Asher's Beloved

Chapter 8

I remember my father telling me how Julius Antonov was the lost heir to the throne. The previous king had an affair with his mother but banished her as soon as he found out she was pregnant. Years later, when the king was on his deathbed, Julius forced him to make him the successor since he had no heirs to give the position to. Eventually, Julius found Claire in the Fae realm and claimed her as his beloved.

"We have albums with pictures of just us and Asher's one has the most embarrassing pictures of him. Hold on, let me go and look for it!" She giggles, running out of the room.

I turn back to the pictures in front of me, smiling softly at baby Asher playing with his toys on the carpet. Turning the page, a chuckle escapes me when I see a picture of Sage crying and Asher smiling as he holds up a doll. I assume she wasn't too happy about her toy being taken away from her. I flick through the album, taking my time to look at every picture of their childhood.

However, my attention is soon captured by the familiar scent of orange and chocolate. I look up to find Asher leaning against the door frame, a soft smile on his lips as he gazes at me. He's dressed in a white button up shirt with black slacks, the first few buttons undone allowing his dark chest hair to peek out from underneath.

"Asher, you're back!" I breathe in surprise, smiling widely.

I can't help myself from jumping up and embracing him tightly, blushing furiously when my actions catch up to me. Pulling away slightly, I avoid his eyes as he grazes the back of his knuckles across my cheek. His touch sparks heat within me, making me go crazy and I must bite my bottom lip to stop myself from making an embarrassing sound.

"Someone's excited to see me." He chuckles, a tender look in his eyes.

"You left me here for weeks and I had nobody until Vito, Corbin and Sage came." I huff, crossing my arms as I take a seat on the couch again.

He rubs the back of his neck in a sheepish manner, a guilty look in his chocolate brown eyes. "I'm sorry, I just want to get rid of Blithe and it's taking longer than I thought. She's clever at hiding herself."

"It's okay, I understand." I smile softly, finally noticing how stressed and tired he looks. I shouldn't be complaining when he has an entire kingdom to think about.

"Let me take you out on a date." He states suddenly, making me frown.

"Where will we go? I thought you said I can't leave the castle."

"There's hidden places inside this castle." He grins boyishly, crouching in front of me. "Please?"

I melt at his pleading tone, nodding shyly. He beams at me in response, excitement rolling off him in waves as he kisses my cheek. Almost running out of the room, I'm still able to hear him tell me to be ready by six. My eyes widen when they land on the clock, it's almost half four. Marking the page of my current read, I leave it on the table before making my way towards my bedroom. I groan when I'm faced with the decision of what to wear for the date.

"What are you doing?"

I scream, jumping out of my skin as I turn around to see Sage standing in the doorway of the walk-in closet. Her eyes are sparkling with humor as she takes a seat on the white ottoman. Pressing a hand to my chest to calm my racing heart, I glare at her playfully when she wiggles her perfectly arched brows. For a hybrid with stronger senses I need to be more aware of my surroundings.

"I-I have a date with Asher." I mumble, my cheeks turning scarlet when she squeals loudly.

"I know." She grins excitedly, pushing me out of the way as she searches through the racks of clothes Asher had bought me. "He's going to drop dead when he sees you!"

She pauses before snickering under breath, muttering that he's already dead. I chuckle at the pun, leaning against a wall of shoes as she picks out some outfits for me to wear. I frown in confusion when they're all summer clothes. She catches my expression and smiles widely, telling me to trust her and that I'm going to love where he's taking me. Apparently, they had bumped into each other and Sage forced it out of him.

We eventually decide on a striped denim dress with spaghetti straps. It has a sweetheart neckline and the bodice laces up in the middle. The skirt seems to be about mid-thigh and it has pockets. I pick out a pair of white converses, much to Sage's protests, and some jewelry. When she closes the door behind her, I put the dress on with the shoes and accessories. Walking over to the mirror, I bite my lip in excitement when I like how it looks on me.

Knocking, Sage peeks in and grins when she sees me all dressed. "You know what? I actually like how the converses go with the outfit."

She then sits me down on a seat, taking out all the makeup that was bought with the clothes. My eyes widen at the number of things stuffed into the drawers. Turning to me with an excited smile, she reassures me that she'll do a natural look. We chat about anything and everything as she helps me get ready, I love how comfortable I am around her. She reminds me of Valentina and Misha back home, a dull ache growing in my chest at the thought of my sisters.

Without letting me look at my finished makeup, she starts on my hair. I feel her braiding pieces on each side before tying it in the back. Then, she steps around with a curling iron and proceeds to style my hair. I feel her run a brush through the strands afterwards, loosening them up but still holding a soft curl.

I hop off the chair when she says she's finished and step towards the floor length mirror. The butterflies in my stomach flutter like crazy when I see my reflection; I love everything about my look. It's relaxed and playful, not too over the top for a first date.

"Like it?"

"I love it!" I grin, turning to hug her tightly.

My eyes widen when we hear the knocking on the door, realizing it's six already. I suddenly feel nervous, what if he doesn't like what I'm wearing? What if this date doesn't go well? I think to myself in panic.

"I'm so happy for you two." Sage smiles gently, squeezing my hand with a stern look. "You're going to enjoy it, don't worry so much."

"Okay." I reply shakily, following her out of the closet to the door.

"Good luck!" She whispers, making shooing motions with her hands.

Taking a deep, albeit shaky, breath I open the door and smile nervously up at Asher. He looks handsome as ever in a white shirt, blue denim jeans and shoes. My nerves calm when I see how relaxed his outfit is; like mine. I shut the door behind me, clenching the hem of my dress as I wait for him to say something.

"You look beautiful." He breathes, making me blush.

"Thank you, you look very handsome." I reply, letting him take my hand and guide me down the hallway.

"Excited?" He grins down at me but I find it hard to focus when his thumb is rubbing circles into my skin.

"Yes, you didn't tell me where we're going though?" I question, frowning in confusion when we climb the stairs to the third floor.

"It's a surprise." He winks as we go up yet another floor. "You'll have to wait and see." 

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- R.W. ♡