Forbidden Love Read online

  FORBIDDEN

  LOVE

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  FORBIDDEN LOVE

  "It's so exciting!" Jessica gushed. "I can't believe someone in our class is getting married."

  "Jess," Elizabeth said sharply. "I don't think you realize how serious this whole thing is. Maria's only sixteen, and Michael can't be much older!"

  "Who cares?" Jessica asked.

  Elizabeth sighed. She wished she could be as enthusiastic about Maria and Michael's engagement as everyone else at Sweet Valley High.

  "Hey," Jessica said, "maybe cheerleading practice won't be so bad after all. We'll be able to pump Maria and find out everything about the wedding—when Michael popped the question, whether he got her a ring, and all the important stuff."

  "Right," Elizabeth said ironically. "No point in worrying about trivial things like what they're going to do about the fact that their parents don't even know they're dating."

  "You don't have a romantic bone in your body!" Jessica accused.

  "I just don't see what's romantic about a secret engagement, that's all," Elizabeth replied. She didn't know Maria or Michael very well, but she hoped more than anything that they knew what they were doing!

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  One

  "I can't believe it," Jessica Wakefield grumbled. She tossed her silky, sun-streaked blond hair off her shoulder. "A gorgeous Friday afternoon, and Ricky Capaldo has to call a special cheerleading practice!"

  Elizabeth stretched luxuriously, ignoring the plaintive note in her twin sister's voice. The last period of the school day had just ended, and she and her sister were relaxing on the emerald green lawn in front of Sweet Valley High. Elizabeth was waiting for her best friend, Enid Rollins, to emerge from the school, and Jessica was waiting for cheerleading practice to begin. Jessica didn't usually mind practice. Cheerleading was one of her favorite activities, especially since the squad had purchased new uniforms with short, pleated skirts. Jessica knew she looked terrific in her uniform, and she loved cheering in front of big crowds. But she felt Friday afternoon was a better time to relax on the beach than work on routines on the football field. She scrunched her face up in exasperation, and Elizabeth burst out laughing.

  "What's wrong with you, Jess?" she asked. "You look like you're trying to turn yourself inside out!"

  Jessica eyed her twin loftily. "I happen to be thinking, Liz," she retorted. "Can't you tell?"

  Elizabeth suppressed an urge to laugh. Sometimes she couldn't believe she and Jessica were twins. True, with their blue-green eyes, sun-streaked hair, and big smiles, they were mirror images of each other. Their willowy, five-foot-six-inch frames were similar enough to allow them to trade clothing, even though Elizabeth dressed much more conservatively than Jessica. But choice of clothes was only one way in which they were opposites. Take cheerleading, for instance. The last thing Elizabeth would ever do voluntarily would be to jump around in front of a bunch of strangers. Elizabeth wasn't shy, but she liked her privacy. She preferred activities where she could use her mind. Her favorite hobby was writing, and she devoted hours every week to The Oracle, Sweet Valley High's newspaper. "Slow and steady" was one of Elizabeth's favorite mottoes. She disliked change. Unlike Jessica, she could not see the appeal of changing fashions every ten seconds, racing from one boyfriend to the next, or throwing herself into new hobbies with dizzying speed. Elizabeth liked to have fun as much as her twin, but her energies were more likely to be devoted to fund-raising projects, community activities, or relaxing with a few close friends.

  Here, too, the twins differed. Jessica's friends were mostly girls she knew from cheerleading or Pi Beta Alpha, the exclusive sorority both she and Elizabeth belonged to. Elizabeth thought most of the sorority girls were snobs. She much preferred Enid's quiet companionship and the solid, affectionate relationship she had with her boyfriend, Jeffrey French. Elizabeth didn't mind leaving the dazzle and theatrics to her twin.

  "Hey," Jessica said, her eyes brightening as she focused on a small, dark girl coming out of the main doors of school. "There's Maria!"

  Elizabeth followed her gaze. Brown-haired, pretty Maria Santelli was a junior, like the twins. Recently she had been the subject of a great deal of gossip. "Have you found out yet whether or not it's true?" she asked. "Are Maria and Michael really engaged?"

