CHAPTER 18 AMELIA I glared at him, still trying to comprehend how he could look at me with a straight face and tell me that he doesn't want to see me anymore. "I didn't say we shouldn't see anymore," he corrected and I sighed, what difference does it make, just when I was getting used to being happy in his arms once again, he drops this sort of bombshell. Was he used to breaking my heart? "Do you take pleasure in hurting me?" I asked and I could see him chuckling and I playfully shoved his hands which were wrapped around my waist and he pulled me into his arms again. "Come on Amelia, why would I ever delight pleasure in hurting you, I am doing this to protect you," he explained, his hands were trailing down my arms and then up to my neck and he pulled me into a deep kiss, his hands laid gently on my back, as his lips and mine touched, his lips was warmth and his breath was a bit heavy, heaving and pulling me in and then I paused and tilted my head forward to accommodate his mou
CHAPTER 19 AMELIA Constance is showing me how to knit and it is a particularly boring and unbearable process, it this what they would use to determine the winner of the contest, I might as well just quit right now, because there is no way I am learning how to knit, not to talk of becoming proficient in it. "I give up," I finally declared, throwing the knitted scarf, or what I would want to be a scarf on the floor. "You cannot give up now, I know it looks hectic but with a little practice you would get it," she tried to encourage me and I sighed. "That is the thing, I don't want to get it, I don't want to be used to sitting on a rocking chair all day knitting," I replied to her and she frowned, I know that at this point she was already getting so frustrated about my wits and bankers. But those were the things that made me, my core essence, I loved to read, to talk and I do not want to always be agreeable. I love to have an opinion of my own, not just concur with what people say be
CHAPTER 20 AMELIA It was the day of the competition and I kept clenching my hands together, I was nervous and I couldn't. Keep my heart from racing, I had the cooking skills of a five-year-old and I wasn't even that good. I knew Alaric couldn't come to my rescue today because he had to keep a low profile and tone down the favoritism. I was on my own. Well technically, I wasn't completely on my own, I had Constance by my side who is meant to assist me but she isn't allowed to give me any direction or intervene. So, yes, I was on my own today. We all walked up to the cooking quarters dressed in our aprons and forced to put on a smile to appear appealing. "You would have to wear your smile on all the time during the cooking contest," Constance had reminded me before we went up to the courtyard, and I frowned almost immediately. "Why," I had asked, I don't know why I had to be forced to do something as remotely boring as cooking and forced to wear a smile the entire time while d
CHAPTER 21 AMELIA My mind was still occupied by what just transpired between Alaric and me, at this point, I knew it wouldn't be long before we went all the way. Somehow I feel I am ready, I love him and he loves me so much too. Although I had not told him yet, I was sure I did. "You spent a whole lot of time in the bathroom, were you that nervous?" Constance asked as I tried to regain my composure. My legs were still shaky, and I squeaked. "Yes, I was adjusting my corset, a string pull," I lied, it wasn't exactly a lie when Alaric had lifted my skirt. "Oh, my lady, you did it all wrong," she snorted, making her way to me to help me fix it, while my eyes trailed as I saw Lucia approach me, she had a feigned smile on her face. Right now she is the last person I want to interact with. I am already so tense as it is. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the lucky one, don't think that sprinkle of luck you had in the fashion show will happen again," she said and I frowned. My heart ski
CHAPTER 22 ALARIC Why don't things come easy to me, how was I going to make this right? There is no way I was going to disqualify Amelia, she is the love of my life and that was something I wasn't going to let go of. A lot of eyes were on me to see what I was going to do, there had already been rumors and talk of me trying to favor Amelia, now I was about to damn all consequences. Why would Amelia make such a costly mistake like this? I stood there, surrounded by a web of confusion and conflicting opinions, my mind was in turmoil. The incident with the bad food had thrown everything into disarray, and now Lady Giselle was apologizing profusely, ordering the food to be discarded immediately. "I am sorry your majesty, we don't know how this slipped past us, we tasted all the food, guards throw away this atrocity right now," she blurted out in understandable confusion, she was partially to blame for this, it was her place to taste all the food before it was brought forward to me
CHAPTER 23 AMELIA I walked briskly through the garden, my heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and uncertainty. It was a close call, I almost lost everything in a blink of an eye. I was about to give up, on my dreams, on Alaric but no, that couldn't happen, he was too much a part of me for me to just let go of. Spotting Alaric, my breath caught in my throat. As our eyes locked, he pulled me into a bare hug, his arms enveloping me, and a surge of warmth spread through my veins. I knew why he did this, he felt the close call lost, as much as I did. While he was standing there, looking so confused as everyone expected him to disqualify me, I could see the torment he was going through. I wouldn't have even blamed him, if he had done that. He had little to no choice at that point and I knew it. Before I could fully comprehend what was happening, he leaned in, capturing my lips in a kiss. The kiss was soft and tender at first. The kiss was a combination of emotions, everything
CHAPTER 24 ALARIC Today was the day I would be spending with the ladies, it would be supervised. The setting was made in such a way that we would have a whole lot of audience watching and listening to us as we went on a date. It would last for an hour for each lady and get to talk to them, know what they fancied. I was looking forward to It, I know I already had a pre-existing bias, because I wanted to be with Amelia but I also just wanted to get to see for myself how I felt for other ladies. I sat across from Lucia, the air brimming with anticipation, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of apprehension. Our conversation started off with the usual pleasantries, but something felt off, scripted almost. I longed for genuine connection, for a glimpse into her true self. I know that people say a lot of things about her but maybe I could find out something about her that made her special. "You look beautiful today," I complimented Lady Lucia and she grinned at me, it was a soft grin, not
CHAPTER 25AMELIAIt was almost my turn to have my date with Alaric, I had sat down to listen to his date with other ladies, I can't lie, at one point I was jealous because I felt he was giving them so much chance to actually talk and prove themselves. I didn't know what exactly to do, but just to sit down and watch things unfold. But it was Bianca's date with him that caught my attention and a lot of other people's attention, they now believe I didn't want to win, some said it was a lie and that I had just played Bianca, that wasn't far fetched because I wasn't really completely honest with Bianca, I knew I needed to come clean before it was too late, but for now I needed to concentrate on making an impression. Constance and I stood in the grand hall, engaged in a rather unconventional practice session. She was determined to teach me the ways of ladylike demeanor, and I, well, I was doing my best to keep up. The struggle was evident on both our faces. "I watched the other ladies a