"What? You came to try and kill me too?" Bella raised her brows challengingly at Ashley, who felt offended that she thought about her like that, but who could blame her, Ashley was the one who put herself in that position, and she was paying her dues.
Ashley shook her head, looking at the floor, all her courage slipping out of her by now. "No, and I would never do that again.." Ashley took a deep breath then held her head high to face Bella and say what she came here for and just go. "I know whatever I won't testify what I did, but I am sincerely sorry, Bella, for all that I put you through and for thinking bad about you. I was stupid, dumb, and I admit it, I did wrong terribly wrong but so do you. However, I am still sorry, and I know I still have a long path till I earn your trust. God gave me a second chance, and I am determined to claim it to correct all that I did wrong. I promise I will be a good wife to Dylan and won't hurt him again because he is one of a kind even if I noticed it late..." she paused,. Bella was stunned by all of that, which satisfied Ashley then continued, "I just wanted to tell you that to try and open a new page, just like I did with Tia and will do with Dylan. I am terribly sorry, and I hope you accept my forgiveness, Bella." And she was gone. She wasted no time and flew out of the door, leaving astonished Bella all alone.
Did that just happen? Bella thought. Is she for real?
Bella was impressed and felt the sincerity in Ashley's voice and her eyes said it all anyway. She was really regretting it? Guess Dylan affected her by his charm after all. She didn't know how everything could turn upside down like that,. Still, she definitely was happy for Dylan; she also forgave Ashley already because who was she to not forgive a sincere apology after all the regret and misery that person was in, but she still will watch Ashley closely till she feels that Dylan is truly in safe hands.
"Now back to working our magic, princess Bella." Here came the voice of ,Bella's personal stylist snapping her out of her thoughts and preparing her for the engagement party.
...
"Dylan.." Ashley's sweet voice cut Dylan from the middle of a conversation he was having with one of the businessmen he knew.
They already made their big entrance together,,, but each one went to his separate way to their guests. Dylan wanted to stay with Ashley, he didn't mind, of course, but he knew that she didn't like him, so he gave her her space. So seeing her tapping his shoulder so gently calling his name that sounded only better from her was an extreme surprise for him that made his heart jump from happiness.
"Yes?" Dylan responded completely facing his beautiful fianceè now.
She looked beautiful, breathtaking, and glamorous if possible. Dylan couldn't keep his eyes off her no matter how hard he tried, his eyes were glued to the beauty in front of him, and he noticed how anxious and nervous she was while talking to him, but he couldn't know whether that was a bad or good thing.
"I.." she cleared her throat. "I want to talk about something privately with you." She finally uttered. She felt very nervous and unable to meet his beautiful, distracting eyes that made her feel uneasy.
Dylan, on the other hand, was taken aback by her request. The beautiful Ashley wanted to talk to him? Privately?
However, his happiness came crashing back very quickly; what if that was one of her stunts again?
Luckily Ashley noticed and assured him, "no, no i... I promise I won't try anything like that again. That was low of me and won't happen again." She felt terrible that by her unforgivable behavior, even he had his doubts, and she hoped that she would only mend that trust that she broke.
He then nodded."okay, lead the way."
She walked with him, following her until they entered a storage balcony. It was something strange in their palace but useful in both ways. It was a huge balcony that they used as storage at the same time, it had broken chairs or old unused benches or wardrobes,, etc but it was still a balcony that had a good view and nice fresh air.
"Nice spot," Dylan commented, trying to break the awkwardness that filled the air as Ashley was gathering her courage again.
"Dylan.." here it is again, that sweet angel calling his name, affecting him in countless ways.
"Ashley.." They now faced each other with an arm-length space between them.
Ashley tried to say what she wants looking into his eyes, but she couldn't; she felt so vulnerable under his gaze now, so she just looked at the night sky behind him and said what she wanted.
"Dylan, I am terribly sorry for what I did to you. I know you won't trust me nor love me that easily, but I just wanted you to know that I deeply regret it. I will be a better wife to you and try to earn your trust ag--" Dylan didn't bear hearing the regret and sadness in her voice anymore that he did the unexpected and crashed his lips on hers.
That took Ashley by surprise, she didn't even notice when he moved closer to her, but his lips were so soft and tasty on hers that she found herself kissing him back.
Dylan felt happy; no he felt as if he was on cloud nine after kissing him back. His lips started dancing with her passionately. He even felt happier that she really meant what she said, and she deeply regrets it, which means she doesn't hate him, and hearing the word wife from her just made him joyful, and he couldn't contain himself more. He needed to taste those beautiful lips of hers.