  Jessica hugged her knees with excitement. "It's so wonderful!" she gushed. "I can't believe someone in our very own class is getting married." Her expression was dreamy. "I wonder if I'll get to be a bridesmaid. I can wear flowers in my hair and everything—and maybe I'll catch the bouquet!"

  ''Jess," Elizabeth said sharply, "I don't think you realize how serious this whole thing is. There's more to marriage than just a ring and a wedding. Maria's only sixteen, and Michael can't be much more than seventeen!" Michael Harris was a senior. He and Maria had been dating, but no one could have imagined they would be getting engaged!

  "Who cares?" Jessica responded. "Mr. Collins says Juliet was only fourteen when she met Romeo. Age," she added authoritatively, "has nothing to do with anything."

  Elizabeth sighed. She wished she could be as enthusiastic about Maria and Michael's engagement as everyone else seemed to be. Not that either Maria or Michael had yet confirmed the rumor that was spreading around school like wildfire. Elizabeth couldn't help hoping that it was only that, a rumor. Cara Walker, one of Jessica's best friends and the girlfriend of the twins' brother Steven, had broken the news to the twins a few days before. Characteristically Jessica had been instantly excited. Maria was a cheerleader, but Jessica had never been very close to her. Now she acted as though Maria were her best friend.

  "Hey," Jessica said, leaning forward and craning her neck to follow Maria's progress across the lawn and down the footpath to the athletic field, "maybe practice won't be bad after all. We'll be able to pump Maria and find out everything about it—when Michael popped the question, whether he got her a ring, and all the important stuff."

  Elizabeth shook her head. "Right," she said sarcastically. "No point in worrying about trivial things like what they're going to do about the fact that their parents don't even know they're dating!"

  The Santellis and the Harrises had been bitter enemies since a business venture had soured years before. They had forbidden their children to see each other.

  Jessica looked sober. "Isn't it exciting," she said, her eyes widening as she considered Michael and Maria's predicament. "Liz, don't you wish Jeffrey's parents were feuding with Mom and Dad? Don't you think it would make everything more interesting between you two?"

  Elizabeth spotted Enid coming out of school and waved at her friend. "No," she told her twin firmly. "I don't think Jeffrey and I need a feud to make things interesting, but thanks for the suggestion!"

  Jessica looked hurt. "I don't get it," she said. "My own flesh and blood, and you don't have a romantic bone in your body!"

  "I just don't see what's romantic about a secret engagement, that's all," Elizabeth replied, getting to her feet. She didn't know Maria very well, but everything she had heard about her relationship with Michael worried Elizabeth. She hoped they knew what they were doing.

  "Well, I'm going to practice. I'm going to find out the whole story," Jessica declared. She jumped to her feet and grabbed the hot-pink nylon duffel filled with her gear. "See you later."

  Elizabeth sighed as her sister raced off. She could always count on one thing: Wherever the excitement was, Jessica was bound to be right in the thick of it. And Maria and Michael's engagement was the hottest thing to hit Sweet Valley High in months!

  Enid and Elizabeth were strolling home together, enjoying the balmy, cloudless Southern California afternoon and discussing the events of the week. Enid Rollins was an attractive brown-haired girl with an open, friendly expression. She and Elizabeth had been best friends for quite a while and were often able to guess what was on each other's minds. "What do you think of the new social studies project?" Enid asked, her green eyes twinkling. "It seems like everyone has marriage on the brain these days!"

  Elizabeth chuckled. As part of a social studies unit, some juniors and seniors were going to take part in a special seminar on family and marriage. Mr. Jaworski, a history teacher who would lead the discussions, had proposed the seminar to introduce students to some of the issues adults face in day-to-day life. Students would be paired up into "husband and wife" teams on Monday. Each couple would be given a folder containing information about their social status, income, and occupation. They would be given a set of facts about their imaginary family: how many children they had, what ages they were, their names, whether they had any special problems. The family and marriage unit would last two weeks, though they would spend time on it only every other day. Each pair would be given test problems to work out, and at the end of each hour, one couple would be chosen to report how they had worked through the problem, what additional problems they had encountered, and what they had learned from the experiment.

