I groaned when my alarm went off. I was seriously considering disposing of that thing. Nevertheless, I got out my bed and got ready for the day. I was so sleepy that I kept messing up my tie. Whatever, I'll just have Gem do it. With that thought, I headed to the kitchen.

"Good morning!" Gem greeted me while Z just nodded an acknowledgement.

Gem jumped off the island and raced over to me. I drank my smoothie while she correctly tied my tie and adjusted it accordingly. I gave her a soft smile of thanks.

Tamsin came down shortly after and ignored us. She retrieved her food from the chef and silently ate. Well, that's new. It didn't take long for the mother of all demons to descend down the stairs. Ugh, can't she go on another business meeting.

"Good morning, girls." My mother addressed us.

We all formally greeted her, even Gemma and that's saying something. My mother gave a cheek kiss to all of us. I had to hold in my grimace and fake a smile in her direction.

"I cannot stay too long because I have a flight to catch. Although, I want to inform all of you of the gala in Cannes. You will all be attending on behalf of the McAllister family and donate a heavy check." We all nodded. "Good. That is all. And Alicia..." She paused to make sure I was looking at her. "We will be having a talk about your choice of date."

"If I have to go then I will be bringing Nicola. End of story, mother." I glared at her.

"That heathen will never be apart of this family." She matched my glare. "I will not tolerate such a low class individual hanging onto the arm of my daughter." She was now fired up. "End this embarrassment-"

"Never, mother. I love her and she's not going anywhere." I cut her off. One thing my mother hates is to be cut off.

"For now... the moment she realizes the vast differences between the both of you... she'll end it for you. It's such a shame that she has more balls to end the relationship than you ever will." My mother scoffed before leaving.

"Well, thanks for a great start to the day. I definitely needed tension added to my cereal." Zara sarcastically commented.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed one of the skittles in Gemma's hand. I had to control my features so they wouldn't contort in disgust from the sugary taste. Why is this thing so sweet?!

"Looks like Ali has tasted the rainbow in more than one way." Zara positioned her middle finger and pointer finger in a V formation before dragging her tongue across it.

I gave her my middle finger and left the house. If it wasn't for my family's name, I wouldn't have gotten out of that speeding ticket. By the time I got to school, I wasn't in the mood for anything. Well, mostly anything. I knew I'd feel better if I just caught a glimpse of my girlfriend.

"Ali?" I turned around to see the love of my life. "What's wrong?" She held my face in concern. I did nothing and just nuzzled deeper into her hand. "Talk to me, love." I didn't have time to answer her since the warning bell rang.

I gave her an apologetic smile before leaving her alone. The professor droned on and on. Nic was looking at me in a pleading manner. I sent her a forced smile and told her I just had a rough start to the morning. She didn't seem convinced, but didn't question it further.

I didn't even have time to pack my stuff up. The moment the bell rang, Nic was out of her seat and bombarding me with questions. I giggled at how worked up she was being.

"Sweets, it's nothing really. My mother was just being her usual unbearable self. I also have to cancel the sleepover this weekend since we need to go to Cannes. It's for a fundraiser event." I continued packing up.

"'We' as in me, you, and your sisters or 'we' as in you and your sisters?"

"'We' as in whatever you want the 'we' to be." I chuckled. "My sisters more than likely will be bringing their boyfriends since it's the South of France and it's a trip for a few days. You can join if you'd like." I lightly smiled. "I just don't want you feeling pressured to attend every event with me. Believe me, I know it can get exhausting." I dryly chuckled.

"I mean France is France, so I'd love to go! But, I will say that Rosé is gonna be disappointed." She looked down.

"Okay, maybe not canceled, but the sleepover will be postponed." She smiled at my rescheduling. "It's Friday, so we'll be leaving later today. I'll pick you up after your classes." She nodded at me.

X

I'm not entirely sure what happened during the flight since I zonked out the moment I sat down. The flight felt really short since I slept the entire way. The cars were waiting to take us to the hotel.

We slept for a few more hours before getting ready for the event. The event went smoothly. We dropped off the check and mingled with the other guests. I could tell Nic was having a fun time since the party wasn't so stiff. Because it was a formal party, people brought their friends that weren't from the upper sector, making the vibe more casual.

My sisters and I left Tamsin and Laurens behind. We each went to do our own thing. I took Lala along the beach where we watched the sand castle competition. It was funny when she was making a big deal about how the film festival is held here. I told her that I could bring her to the upcoming festival if she wished. She just rolled her eyes and dragged me into the water.

We arrived back at the hotel totally soaked. Tamsin was freaking out because my dress was a custom made vintage piece that was most likely ruined from the salt water. I dismissed her and began tickling Lala. Thankfully, Tamsin's phone rang. She rolled her eyes at us before picking it up. She nodded along to whatever the person on the other side was saying.

