Eight Hours Before the Dinner Date

Jose barges in the doors of the royal mansion. He scratches his head in frustration while heading straight to the training room. He was in need to let out all his frustrations, and that he will do.

As he enters the training room, he went straight for the punching bag that  hung in the center. He screams his lungs out as he runs towards the sand filled bag, not caring of the hard impact between his body and the tool. He punches and kicks it. Minutes turned to hours as he continues to hit the bag senseless. He kicks and punches until his body gave up, and became sore.

His strength weakens from exhaustion. He falls down to the hard floor and tries to catch his breath.

Romeo was amused at the sight of his dear friend. The first time he's seen him like this was when Jose's biological father came to him for help, which was only to satisfy his drinking problem.

Jose also took the initiative to visit the family he ran away from only to witness that there were no changes whatsoever. His father is an alcoholic, while his mother is a druggie.

The one thing that took things too far was when they forced his youngest sister into prostitution to pay for all their bad habit expenses.

When he visited his little sister's room, he finally got to see her only for her to jump off the window and fall to her death. On her messy, unkempt bed was a note saying that she couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want the life that her parents forced her to be in which got her pregnant and had been forced to do an abortion. It was life in hell, and death was the easiest way out of it.

To this very day, Jose regrets that he could not save his dear little sister in time. He wished that if only he could take everything back.

After watching his friend lay on the ground, he approached him. He bends and hands him a towel to wipe off the sweat all over his body. "You really beat the shit out of that punching bag." Romeo shook his head.

Jose looked at his dear friend from the cool ground. He gladly accepts the towel and places it over his face to cover the shame he felt.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Romeo asks, feeling concerned for his only friend in the world.

Jose contemplated on how he should tell Romeo. Would he detest him for sleeping with an enemy, or would he forgive him? He came to a conclusion that Romeo hates liars, so it is best to come clean.

"Would you hate me if I tell you that Tybalt is actually a Capulet." He confesses.

Romeo stayed silent waiting for his friend to explain further.

"I found out last night in his apartment. There was a picture frame of him, Juliet, and Matteo when they were younger. On the bottom of the frame, it said "Best Cousins."" Jose scoffed at the memory.

"As much as it broke my heart, I wanted to enjoy our final night together and then broke up with him the next morning. It was painful and it still hurts until now because I have never felt like this for any one before. Not even with my previous boy toys." He chuckles.

"Do you regret it?" Romeo asks.

"What?" Jose asks, unsure if he heard his friend correctly.

"Do you regret it?" Romeo repeated.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you regret breaking up with him?" Romeo rephrased his question.

Jose stayed silent for a bit, unsure of the answer.

Romeo knew that Jose regretted the breakup. It was written all over his face, but he needed to see where his loyalty lies.

"I won't lie about regretting it, because I do. But my loyalty to you is stronger than my feelings for Tybalt. I've sworn my allegiance to you, and I will forever be grateful for everything you've done for me." Romeo felt content with his answer until...

"But... but right now, I need to vent everything out. I need to have some time of my own. I hope you don't mind." Jose finally looks at Romeo.

It was obvious that Romeo was hurt a bit, but if that's what his friend wishes, then so be it.

Romeo nods and leaves the training room without looking back.

End of Flashback

Romeo smirks at Tybalt's reaction. He stood there speechless and terrified. Terrified because he defied the Prince and disrespected him. "I- I really am sorry, my Prince. I didn't know." He looks at the ground in shame.

"It's fine. I apologize, too, for raising my voice like that." He reaches his hand to Tybalt.

Tybalt was hesitant to grab his hands, but he didn't want to anger Prince Dante even more than he already did. He reaches out his shaking hand and did his best to give a firm handshake. Tybalt bows to the Prince before heading upstairs to his old room.

"Where you going?" Juliet asks.

"To my room. Well, my old room. I still need some time to myself." He says. His sad voice still lingers with pain from he felt this morning.

Juliet looks at his cousin in pity. "You'll find someone better." She says reassuringly.

Tybalt sighs and gives his cousin a serious look. He places both his hands on Juliet's shoulders. "Until you find someone you love, you will never understand the way I feel."

"Tybalt! You are making a scene right now. Dont forget that the Prince is still in our presence." Lady Capulet lectures.

His tired gaze landed on the Prince who stood there amused at the scene. He sighs one last time and heads up to his room.

"Shall we go?" The Prince stares at Juliet, examining her from head to toe. Romeo thought that she was too plain for her taste. This will do, for now. He thought. He holds out his arms for Juliet to hold.

She wraps her arm around his as he leads the both of them to the car. "Have fun, you two!" Lady Capulet calls out.

"We will!" The Prince turns to face her once more with a smile on his handsome face. Oh, we will alright.

The drive was silent. Juliet was nervous. She constantly felt self conscious about her looks and wondered if she looked alright. Not once did the Prince complimented on her appearance.

Her palms began to sweat as she noticed how quiet the car ride had become. "Uhm..." she tries to break the silence.

"Hmm?" The Prince took a quick glance at the nervous, young woman.

"So, where are we going exactly?" She asks.

The Prince grins while his eyes stayed focus on the road. He slides his rough hand inside her dress to feel her smooth thigh. He rubs his thumb in circular motion. With just a simple touch, it was enough for her to get extremely horny.

"That, my goddess, is a surprise." He says.

The quiet drive continues for at least ten more minutes until they made a stop by a beautiful lake.

The sun has already set, introducing a beautiful full moon that slowly revealed itself behind the dark clouds.  The moon's reflection danced on the waves of the lake. The wind was a bit chilly causing Juliet to shiver. She regretted her choice of outfit.

Suddenly, she felt something warm surrounding her bare shoulders. She turns to see that Romeo had removed his coat and wrapped it around her. Juliet blushed at the gesture and thanked him.

"You're very beautiful tonight, Juliet." He smiles, brushing her hair back against her ear.

"You too." She muses at the stroke of his touch against her cheek. She blushes more as soon as she realized what she just said. "I- I mean. You are hot! Er- I mean." She gave herself a facepalm.

He couldn't help but give out a hearty laugh which brought butterflies in Juliet's stomach. She loved the sound of his laugh, the stretch of his smile, and his beautiful emerald eyes. He was absolutely handsome.

While admiring the handsome Adonis before her, her stomach started to grumble in hunger. "This is... fucking embarrassing." She places her hands on her face. "Oh, fuck me. Wait, no! I'm sorry. I know that cussing is not lady like." Juliet hangs her head low, hiding her embarrassment.

The Prince chuckles. He grabs her hand and leads her to a beautiful, yet simple home that stood at least 20 feet away from the lake.

They enter inside and she couldn't help but admire at how cozy and inviting it felt. It doesn't scream "I'm the richest man alive." It was simple and decent.

"This place is beautiful." She complimented.

Romeo was surprised to hear her say that. He was kind of hoping for a disgusted look since their lake house didn't look expensive and overly decorated with a cryatal chandelier or something. Yet at the same time, she knew that Juliet wasn't like other girls who only crave for his money and cock. "You like it?" He asks.

"Yes. The place is simple, yet welcoming. It reminds me of how a home should feel like." She explains giving him a warm smile.

Seeing her smile nearly made his heart skip a beat. Her smile was genuine and breathtaking. It made him want to make her smile everyday. What are you doing, Romeo?! He shook his head once realization hit him. He was starting to feel infatuated with this woman.

I will never make the same mistake Sofia did.

A/N: I'm sorry for the late upload! Enjoy~