  "I think it's a good idea," Elizabeth said enthusiastically. "I was trying to tell Jessica that, but she wouldn't lis
ten," she added. "It seems like a good thing to talk about some of the aspects of marriage people don't really consider. The day to day, nitty-gritty stuff."

  "Jeffrey's in our seminar," Enid teased her friend. "Maybe you two will get teamed up."

  "So are Maria and Michael," Elizabeth said, frowning. "What do you think of this whole business about their engagement?"

  "Well, I don't know that much about it," Enid said. "But I thought that Maria was forbidden even to go out with Michael. I thought their parents were bitter enemies or something."

  "I thought so, too. In fact I'm pretty sure that's true," Elizabeth said. "It seems a little rash to get engaged, don't you think?"

  Enid pushed her brown hair away from her face, a sign she was deep in thought. "Part of me thinks it's pretty romantic," she admitted. "But I can see a million problems. They're awfully young, for one thing."

  "It's funny," Elizabeth mused. "Maria seems to have so many plans. She brought some material to the Oracle office the other day for an Outward Bound project she wants to organize this summer. She said she needed to get a certain number of kids for it to get off the ground. Do you think she'll be able to do that if she and Michael get married?"

  "I don't know," Enid answered. "She does seem like someone who has a lot of commitments. She's got cheerleading and the sorority, and she's been helping Winston run for Student Council PTA representative."

  Elizabeth looked interested. "I didn't know he was running," she commented. Winston Egbert, a tall, lanky junior with dark hair, was the acknowledged class clown. He hardly seemed to be the type who would be interested in serving as liaison between the Student Council and the Parent-Teacher Association. A few students had already put themselves in the running for the spot, which Elizabeth knew was an important one. And now that she'd thought about it, she realized that Winston wasn't a bad choice at all. He was hardworking and earnest and would give his all to whatever he chose to do.

  "I heard Maria telling Olivia Davidson about it yesterday," Enid said. "Apparently it's something he really wants. Only he doesn't have much confidence, not when it comes to something as serious as this. So Maria's been helping him out. She's on the council and has been giving him pointers. She's his official manager. She's making posters for him, helping him with his campaign speech, things like that."

  Elizabeth didn't say anything for a minute. It seemed to her that by getting engaged to Michael Harris, Maria Santelli was making an enormous mistake. She seemed to be such an energetic, ambitious girl. She had her whole life in front of her. Why get married in her junior year of high school?

  And what about Michael? Elizabeth didn't know him at all. He was on the tennis team, a tall, athletic guy with dark hair and warm hazel eyes. He had a healthy suntan, was well groomed, and had a slightly studious air that had always appealed to Elizabeth. He seemed like a perfectly nice guy. A nice guy—but a husband?

  It almost seemed too crazy to believe! But it wasn't her business, Elizabeth reminded herself. She was sure Maria and Michael knew what they were doing. After all, they had known each other for years.

  Still, she couldn't help feeling curious. And she couldn't help looking forward to the report she knew her twin would have when she returned from cheerleading practice.

  "Do you have any idea how gorgeous you are?" Jeffrey French said in a husky voice. He leaned over and traced one of Elizabeth's eyebrows with his finger. The afternoon sun was beginning to fade, and the two were swinging together in the new hammock Mr. Wakefield had hung between two trees in the Wakefields' backyard. Prince Albert, the Wakefields' new golden retriever puppy, was sound asleep on Elizabeth's lap.

  "Who?" Elizabeth said teasingly. "Prince Albert or me?" But her eyes misted over a little despite the light tone of her voice. She loved it when Jeffrey had that little catch in his voice.

  "You're pretty special yourself," she murmured, resting her head on his chest. She had always thought Jeffrey was incredibly good-looking; but that afternoon he looked more handsome than usual. He had a deep tan, and his green eyes glowed. His thick blond hair was bleaching out a little, too. And he looked so strong—and so protective! Elizabeth sighed with contentment. Overhead the leaves glinted with fading sunlight. "I feel so safe," Elizabeth murmured, stroking Prince Albert's head with her hand. "Jeffrey," she added softly, "do you ever think about getting married?"

