying. And the fact that you're so pretty makes you even more annoying."

                      "You can't discriminate against someone because they're prettier than you, Rome. That's like me discriminating against you because you're a midget."

                       "I'm not that short."

                       "You're a fucking oompa loompa. I can't believe I'm getting married to an oompa loompa."

                       Alice starts laughing all over again and Roman joins in, although he couldn't really control it. The moment he heard Alice's infectious laughter, he had to laugh with her.

                     "I'm scared though," Alice says after the both of them sober up and she looks at him once again.

                     "Scared of what?" Roman questioned.

                     "Fucking it all up," Alice answered.

                      "Me too," Roman nodded.

                      "Seriously?" Alice's brows raise. If anything, she thought that was the last thing on Roman's mind. But maybe she wasn't as good at reading Roman like she used to be.

                      "Yeah. So let's make a vow to not fuck it up. I don't want you to divorce me and end up with all my money," Roman explained.

                       "You don't think I'd be kind enough to settle for half?" Alice asks, feigning innocence.

                       "I know you, Alice," Roman responded.

                       Alice smiles. "And I'm so happy you do. You're, like, the only person who really knows me. That's so... scary but so amazing at the same time. Like... I never thought you could actually know everything about someone. But then I met you and all of that changed."

                      "Oh my God, is this weed turning you into a romantic?" Roman frowned, looking absolutely grossed out.

                      "Shut up," Alice scoffs, covering Roman's face with her hand.

                      Like the five year old he was, Roman decided to lick Alice's hand and she quickly moves it away from him.

                      "Ugh, you're so gross!" Alice exclaimed.

                      "But you love it," Roman taunted.

                      "Unfortunately," Alice admits, rolling her eyes.

                      Roman smiles and in that moment, all seems right in the world.

( 🥀💔🍸 )

word count: 2468
notes: here's chapter seventeen! i hope you enjoyed this! i had to incorporate a cute moment at the end for roman and alice! the next chapter will also feature a little bit of drama but overall be cute (and even romantic 😏) so that one should be out soon!