They kept kissing like that until they were gasping for air and broke the kiss-off so gently. Their foreheads rested on each other, and his hands were on her waist, and hers were on his chest.
"I trust you.." Dylan spoke breathlessly, "..and I already love you." He pecked her soft nose gently, and she beamed in happiness after hearing those words from him.
She still doesn't know her specific feelings towards him, and he didn't question her because he was being patient and wanted to give her the whole time she needs to figure how she truly felt about him. However, he already knows that she loves him because who doesn't love him? And Cocky Dylan was back now.
...
...
Meanwhile, at the party,, everything was going on smoothly. The royals met their guests having a chat each now and then, congratulating the new engagement between the two families more like between the two kingdoms.
Tia was enjoying her time as she finally saw her lover, lord Richard after such long time. She was over the moon and couldn't get enough of him, nor he could. To be honest, he was longing to see her and couldn't wait till he proposes to her. But he wanted it to be an unforgettable night when he proposes that she won't be able to erase that memory, so he had to wait till they go back to their kingdom.
Everyone was having a great night at the party except for Archer and Bella.
Archer, who just kept watching the beautiful Bella through the party with her beautiful long rose dress suited her perfectly, showing all her curves making her glowing, and her dark hair that hung loosely over her shoulders made her more stunning. Now and then, he kept thinking that it could have been his and Bella's party; they could have been in Ashley's and Dylan's shoes with everyone congratulating them. But those weren't them.
He also tried so hard to stop looking at her but couldn't; his eyes just kept shifting to her no matter how hard he tried to distract himself. He was pissed at her anyways for how lowly she thought of him, so he couldn't go and talk to her nor ask her for a dance no matter how hard he was composing himself. Bella doesn't want anything to do with him, she stated it clearly, and really hurt not to give up on her right now.
Bella was having those vibes that someone was watching her, but she couldn't point out who it was, so she brushed it off, focusing on the glass of champagne she had in her hand and blending with the guests.
Her eyes got caught with Archer's a couple of times, and she saw the hurt in his eyes, but she didn't know why exactly. He looked upset and not in the mood for anything. She thought of going to him, keeping him company, or try to lift his mood; after all, they will be family now. Not to mention, he was always so good to her trying to get closer, but she pushed him. However that thought disappeared as fast as it appeared because she knew that she just wanted to check up on him and keep talking and dancing with him. he had that strange pull that kept pulling her towards him and she just would prefer to spend the entire time at the party with him rather than with all those snob guests who just wanted to kiss her ass.
But Bella being Bella, resisted the strong urge to go to him and avoided any possible attached feelings she would get from him more than she already had. She didn't want to get in any kind of relationship, and that's what she was doing.
"Princess Bella," a servant came to Bella, bowing, snapping her out of her miserable thoughts. "King Steven and King Evans requested your presence with them and their guests."
"Okay, lead the way," Bella responded politely, taking the last sip of her champagne, replacing it with another filled one before going on her way.
I will need it. She thought to herself.
As they approached them, the servant dismissed herself, leaving Bella to continue on her own, and as soon as they were in Bella's view, she only had one thought popped on her mind, that champagne will surely be needed now.
Standing there chatting and laughing were the two kings, an old wealthy-looking man with an old, very good looking woman lingering on his arm, probably his wife, with a beautiful young woman that maybe was the same age as Bella or a few years younger, she looked stunning in a red short dress and had very sexy long legs; Bella felt jealous. Why did she feel jealous? Because that hot girl was talking to Archer, making him smile, something she wished she was the reason of.
Maybe she could just turn back from where she came and tell the servant to notify them that she went to bed early because she was tired?
Anyway, she felt the alcohol seeping into her now. She never got drunk that fast when it came to champagne. Also, if she stayed longer watching them together giggling and touching, she would do something she will regret later. Maybe she really should turn back.
"Ah, Bella, my dear, come here, please." Unfortunately, king Steven was way too faster than her and noticed her arrival, pointing all the attention to her.
Everyone looked towards her while she approached them more, except for Archer,, who gave her his back now. That hurt! Bella thought. Alcohol is really getting to her. But Archer was already hurting as well, and looking at her will hurt him more.
"Are you enjoying yourself, darling?" King Evans asked, kissing Bella lovingly on the forehead. That lifted Bella's mood a little bit. Any warm gesture from her papa always lifts her mood.
"Yes, papa." She smiled back at him.
