𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄 | ✎

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎

I can tell she doesn't believe me, but I can't continue to bite my tongue any longer. I need her to understand and believe me. "Marco is not a good person," I inform her. "He doesn't care about me. He only wants to use me for my title."

"He wouldn't do that," Sofia dismisses me. "Prince Marco is a kind young man. He'll make a great king one day."

The words that come out of her mouth infuriate me. Marco? A great king? What a joke. He can't even dress himself properly. "How can you say that?" I explode, fed up with her blind devotion to my parents and their choices. "He fucking assaulted me."

Sofia's face falls as though she's hearing this for the first time—which she technically is. "What?"

"That day when you lied to me about the meeting with my father—he tried to kiss me. And when I didn't want him to, he hurt me," I mumble slowly, looking at the ground.

I'm suddenly pulled into a hug by the handmaid, whose tears drop onto my shoulder. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault—I'm the reason you got hurt. I should have just listened to you from the start instead of the King and Queen."

With a sigh, I return her hug. "I missed you," I mutter into her shoulder.

Sofia pulls back from the embrace and cups my face. "I missed you too, beautiful girl. I wish I could give you the life you deserve." Her eyes are brimmed with tears, and I can tell she means everything she says.

I fan my eyes with my hands in an attempt to stop myself from crying and ruining my makeup. Luckily, someone else stopped me from tearing up. And that someone is leaning against the doorframe now.

Alex is wearing a sharp navy blue suit that makes both his tan skin and his eyes, which are a lighter shade of blue, pop. His hair is neatly styled with a hint of wave to it, perfecting his appearance.

I begin to walk closer to him, getting a whiff of his cologne. As if his looks weren't attractive enough, the scent is enough to make me weak on my knees. It contains notes of cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla, creating a spicy and sultry aroma that lingers in the air.

Okay, focus.

"Princess," he greets me in a deadpan tone, "shall we?" The bodyguard's hand reaches to grab my own, and he gently leads me down the hallway.

I don't have anything special to do today, so this is technically my free time. This also means I get to tell Alex to take me wherever I want, but right now, I just want to stay in the palace. I'm way too tired to actually go out and do something, believe it or not. Not eating a lot of food has made my body weaker.

"Let's go to the music room," I suggest, motioning to the first door on the right of the corridor.

"As you wish," Alex says as he opens the door and lets me into the music room. It's a cozy space filled with various musical instruments, a few benches, and a grand piano in the center. The wood-paneled walls are hung with beautiful artwork from my late grandmother's collection.

Once we are inside, I direct Alex to sit next to me on the bench by the piano. I crack my knuckles instinctively, getting ready to play. But then a new feeling floods through me. I'm nervous to play in front of him, and I don't know why. I've never been like this around anyone else before.

I take a deep breath and start the first couple of bars of Bach's Prelude in C major. After a moment, I switch to another piece, and this time Alex joins in, providing the bass notes as I play the melody.

We continue like this for a while, switching between pieces and just jamming. It's an incredible feeling to play with someone else who's just as skilled as I am.