A Pact With The Prince | Bridgerton ~ Prince Friedrich

Chapter Twenty Nine

Diana let out a frustrated groan, "This is madness, are you trying to be cruel now? To see if you can tempt me again?"

"No Diana please, listen!" he attempted to get hold of her hands but she drew back.

"I love you. I don't know how to say it eloquently, I'm not poetic." he studied her face with sadness. "But know...you have to know. It's always been you, invading every part of my thoughts, heart and soul."

Diana felt her tears fall again, his confession released a sob from her . "Damn you." she cursed before she seared a kiss of her own pulling him on the bed. "I love you and I hate you for it." She murmured as he let out a shaky chuckle.

Solid as an oak tree he caged her beneath him. He repeated the words over and over again, peppering her neck and face with kisses infusing the words into her skin before claiming her mouth again.

The world around them seemed to disappear as she grew obsessed with the feral heat that ignited between them flooding her in places she didn't know existed. It felt like she was spinning on a precipice of something that was unknown to her but desperately wanted to discover.

The clock rang behind them signalling the hour, pulling them back to the world. He tore away from her, catching his breath.

"I'm sorry." he leaned away. "I forgot myself, it is not right to take advantage of you like this."

Diana moved away sitting up again, putting space between them noticing how much his pupils have blown dark and heady. "No, I let it happen, because I want it too."

"Please." he begged. "Don't tell me this, if it happens again I am not going to stop."

Diana nodded, she needed to regain control of herself and her body. Their wasn't much time to talk and it wouldn't do if they were discovered in such a position.

He tore away from her bed taking deep breaths pacing the room in attempt to calm himself. Diana quickly fixed her braid knowing it looked positively a mess. Soon he moved back toward her with tattered composure.

"I thought it was best at the time to forget each other." he started, his hand searching hers. "But it's impossible."

"I don't understand Freddie." Diana squeezed his hands desperate to comprehend what was happening.

"I'm trapped and I'm still trying to figure out a way to break free from the Fraulein." he said.

"Trapped? Are you being coerced it into this engagement?" Diana asked shocked.

"You'll be surprised how many royal marriages start out like this." he said dryly. "I have hinted that my father is not a good man..and that is putting it lightly."

It pained Diana to see the years of sadness he was finally showing her.

"My mother is trapped in Prussia with my father, where everyday she prays that she doesn't wake up." Diana shivered at his words hating how hollow he suddenly sounded.

"Last year, I had intend to find someone to settle with here and figure out means bring my mother as pretense to help the new Princess and she would gain the protection of my Aunt the Queen. I of course failed and I didn't realize until it was too late that my father and Sir Elliot had started negotiations on marriage with the Fruelin and her family."

Diana let out a breath her head swimming as her emotions and annoyance that Sir Elliot was way more involved than she liked. "My father forced my Aunt to facilitate the match before I knew until I forced her to tell me the truth when she was adamant that you were not the match for me."

"Why? What does he have to gain marrying you off?" Diana asked.

His sunny and boyish faced turned serious, much too serious than she liked, "Debt, apparently the Fruelin's father was a supporter and had money, he helped him quell any talk of rebellion removing my father as Kaiser. The only way to repay since he didn't have the funds was make his daughter a Princess, it was the only way according to Sir Elliot." The Prince swallowed hard. 

Diana grimaced at Sir Elliot's name, the man was meddling and clearly a master at manipulations. "Herr Von Brandenburg is a very archaic man goes by the old rules of justice and rights including gambling his daughters away, very much liked Sir Elliot's proposal."

"Oh Freddie, I'm so sorry!" Diana pulled him into her arms, despite being much larger than her she still attempted to wrap around him.

He let out a shaky breath, "It got worse, when my father found out about you. I had feared for you and your family's safety, I had resolved that it was my fate after our fight to lose you so you wouldn't get hurt. Then I saw you, your family and friends in the garden of the engagement ball. I never wanted something so badly to be surrounded by happiness and love. Not just for me but my children because I knew they will be brought into a world that only speaks in cruelty."

Diana frowned her eyes growing wide in alarm, it didn't fathom to her the threat that was a possibility.

"Did your father intend to get rid of me?" Diana asked slowly.

"I would never let that happen but it isn't something out of the realm of possibility and I wasn't going to let anything progress to that point where that would become an option." he assured. "That's why I had to let you go and I hated it." he winced. "I hated the ball, not being by your side, not dancing with you and showing the world what a real Princess should be."

"I hated it too, I thought I would go mad I had begun to believe that everything we had wasn't real." Diana frowned. 

"And I hate that I hurt you that way, everything was wrong since then and when I heard about your accident, I thought hell couldn't get any worse." he kissed her forehead his arms still clinging to her.

"I am still trying to find a way Diana, to keep you and my mother safe." he said. "I just need time and it's been very difficult to find it since my father is moving everything so quickly..." he took another deep breath, "He is moving the marriage up in a week."

"Freddie, I don't want you to get hurt in all of this." Diana looked up at him, her hands reaching his face. "Please, your mother needs you and you need to find a way for her, do not worry about me, just know I will always love and adore you no matter what happens."

He shook his head, as he stared down at her. "It will always be you and please do not interfere, please I beg you, for your safety."

Diana felt her tears again fall bracing herself for her next words. "And if this life doesn't grant us way to be together, I believe we'll find it in the next one."

Before he could protest, Diana kissed him it was a very real possibility it was the last one she would be able to give him pouring everything she had.

A soft knock interrupted them signaling the end of their time. Sir Steffan slowly opened the door. Diana looked up at Freddie as he moved away his hand still in hers quickly kissing it until he forced himself to let go. He stole another glance before he was escorted out.

Diana curled into a ball as tears continued to fall, feeling the weight of Penelope fall next to her remaining silent as she pulled her into a hug.