"I Suppose It Is?" Serra's Eyebrows Furrowed Together For A Second, Confused As To Why He Was Asking

"She isn't?" It was said as more of a question rather than a fact, needing the reassurance of hearing him say it again, say that she was the only one that mattered. Words were important to her, especially when they came out of his mouth. She cared about what he thought about her, how he saw her, she always had. The anguish in his eyes as so obvious right now she was wavering in her disbelief for him. Was he actually being honest with her? Was it over? Had it been over? "My birthday. After my parents announcement. He thought I deserved to know." Serra still remembered how angry she had been, how upset. Now he was telling her all the right things, what she had longed to hear from him back then. They were different people now and yet, still the same. She'd never been indifferent towards him, if she had she could have thrown out his many gifts, but she had kept every single one. "Keep talking..."

"She's not special," he corrected lowly, no longer glancing in both directions before he spoke. At least it was the first honest thing he could mean completely. There was no obligations tying him to Charity and not much of a reputation that clung to her name which was probably what made her hold his attention in the first place. She was under the radar enough, but apparently not. Malcolm's head hung for a moment, then blinked back up at her. His problems only ached more as he knew that he was the reason for placing the mistrust in the first place. He had buried it under the many years they had spent apart, but now, it was heavily back in his face. He never liked dealing with his own consequences, but he never thought of Serra as a problem or a consequence. She was more defined by everything that he couldn't understand, couldn't have. "When did he even tell you this?" he asked, brow raised. " This was clearly something he would need to talk to Evan about later. "I have no intentions of making you look like a fool, my love. She's in the past already before we even had this conversation. I will handle it later, alright? But please know that you are the only person of my affection...truly. You know that."

"Hey! Like everything about me, my vision is perfect. I do not have a single physical flaw."

Serra's parents always told her so from the moment she was born, so that stuck with her. They didn't want her to run the shop, which was a good thing because she didn't want to run it either. It was better off left to the employees, they could get their hands dirty. Working was not for her. Even the idea of it seemed exhausting. She liked having her free time to do whatever she pleased. Like shopping and relaxing.

Regulus had truthfully never been a fan of events like this, especially weddings. He had never seen much of a point at all in them and he wasn't disillusioned to the fact that they were only an excuse to make people pay attention to you. He was also just becoming so tired of the extravagance. He felt like weddings were the only things his family talked about now. Bellas, Narcissa', his, it was just so exhausting. He'll just be glad when its all finally over and done with. He's stealthy in the way he grabs a glass of wine off a waiters tray, not that it would have been an issue, but, its one less person to talk to if he wasn't seen, all to turn and see Serra of all people ready to greet him. Really though, Serra wasn't bad company, at least compared to most of the people on the guest list she wasn't "Hey," He greeted with a smile. "Well, I've not been hiding, maybe you need your eyes checked." He teased lightly.

It was a scary thought for her, terrified her even, to consider breaking down the walls she had erected because of him. Giving the one person she had let hurt her in such a significant way the possibility to do so again. Still, it was easier to stay away from him when she didn't have to physically be in his presence. She could lie to herself and say she was not affected by him in the least. He was a man now, one that had gotten even more handsome with age. It was both a good thing and a bad thing that she still thought him to be extremely handsome, she was yet to decide which side she was leaning towards. "Well you better not give up. I do not plan on making anything easy for you." Serra informed him with a matter of fact tone. He liked the chase, she knew that. If she gave her heart fully now and he broke it again, she would be humiliated. "Do continue speaking about how beautiful I am, I will never tire of it." Serra was clearly pleased that he thought her beauty distracting, as was evident from her smile. Or at least she was trying to smile but something felt off. When he came closer to her she noticed that she started to feel quite dizzy all of a sudden, her skin tingling even where he didn't touch her. "I- I feel dizzy..." She wanted to say more but everything went black as she fainted right into his arms.

There were not enough words to describe how he felt around Serra in that moment. It felt like they were traveling back in time without moving at all. Malcolm had worked up years of how he would do things differently and not rely on his spontaneous and immature responses to their previous relationship. He had been nothing but a scared boy who thought he was bigger than the world. How naive he was to not see that Serra was the only one who mattered, who castrated the noises around them. That last year at school had bent him into a hellhound who only wanted to look after himself without weighing others' emotions. Now, he wasn't a boy, but a man with a tenured experience in giving Serra what she wants with lavish gifts from all over the world. They had a wedding to plan, and where he thought she would meet him with contempt, it felt like their story was given another chance; the greatest gift she could give back. "I will," Malcolm smiled. "And I doubt I will ever stop vying for your affections. You might get tired of me. I can only speak of my excitement for our futures and how your beauty is quite distracting. The other plans to prove my loyalty might have to wait when we leave, as I don't think it's appropriate here." Malcolm took a step closer, his hand meeting her hair that asked to be pushed behind her ear. As he was leaning down for a kiss, he paused only an inch away from her lips when he noticed something was wrong. "My love, are you alright?" Malcolm knew she arrived with the perfect shade of lipstick, but now they were nearly pale.

"Well I shall visit you here more often then." Serra decided. It is not as if she had a job that occupied her time so she knew she had plenty and keeping busy in a dress shop was much more fun than it was in her father's store. People kept asking her about certain items as if she cared or listened to her father explaining what it was when it was brought it. Her eyes lit up when she saw the fabric Leta had brought, glad that the blonde had understood her vision. "I like the sparkling one the best, but I do think it needs to be slightly darker, if it is too light it could wash me out as I am quite fair."

