"I Do Quite Enjoy Getting Gifts. I Get Them Quite Frequently But That Does Not Make Me Like It Any Less."

She didn't hide her disappointment at his answer, letting it rest on her face for a moment before she pasted a friendly smile onto her lips once more, ever the picture of amicability. "I hope that you do understand." Serra wasn't used to the concept of compromising, thinking that if she said what she wanted everything around her would shift to accomodate her wishes. This was the first time that didn't happen and honestly? She didn't think this was actually happening.

"I was always thinking I would one day like to move to Paris. It is my favorite city in the world." Serra mused, pausing as she looked over at him. Discussing this felt surreal, but it was good that they discussed it now, agreed on a story so there wouldn't be discrepancies. Damage control. "Perhaps we can say that I want to move and you don't. That way neither of us is painted in a bad light."

"No one would dare to break up with me." Serra confirmed his assumption with a small nod. It was always easier being the one leaving rather than the one who was left.

Serra looked over at him with a sigh, biting her lip. So this was the end. He wasn't begging for a second chance and somehow that made her respect him more. "I enjoyed our time together. I would say that I hope you find someone better, but as there's no such thing, I will say that I hope you find someone better suited for you."

“I won’t debate what’s owed at this level of courtship, perhaps it is best our journey ends while we can still part amicably.  I’m sure you’ll find someone to your standards and willing to devote themselves to you so wholly, desperately, and chastely.”  He let go of her shoulders, he could have lied to her told her they would be engaged, but though Serra was many things she was not one to suffer such a slight quietly.  It made him curious where she would go, who she might end up with on the way  there. “What is it you would like to tell people?  I’ll stick with how you would like to spin things as long as it’s reasonable and doesn’t paint either of us in too bad of a light.  A mutual disagreement or you have outgrown me, but I won’t drag myself through the mud.  A professional distance at events.  Don’t let this make you doubt yourself, it's not that you’re not enough, I just want more of you than you’re willing to give right now, knowing that is a kind of growth.” He tried to keep his smile warm, but there was a bit of bite in it.  His words were as always chosen carefully to garner a specific reaction. He waited smiling at her as if daring her to be something less than happy.  If he thought about it he was unsure what he was feeling exactly. “Have you had a relationship end on anyone’s terms but your own I wonder? Is that why you feel more comfortable saying the words I wonder?” He got closer to her than he meant to, perhaps it was affecting him more than he would admit,  “It’s a shame but I think our differences are irreconcilable.  Perhaps they were from the start, but it was fun to figure out I think, it was a delight to be seen with you, there is no one who can fill a moment the way you can or at least an event.”

"How long were you seeing her?" She didn't miss that he only said when he claimed to have stopped talking to her. How long had that been going on, she wondered. Still it did make a difference that he had stopped seeing her when he found out they were engaged, she supposed. The timeline in her head warred with what Evan had told her, unsure of who to believe. "I don't like not knowing things. Especially if they pertain to me." Her parents wanted to surprise her with a birthday party and then it turned into a surprise engagement after all, she was still upset with them for tricking her so. He had spent more time imagining and planning their future wedding it seemed. Serra didn't pull her hand away, letting it rest in his. It has been a while since she had touched him and yet the same sparks ran up her arms. "Obviously no blue. We are not Ravenclaws. Either white or pink florals."

"Of course not," he said with the same tone, thought softened around the edges of his words. There was a different spark in her eyes, one that he hadn't seen in many years, and it filled his chest with lightness, hope. "He knows nothing then. I hadn't been with her at least a week before your party-our announcement to society." At least he hoped he had the timing right, but the couple of days set preceding her party had stretched out before him in a blur. He remembered the lawyers, his dinner with Agatha, and nowhere in that could he recall meeting with Charity. He hoped she could be a problem that fixed itself without his attention pinned to it. "You did. I mean, you do deserve to know. I should've been the one to tell you, but I'm telling you now: there is nothing going on with her anymore. It felt like he was a limp rose that was finally blooming by her words, a grin appearing on his lips. These kind of moments with Serra were ones he had held onto for many years and now he was fortunate to find it here again. "Darling, I am here at this wedding with you, but I may as well be at ours because I cannot stop thinking about our planning," he said, reaching for her hand like a test. "We must do something different with the florals. And definitely not blue."

"Wonderfully. With lots of champagne." She sighed wistfully, already missing the beautiful city she got to call home for a few short months. It had more charm and elegance than London did. It felt more refined.

"I ran into him on the street as I was going to visit my father at the shop. He said something about me looking much better here than I would in Paris, so I said I would look good everywhere. Because that is a fact." The last bit was said as an afterthought. "He's been begging for forgiveness for years. With all the jewellery and dresses he's been buying me. I have yet to see him on his knees though."

"How did Paris treat you? Too many hours spent at the Avenue des Champs-Elysées" Willa asked intrigued, quietly thanking the waitress as two teapots were sat in front of the pair. Serra understood Willa's love for the finer things in life, and while most would expect their attitudes to clash, in fact it made quite the harmonious balance.

Pouring tea for herself and Serra, Willa's eyebrow quirked in response the the mention of Malcolm Parkinson. Back at Hogwarts, Willa recalled first talking to Serra after the commotion between Serra and Malcolm, and of course, Charity Burbage. She was slightly older, but that didn't stop word from spreading. "What happened?" Setting the teapot back down, she looked back at her friend. "I sure hope that he begged for forgiveness."

Serra sits down all poise and elegance, the diamond tennis bracelet Antonin had gotten her for her birthday teamed with necklace Malcolm had sent her for her birthday a couple of years ago. "It is truly a shame, but I do understand, Paris is lovely this time of year. You missed a lot, I came into the party single and ended it engaged. To Malcolm." Her parents had done it that way on purpose, she could not cause a scene in public after all.