  Jeffrey was quiet for a minute. "Sure," he said at last. "I think about it sometimes. I try to picture where I'm going to live and what my kids will look like. . . . "

  Elizabeth felt funny. She and Jeffrey had been a couple for a while now, but they'd never had a conversation like this before. She felt strangely nervous bringing it up, but the matter-of-fact tone in Jeffrey's voice reassured her. "But you think about it as something way down the road, don't you?" she asked.

  Jeffrey chuckled. "You're not proposing to me, are you?" he teased.

  Elizabeth slapped his arm lightly. "Fat chance," she joked. "No. I was just thinking about Maria and Michael, that's all."

  "Mmm," Jeffrey murmured. "Strange, isn't it? I wonder what the story is."

  Elizabeth stared up at the leaves overhead, quiet contentment washing over her. She wondered too. But now she felt so peaceful she didn't care about anything but being right where she was. She was about to tell Jeffrey how she felt, but he silenced her by leaning over and covering her lips with his. The next minute Prince Albert woke up with a squeal as Jeffrey leaned on him. Elizabeth started laughing.

  "Darned dog," Jeffrey complained. But he was too busy smiling at Elizabeth to think about Prince Albert for long.

  Two

  "Come on, girls!" Ricky Capaldo cried. "We've got to get the pyramid right this afternoon. Everyone line up, and let's figure out who's going to go where."

  Ricky was the cheerleaders' manager. A short, energtic boy with an endless fund of humor, he had worked hard to make the squad as good as it was. There were eight cheerleaders in all. Jessica and Robin Wilson were co-captains. Jessica's friend Cara Walker was also on the team, along with Maria, Jeanie West, Sandra Bacon, Ricky's ex-girlfriend Annie Whitman, and the newest member of the team, Amy Sutton. Amy had been Elizabeth's best friend in sixth grade, but they had lost touch after Amy's family moved to the East Coast. When the Suttons came back to Sweet Valley, Elizabeth and Amy found they had grown in different directions. Elizabeth found Amy boy-crazy and irresponsible, whereas Jessica thought she was tons of fun. Jessica had been instrumental in getting Amy on the team. Now Amy, Cara, and Jessica were inseparable at practice. That afternoon they came out of the locker room together, buzzing with excitement about Maria.

  "Who's going to ask her about it?" Amy asked, pulling her blond hair back in a ponytail. "Cara, I think you should. You're the one she confided in."

  "No way," Cara objected. "Maria made me promise to keep it secret. I can't ask her about it in front of all of you."

  "I know!" Jessica exclaimed. "I'll just happen to grab her hand when we're getting into the pyramid formation, and I'll ask her about the ring."

  "Come on," Cara urged her. "Ricky's waving at us. I think we're late."

  As it turned out, Jessica and Amy had nothing to worry about. Maria was surrounded by the rest of the squad, her left hand extended. A small, perfectly round diamond twinkled on her third finger. The band was slender and gold, very simple. It was beautiful.

  "Maria, it's gorgeous!" Robin Wilson exclaimed, leaning over Maria's hand to admire the ring. "I can't believe he really gave you a diamond."

  "Well, we are engaged," Maria said.

  Jessica and Amy crowded in to see the ring. "You mean it's all out in the open now?" Amy asked, staring at Maria's hand.

  Maria's face reddened. "Well—not really. I mean, we're telling our friends. But we're not letting our parents know—not for now, anyway. So keep it quiet," she added meaningfully.

  Jessica stared at the ring, watching the sunlight shoot through the gem, making fiery sparkles of light. "What a beautiful ring," she said. "Maria, tell us how it happened. When did he ask you?"

  Maria tossed back her hair, clearly enjoying the attention. She was a pretty girl, but that afternoon she seemed truly beautiful; there was something different about her, a new spirit, a new kind of excitement. Her eyes glowed, and her cheeks were flushed with excitement. "I'll tell you," she said dramatically, "but remember, not a word of it to your parents." Her large eyes narrowed momentarily. "My parents would absolutely kill me if they found out."