"Mother wants us to attend the gala in Monaco." She hung up. "Well,it's not really inconvenient since we were traveling there tomorrow." My sisters and I just absentmindedly nodded as we were distracted by our partners. "The gala is at 5pm, so we'll leave around 10am tommorow. That'll give us enough time to walk around and relax before we have to get ready." Once again, we all nodded to shut her up.

Tamsin took Laurens hand and they walked to their room. The rest of us stayed up a few more hours before calling it a night.

The next day, we ate the breakfast buffet the room service brought us. I couldn't keep my hands off Nic. Whether I was suggestively stroking her thigh or having my hand on her lower back. She would stiffen anytime my hand wandered too low.

I'm so proud of myself for convincing Nic to wear a dress. That meant easy access. While everyone was distracted, I slipped a finger inside her. Nic's breath hitched and she stared at me in frustration. I ignored her and continued pumping in and out of her. She had to grab the table cloth to keep her composure. Her face was so red that Gemma had to ask if she was alright. Nic responded that she was just a bit hot, prompting Chico to jump up and open the windows.

I decided to end her torture and take my finger out. I subtly brought it to my mouth and cleaned her juices off. I smirked at her sexually frustrated state. She was beyond pissed that I didn't offer her a chance to release. I smirked once more before turning my attention to the table. Zara was directly across from me and staring at me in disbelief. I just shrugged my shoulders and picked up a slice of fruit to eat.

"I have a poem for Ali, written from the perspective of the sweet, darling and innocent Nicola." I narrowed my eyes at Zara. What did she have in mind? "Ahem... ahem." I rolled my eyes as she cleared her throat. "Actually, maybe I should stand up for this." She pushed her chair away to stand. Zara then grabbed her phone to simulate a microphone.

"Pussy great

Pussy shakes

Pussy quakes... all over Ali's face... or should I say queefs...hmm?"

"Zara!" I threw my napkin at Zara the moment Tamsin reprimanded her. "We are at the dining table!"

"Oh, so Ali can taste the rainbow at the table, but I can't say a dramatic poem. Wow, I see the double standard." She stood up with a snickering Ryder. "Anyways, let's go." She pulled Ryder behind her.

I turned to see a flushed Nic. I wrapped my arm around her, prompting her to hide her face in my shoulder. Gemma and Chico couldn't help laughing at what Zara did while the uptight couple looked annoyed.

X

The helicopter ride to Monte Carlo was short. We landed at the Casino de Monte-Carlo. We were dressed expensively. Nic just chuckled at the ostentatious interior.

We all broke away to spend time with our dates. I had Nic join me as I played poker. She had absolutely no idea what was happening, but was ecstatic when I kept winning. Poker is one of the things my dad and I were good at. We'd often play poker and chess against the other. Chess was always a stalemate between us while poker could go either way.

I forced Nic to play a game of blackjack. She lost me a quarter million, but I enjoyed how happy she was. She tried to get me to tell her how much money she actually lost, but I just told her it wasn't that much. I said $250 and she nodded. I didn't technically lie since we say $100 in the business world when we are referring to $100,000.

Unfortunately, all good things, and gambling, must come to an end. We got dressed in our black tie outfits. I had an Italian custom made dress ready for Nic. She wasn't happy that I was spending so much on her. I dismissed her comment by stating that I got it for free. That was actually true since it was a gift from a famous designer (she didn't need to know it was a Versace piece, right?).

The valet opened the door of the Rolls Royce. The Gala was to raise money for Planetary Health. Nic noticed that the backdrop to the photography section said Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. I averted her eyes when they widened in shock. Yeah, it was the Prince of Monaco's event, but I didn't think that little detail was important.

I also didn't realize we were attending this event until the car pulled up. I wish Tamsin would've told me ahead of time. If she did, then I'd have claimed I wasn't feeling well. To be honest, I was dreading this event. This was the last place I wanted to be, especially with Nic.

Nic and I posed with my sisters for the paparazzi. I knew she was uncomfortable, so I softly squeezed her side in support. She immediately relaxed under my touch and smiled. After a few more minutes, we decided to head inside.

We smiled and mingled with some of the guests. I was concocting a plan on how we could escape. Nic felt a little weird since the vibe was more upper class than the previous one. She also felt embarrassed when the guests would speak in French or Italian. Although, they would immediately switch to English when they realized she didn't understand a word they were saying.

I guided Nic around the different items up for auction. She was particularly fascinated by a sapphire and diamond necklace. Considering that she was an artist herself, it wasn't that shocking for her eye to be glued to this piece of art.

"The diamonds perfectly compliment the raw blueness the sapphire offers. They have gems lining the necklace, but not too much that it makes it cluttered." My eyes softened at her focused expression. "Who designed this?" She looked at me. I opened my mouth to answer, but was cutoff.

"It's a 109- carat Kashmir Sapphire peacock necklace. Exquisite isn't it? It's incredibly rare, but we were able to acquire it."

I silently cursed as I recognized that velvety Italian and French accent. I reluctantly turned my head to see the familiar blue eyes of Skye.