-HER-
I sat alone in one of the rooms of the Royal Suites, staring out of the window. Alex had to attend to an important matter immediately, so he had to leave me alone for a while. I was alone with my thoughts again, and that's what I hated the most these days.
I didn't know what to do after this. I didn't know how to make him understand that it wasn't about him. How do I make him understand that I couldn't stay here for long? How do I make him understand why I had to reject the bond?
All these things raced in my head, feeding my anxious mind. At one hand
Alexandros was hellbent on not letting me go, and on the other hand, I was sure Vittoria was waiting for me at the Lagrifiri. And then there was my brother, probably preparing for the war. A war was imminent now. There was no doubt about that.
And between all this mess was I— someone who was supposed to be dead a long time ago. Yet here I was, causing more problems than I should. I was finding it hard to think straight.
What should I do? I couldn't help but keep repeating this thing in my head again and again.
Should I run away? That would be hard to do here, given the kind of security Alexandros had here. I wasn't even familiar with Cromeria. And even if I ran away, it wasn't going to fix the mess that had already been created. In fact, it could get even worse. Maybe, I could do something from this side to curb the war because there was no way Theoron would listen to me anymore.
My train of thought was interrupted when I heard the door of the suite open, followed by a pair of heavy footsteps. I had my back to the door while I was facing the windows. I didn't have to look to know that it was him.
The air was instantly charged with tension when he entered the room, but as soon as he shut the door, the tension thickened further. I felt his eyes on me, scorching my skin.
"I hope you're here to tell me when I can leave?" I asked.
"No, I am not here for that," He shot down instantly, injecting more tension into the air, making it harder to breathe. I didn't know why, but all of a sudden, I was nervous to be in the same room with him alone. My heart was ramming in my chest. I could see his faint shadow on the glass.
Seeing him dressed in regalia strongly reminded me that he was still a complete stranger to me. I didn't know much about him, and the only thing that I knew about him was his cruelty as a king. This planted an unsettling feeling inside me. So far, I hadn't noticed this due to the pull I felt towards him, but now, it was getting hard for me to ignore.
"I'm here to talk about us," He declared, making my heart ram harder in my chest to the point I swear even he could hear it.
"What about it?" I asked sternly. His eyes lingered on me as he stepped beside me, standing close until I could feel our hands brushing. I tried hard to ignore the warmth of his body and focused on the present.
"It has never happened before," He started, "at least, it has never been recorded so far. No one has ever rejected the bond," He told me. A hint of something dark in his voice. It sounded like hurt at first, but it was far more profound than that.
"And it certainly never happened with a King," He added, a certain heaviness was there in his voice. It tugged at my heart, but I ignored it completely.
"Do you think your people would take it well to see us together?" I questioned.
"Is that what's stopping you?" He asked.
"No. Not a bit. I don't care about anyone. I just want to be out of here,"
"And go where?" He asked. "Your brother will hunt you down no matter what, and this time he's going to make sure you die—"
"I'd have been long dead if he really wanted me dead," I told him, stepping away, but he filled the distance between us almost instantly.
"Well, he certainly wants you dead now," He reminded me of the last night of the celebrations.
He was right about that. I couldn't deny that anymore.
"Theresa," He spoke, closing the remaining distance between us, "Please..." He muttered, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me flush against him. My heart was thrashing in my chest. I wanted to take his hands off mine, but I couldn't bring myself to do so.
Instead, I rested my hands on his chest, looking into his dark eyes that had a yearning for me. It seemed genuine, and for once, I almost let my guard down. I was staring into his abyss, and a part of me wanted to jump into it and see where it led me. For once, I wanted to explore the depth in his eyes... see every part of him that was there.
The idea was very tempting, especially given the strong pull that I felt towards him. It was something I had never felt before, and I doubted if I'd ever feel it with anyone else. Mate bond, or whatever it was; it was doing its thing at that moment and for once, I forgot who he really was. Instead, I was seeing what I wanted to see in a long time, something that I had never seen before— a man that wanted me.
"Let us be together once," He whispered, inching closer until a few inches remained between our lips. His offer sounded tempting... so much so that I was already thinking of ways maybe we could be together. That was all I could think of at that moment as he closed the distance. The rational part of my brain had completely shut off, and for once, I forgot about the shrine, Vittoria, my brother, the Nobels... and everything that was there.
By now, he was close... closer than we had ever been. I was pressed flush against him, feeling every part of him while his lips were less than an inch away. My heart quivered in my chest, anticipating the kiss. I was craving it. I wanted to taste him. I wanted to do many things with him, but before our lips could meet, I turned my head.
"I'm firm on my decision, Alexandros," I told him as something heavy settled in my chest.
~
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