"Well when you put it that way, I don't mind the company," Davina replied, gesturing to the open seat. She glanced at Serra from across the table. "I'm sorry I missed your birthday. I was in Paris," Davina lied. She hadn't attended because it was gauche to attend a party without a gift. "I hope that it was everything that you could have wanted. I would love to hear all the gossip, though, so sit and tell me everything."

"That is good, I am glad to hear it." Serra said, without lying for the sake of politeness. She did not wish ill upon him, the ending of their liasion much more amicable than the one she had with Malcolm. "I have enjoyed Paris very much I must admit, I did not expect to have to be back in London so soon, but my parents insisted." She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. Defying them was not an option. Her eyes shined with excitement when she took in the diamond bracelet. It was gorgeous, more understated than expected but she understood his reasoning once he explained it. It made sense, that way she could wear it every day without it becoming stale.

"I like it. Thank you. You chose well. Did Leta help you with it or did you choose it yourself?" She trusted the other witch's taste.

Antonin’s brow furrowed as if recounting recent events.  He laughed.  “I have been busy, but well enough, I appreciate you asking, but know you’d much rather talk about your adventures.  Paris seems to have agreed with you.  I’m sure you didn’t come back just to celebrate your birthday, you must have something juicy to gossip about.”   He gave Serra a soft smile still toying with the small box almost tucking it away.  “I bet you were born with a sparkle in your eyes weren’t you?  A token.“  He relented, opening the box to show her a diamond bracelet.  The stones were a good size and cut enough to add to an outfit without drawing focus from it. “Something for every occasion. I’m sure you could pull off anything sparkly enough, but why give a gift whose only use is to fill a box.”

"What's that supposed to mean?" She raised an eyebrow, haughty look on her face. As always, she wasn't too thrilled when she got to see her cousin. Alara was annoying and would no doubt hold it over her head that it was Leta attending this wedding at Antonin's side. "Parisians have much better taste. I cannot wait to leave the greyness of london behind."

There was rumours from her family when it came to her cousin and she was curious if they were true. She would not be sad to see Serra leave. "And here I thought you could do better." Alara smiled sweetly at the other. "I don't think Paris is ready for you."

@themalcolmparkinson

"It would have been rather embarrassing for you." Serra giggled, her superiority complex obvious. Annoyed that Alara didn't ask she provided the information herself. "I'm here with Antonin."

Alara rolled her eyes at her cousin and glanced around for Evan to come save her from this monster. "Do you think I would have attended if he wasn't with me?" She wouldn't have. This was the world they grew up in, didn't mean she had to be here. Emir and Mira would have been enough for the family appearance.

"Yes." She grimaced, her tone petulant and angry and not nearly as blasé as she wanted to be. Normally no one got to her, she believed herself to sit pretty on her throne, a pedestal from where she looked down on others and now it seemed like her whole kingdom was crumbling. "I'm not as cheap and desperate and easy as you are." The insults kept flowing easily out of her lips but that didn't make her feel any better. Wandless magic was something she was quite good at when it came to beauty spells, needing to know she could do her hair in any situation. It wasn't even planned, her emotions getting the better of her as she turned Charity's hair into a hideously short bob with uneven bangs. A laugh left her lips as she started at the other, feeling like she won she made her way into the hallway. She needed to find Malcolm so he'd tell her this was all a bad joke.

She stared in bewilderment, surprised to see the toll her boyfriend's shenanigan had taken on her. It was hilarious to see the tormentor become the tormented one, all too annoyed to feel someone she saw as lesser get a small triumph. "Plenty, huh?" She repeated the witch's words, simply to spite her, a sly grin pulling at the corners of her lips. "The way he had fun with me, though, makes me think you two didn't have any." Charity stated, turning to washing her hands, pretending not to care for this conversation at all. She did, though, more so for the pure satistfaction of getting to pull one over someone as awful as Serra. "You don't have to, what do I care if you believe it or not?" She said with a shrug of her shoulders. "All I care is that I'm most certain I'll ride him again."

Serra knew appearances mattered and that her reputation was at stake right now, but for someone who normally put so much care into that fact she could not for the life of her stay calm and unbothered like she knew she should. At fifteen she felt like this was a catastrophe of epic proportions. Charity seemed calm, too calm. Did it mean that it was true? Or that she was lying? She claimed not to be a liar, but that itself could be a falsehood. "He has plenty of fun with me!" None of the sexual kind however. He'd told her he was fine with waiting, but she didn't think that meant he'd go cheat on her! Especially with someone that wasn't as pretty as her nor looked like her at all. Not even a brunette? It just didn't make sense to her, it felt like her world was thrown upside down. She was literally drop dead gorgeous, everyone could see that. To throw all this away for that? "I don't believe you."

Her eyes settled on the other as she was seemingly throwing a fit over the words she'd just shared, a calmness taking over Charity as she simply stared at the other. A part of her didn't understand the emotionality behind her act, how terribly affected she seemed by the truth, but another part of her simply felt a peculiar kind of delight at seeing the one who'd treated her so badly in previous encounters simply losing it. "Merlin, did you get flustered." The witch simply commented, as if remarking on something utterly obvious. "Well, if you didn't break up, he definitely cheated on you." She stated unfazed, though she was definitely bothered by Serra saying they were still together, annoyed that Malcolm had lied to her instead. Her brows raised slightly at the insult, not the first time she'd heard it, chuckling inevitably. "Weird as I may look, at least he had a good time. Funny thing he'd go looking elsewhere, unless he wasn't having any with you."