"Bella, please meet Mr. Jean Lumiere, one of our closest, important and trustworthy french businessmen.." king Steven pointed politely at the old man, "..his wife Mrs. Charlotte Lumiere and their lovely daughter Valerie Lumiere." King steven introduced them as she nodded, smiling at each one of them politely.
"It is so good to meet you in person, princess Bella; you look so much beautiful in real life." The old woman, Charlotte Lumiere, complimented Bella. Making Archer stiff in his place while taking a sip from his glass, and Bella felt it as she was standing between him and her papa.
Doesn't he agree with her? Bella thought sadly to herself. Am I not pretty for him? Wait! Why the hell am I thinking like that in the first place? I am totally drunk.
"Thank you, Mrs.Lumiere. You are stunningly beautiful yourself." Bella wasn't lying, this old woman was gorgeous for her age, she was stunning, and she knew it herself.
"Oh dear, stop it." Mrs.Lumiere chuckled while blushing.
A servant came whispering something in King Steven's ear, making all of them quieten down. Bella looked at Valerie to find her looking her up and down, more like examining her with a strange look on her face. Maybe not so strange; it was more like disgust; she just gave Bella weird faces trying to make her feel low, but she can try as hard as she can because Bella was a princess, and who wouldn't want to be a princess? Obviously, all the plastics like Valerie who are so full of themselves. But Bella tried not to judge that fast, maybe she would be wrong,, which was only her drunk mind.
King Steven cleared his throat after the servant left, "okay, more businessmen came, and we old people should go and have a small talk with them, while you three can stay here and maybe Bella and Valerie get to know each other. I am certain you will get along just well; you are in the same age." And then all the elders went on their way, leaving Bella, Valerie, and Archer alone!
Just great! Bella thought, taking the last sip of her third glass of champagne for the night, and the night was still young. Before king Evans left, he whispered in Bella's ear, "I think That's enough for the night, Bella." Her papa surely knows her too well because he already knew how much she is getting affected by all of that. She nodded at him like the good daughter she is, but she clearly won't listen. And king Evans already knew that, so before he went he requested from Archer to come for a second, and he obliged, "Watch Bella for me please, she has been drinking a lot tonight." Archer looked at Bella, who clearly didn't look like the normal Bella that she didn't even notice Archer and her papa talking and kept looking for the servant-waiter who held the glasses of drinks.
Archer nodded, smiling reassuringly, "Don't worry, I will look after her." It will be tough to do so, but he promised, and he wouldn't want Bella to get hurt or in trouble. He cared so much about her, and he already noticed how much she has been drinking, he has been watching her the whole night, but he knew that Bella could handle her liquor more than that, so that was really unusual.
After king Evans patted Archer's back gratefully, Archer went back to Bella and Valerie,, sticking to him since she arrived,, not leaving a room for him to get a breather from her. She was so clingy and so full of herself, and he hated that, but he had to put up with her for the kingdom's economical sake.
"What took you so long?" Valerie hooked her arm with Archer's as soon as he came to his previous spot.
"Nothing important." Archer shook his head, trying to free his arm from Valerie's ass hold as he likes to describe it. Bella noticed their arms and rolled her eyes, but away from their view,; however Archer already caught it because he wouldn't lift his eyes off her. Surprisingly, he noticed the hurt look that she had as soon as she noticed their arms. Was she jealous? He couldn't help but think that, and he was kind of happy if she was, even if that's because she was drunk, but as they say, drunk words are sober thoughts. Even though that doesn't consider a word but it was something, right?
"So princess Bella," Valerie started a conversation. "I heard so much about you."
Her voice made Bella want ,just to punch her in the guts but Bella had an image to put up; she just needed her alcohol. "Good gossip I hope." Bella smiled fakely at her, and Archer knew exactly what was going in that beautiful head of hers. Seeing her hold her composure like that made him know why did he exactly fall for her.
"I won't be sure of that, to be honest." Valerie laughed dryly, taking a sip from her drink. Archer now finally freed his arms from her hold,, shifting closer to Bella so that Valerie won't try and hold him again.
"Sorry, but I didn't exactly understand." Bella now really needed a drink.
"It's just they call you the rebel princess and all that trouble you get in, despite your obvious beauty, you clearly don't know how to use it." Valerie kept rambling. Neither Bella nor Archer liked what they just heard. Valerie was crossing a line here, and she noticed. " I hope I didn't come over as a crude."
