𝕭𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖙 (𝕬 𝕽𝖊𝖒𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖙𝖔𝖓 𝕷𝖊𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝕱𝖆𝖓𝖋𝖎𝖈)

Part 6

Remington's POV

My family and Miss Josephine's family were seated in the long, marble table in the dining hall. The help prepped everything as we were seated and made everything look perfect. I always smiled at the staff to say thank you since they work so head for us and they know we would never treat them below us since I'm just as human as they are. The one me and my brothers got the closest to was the head maid, Sophie, who's worked for us since we were teenagers and would help her mom out before she passed away and took over. She'd be there for us whenever we needed comfort and kind of be our mom when she was taking care of business elsewhere.

All who was missing was Dahlia, and AI was anxiously waiting for her while one of the girls, Rose, was talking to me and trying to flirt with me as well. I nodded and casually smiled to be polite, but then I caught glimpse of Dahlia looking like the most angelic and enchanting princess as she walked into the dining room so gracefully wearing a lovely dress and her hair was styled so divinely. I noticed Sophie walking behind her and then joining the rest of the staff, leading me to believe she must have helped her with her look.

As the cooks served the first entree, I glanced at Dahlia from time to time and couldn't believe how beautiful she looked right now. I mean, she was already beautiful coming in here with a simple dress scarcely stitched with rags, but she looks like she could be born into this universe and steal the hearts of thousands of eligible bachelors that I know. I wanted to be close to her, but she was sitting near the other end with Miss Josephine, and I was sitting close to my mother and brothers.

"So, Prince Remington", Rose started breaking my attention away from Dahlia, "Have you ever had a lady to yourself?" I pried my eyes away from Dahlia to look at Rose and answered her question, "Um, well. A few, yes. But none too serious." "Aww, that's too bad. Were they all too self-absorbed for you?" "Uh, no actually. I wasn't good at keeping all my focus on them and I let them go to avoid hurting their feelings." "I see. Maybe you just need a woman", she said as she trailed her finger on my hand, "who will stay no matter what."

The rest of the dinner, my mother talked with Miss Josephine about what she wanted her to do while she worked her, and time to time, I'd steal a few glances at Dahlia who was minding her business and staying silent as she quietly ate her food. The one time she looked at me while I caught her, I shot her a small smile, but I didn't expect her to bear a serious face and shake her head as if me being nice to her was a bad thing. I was confused and decided to respect her wishes so I didn't look at her as much hoping not to make her upset again.

When the dinner was over, I escaped Rose and her sisters to find Dahlia walking away from the crowd as fast as she could. I followed her and walked fast to find her going upstairs to her room, but before she got close to the door, I took her hand and stopped her. She turned back to me and there was intense fear in her eyes. What was she so scared of? Was it...me? "Dahlia", I asked softly while taking a single step toward her still holding her hand, "What happened back there? Did I make you uncomfortable or anything? Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"

She just looked at me like I had two heads or something, and then shook her head while looking away, "I have something to tell you, but you have to promise to keep it a secret." My eyes widened at her statement, but I nodded and stood in front of her to prove she could trust me, "You can tell me anything. I promise." Then she took a deep breath before looking into my eyes and speaking again, "I do not work for Miss Josephine and her daughters." She looked like she would cry as she continued, "She's my mother and they're my sisters."

I was speechless after that, and then she freaked her hand from mine and added more, "My oldest sister, Rose, is the one who sat close to you and talked to you. She likes you and you should give her a chance. Please." I was confused, I thought she might be a little interested in me. "I'm sorry, Dahlia", I tried to justify myself, "Your sister seems like a nice girl and is very pretty lady", then I stepped a little closer to her and looked into her eyes, "But what if she's not the one I have my heart set on?"

Her face turned white and didn't look anywhere else but my eyes as I boldly placed my hands on her waist and pulled her closer to me. She was so full of shock as I glanced at her lips and then ever so slowly, I closed my eyes and leaned into her face. I barely touched her lips when I felt her pull away and start to cry. "Remington", she got out through her tears, "I promise you, I'm not the one you want. Please, if you truly care about me, you'll leave me be and give my sister a chance. I'm begging you too." Then she went into her room and locked the door.

I didn't understand. I really believed she might have had some interest in me. Or maybe I was fooling myself because, turns out, I must have fallen for Miss Josephine's youngest daughter. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't present Dahlia as her own daughter, even if she looks different from her other daughters. Why was Dahlia pushing so hard for me to be with her sister, Rose? I mean I could, but there's nothing worse than being with someone when you actually want someone else? Was she so caring of her sisters that she wanted them to be happy? Or could she possibly be scared of her own family?

I decided to take a walk in the castle gardens and clear my head. I didn't expect myself to almost kiss Dahlia, but I needed her to know she was much more to me than a memory now. She was now the most beautiful woman I've ever had the honor of meeting and nothing that this world has to offer me would make me more happy than to belong to her and to have her belong to me. I felt like I was crazy for being in love with a non-royal girl like her, but my heart made me believe this was more right than any centuries-old standard, and I smiled brightly as I thought of her beautiful face and angelic smile.