“Oh, hush. There is no need to announce yourself if you intend to come visit me here.” Besides that, Leta wouldn’t have demanded such a thing, especially not outside her own home. There, yes, perhaps there it would have been nice to receive a warning ahead of time. This way it had simply been a pleasant surprise, one that the blonde welcome.

With a flick of her wand the curtain between the front of the shop and the back they were now in vanished. The witch listened, nodding occasionally as she prepared some tea and moved through the rows of fabric before returning with a few different types of fabric, among them a shimmer blue, one charmed to hold constellations, one sparkling bright enough to be mistaken for stars. “What about these? If need be, I will simply create a fabric that matches what you need.” If Serra wished to walk among the stars in a dress, she would make it so. - @serraborgin

"I do quite enjoy getting gifts. I get them quite frequently but that does not make me like it any less." Whether it be her parents or Malcolm, she often got gifts without special occasion attached to it. Of course she considered her birthday the most special occasion, so it only made sense that she got more gifts on this day. "They always think they know what is best for you." Her parents had often said that she had made a mistake by ending things with Malcolm, that she had been too much of a kid to understand that his transgression was perfectly normal. Still, she did not see it this way to this day. It had been a talking point a few times already.

"I have had a glass or two, but I do not see why I can't have more." She snapped her fingers together for her house elf to appear ordering two glasses of champagne.

“Glad you enjoy your gift. Yes I often find it’s best to save that for special or at least particular occasions.  Merlin forbid you are wrong it is not a thing they will easily let you forget at least if they are anything like mine.  Whether they bring it up in a boisterous way or a passive way almost not mentioned, but just aside enough to play it off it can be something that digs.”  Antonin’s face darkened, but only slightly and only for a moment, though it was enough to cause him to wish he had started drinking a bit earlier. “Nothing so serious it can’t be solved with a drink though.  Have you had anything yet?  It is your birthday after all it would be criminal not to share a drink with the birthday girl would it not?”

"Well again. I am better than you in every conceivable way, so I don't think that's true." Her smile saccharine as she spoke to her cousin. "Have fun." She was glad that this conversation was finally over. Serra didn't like Alara rattling her like this.

Alara gives a small shrug of her shoulders and takes a sip of her drink. "All I'm saying, if it can happen to me, it can happen to you." Azure hues catch sight of Evan. "Excuse me, I should make my way back to my fiancé." Plus she was done with the conversation. "Enjoy your evening." A faint smile before she turns walking away.

As always when she had to see her cousin in public, Serra wasn't thrilled. Alara's mere presence had the ability to annoy her and here she was, boasting about working. Willingly. It made her look poor and embarrassing. "I don't understand why you keep bragging about working. It's tacky."

where: fulham palace who: open

The second wedding she was attending with Evan, has his fiancé, was starting to come with an ease, considering how much time they had been spending together and getting to know him more. There was still that hesitation and the dread of getting married, but at least she was trying and no one could hold it against her.

She stood where the cake was displayed, proud of her work, once more, a few more orders had been put in and it was coming her busy. "I have to say, this might be one of my finest jobs." A smile seeps on her lips. "What do you think?"

It was almost inevitable that they would run into each other at events and yet she got annoyed each time she saw Alara's face. "But I do love rubbing my freedom under your nose."

If this night could get any worse, running into her cousin, sure was the cherry on top. Alara finishes the glass of champagne in her hand, not sure if that was number three or four, but she would require one after this little interaction. "Please do, you could go find him now. Spare us this conversation." She was not in the mood tonight.

"Obviously. I am not meant to be poor. I am too pretty." She would not want to miss any of the luxuries she grew up with, her quality of life was excellent, never having to work or lift a finger to do anything she didn't want to do. The prospect of struggling disgusted her. "My parents love me. They want to spoil me, I do not see a problem with that."

𝐚𝐬    𝐢𝐟    𝐭𝐨    𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡    𝐡𝐞𝐫,    his    eyes    rolled    as    he    head    shook.    “    and    that’s    the    end    of    the    world    for    you,    is    it    ?    ”    he    teased,    though    he    knew    a    lot    of    children    of    pureblood    families    thrived    in    their    riches,    caellum    however,    though    not    one    to    want    to    lose    his    fathers    money,    still    had    his    own    to    keep    him    afloat.   

She smiled, pleased when he agreed with her sentiment. Not that it surprised her, he was a smart man- that made a dumb mistake in choosing to get married to Alara, but luckily he got out of it unscathed. He could have suffered for years. "That is true, I look good in everything." Some colors and cuts suited her less than others, but that didn't mean she looked bad in anything she wore. Her eyes shined with excitement at the prospect of more presents, she was easy to please in that regard. "What kind of information? Gossip? About who?" She said having to look up when he put his arms around her waist. It was her birthday, she was allowed to indulge. "You patented it and everything? Must be worth something."

A chuckle went past his lips but found himself nodding amused at her words. "Yes, yes you are." He agreed, not one to shy away from complimenting pretty witches any chance he got, and finding her spirit quite appealing as he also believed himself to be that good. "There's no way you'd look bad in it." Evan settled with a sly grin, brazen eyes wandering down her body. "Ah multiple presents, that I can do. I've got two things you might enjoy, love." The wizard told her, his hands finding her waist loosely and having her look at him. "One is information, valuable one. The other is something I call the Rosier method, that one you really don't want to miss."