Bella was now furious, but she still had to keep it inside her. "No, not at all; you are anything but that, I completely understand you,Valey was it?" As the waiter passed by, she replaced her empty glass with another.
"It's Valerie, actually," Valerie replied, annoyed.
"Oh, my mistake," Bella replied innocently, and Archer snickered beside her which made Valerie more furious.
Valerie then blurted out of nowhere, "You know princess Bella? our parents are expecting Archer and I to get engaged so soon like them." That was a huge bomb for Bella now. Archer is going to marry her? That evil witch? At least he could have married a nicer person. Why is she upset anyway? she is the one who is pushing him away.
"Oh really? That's pretty... good." That's all Bella could think to say as she took the last sip of her drink angrily. Archer, on the other hand, was fuming, but he couldn't know what to say to deny that. If he wanted to get married one day, he surely wouldn't get married to someone like Valerie.
A servant was carrying a load of plates and was walking towards the kitchen when she bumped into Valerie by mistake; poor servant didn't see clearly from all of that she was carrying. "I am terribly sorry ma'am."
"Are you blind or what? Do you know how expensive my dress is?"
"Valerie she didn't mean and already apologized." Archer was getting fed up with her attitude now.
"oh mon dieu les gens stupides! go away dumb servant." Valerie spat at her, looking disgusted, and that was enough for Bella to interfere now.
{Translation: oh my god, stupid people!}
"Excusez-Moi, Mais, she already apologized, and I won't allow you to talk about my servants like that, so you better apologize to her now." Bella was now acting as the demanding princess she was raised to be, and she wouldn't allow injustice to happen like that.
{Translation: excuse me, but..}
"Actually, she isn't your servant, it's Archer's Palace, and that's his servant, so you don't have the authority to do that," Valerie replied smugly.
"In fact, she is my servant, she came with me from our kingdom, And I asked her to help with the party today, so you better apologize because its a royal request and you don't want to upset the royals? Do you now?" Even though she wasn't Bella's servant, she claimed and the servant was confused but didn't dare to open her mouth because Bella was defending her after all.
"Archer...?" Valerie looked at Archer for confirmation.
"It's prince Archer and yes, she is princess Bella's servant." Archer supported Bella proudly, which made Bella feel glorious.
Valerie felt defeated and embarrassed, but she had no choice except to apologize as the princess required, so she swallowed her pride and apologized. "I apologize."
The servant nodded, not knowing what exactly to say while Bella smiled proudly. "That's good. You can resume your work, now." Bella ordered the servant smiling warmly at her, and she bowed at her more gratefully than respectfully and went on her way.
A waiter passed by them,, and Bella was thankful for that because she desperately needed that drink. she replaced the empty glass with a full one and when she was going to take a sip from the glass, Archer interfered snatching the glass from her hand. "That's enough for you today."
That took Bella by surprise and made Valerie furious that he cared about Bella like that. Above all, he drank from the same glass as her now. "And how do you know that?" Bella folded her arms, wanting her drink back.
"Because it's your fifth drink, and you are already drunk," Archer whispered in her ear, arousing goosebumps. He noticed and was proud of the effect that he left on her. Maybe he still had a chance with her? No, she made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. On the other hand, Valerie felt furious, burning with jealousy; she stormed away from them,, leaving them alone. They kept quiet, standing there, watching the party go by and the newly engaged couple dancing and laughing together.
"They look happy together," Archer commented, taking a sip from his drink -formerly Bella's drink.
Bella hummed, feeling tired by now. "I never saw him that happy with any woman before." She really felt happy for Dylan, he deserved happiness, and she can see that he will find that with Ashley even though she still doesn't trust her.
Archer noticed the tiredness on Bella and how the alcohol affected her so hard by now, so he suggested, "why don't we leave the party early? Head up to sleep? And I will inform father that you didn't feel well and I was tired, sounds good?"
Bella didn't want to leave the party early, but she didn't have the energy to protest, so she nodded a yes as Archer took her by the hand to go on their way. Overwhelmingly, they both got showered with sparks and electricity from the mere holding of hands. However, they didn't dare to acknowledge it and did what they are best at; ignoring their feelings.
As soon as they got up to her room, he opened the door for her, taking her in, and she just collapsed on the bed. "Uhm...I will call a servant to come and help you get dressed."
Bella nodded tiredly at him, and as he dismissed himself, she caught him by the waist from behind, making him freeze in his steps. "Bella..." Archer said breathlessly, his heart literally skipping a beat. To avoid further affection, he tried to break her hold from his waist, but that only made her tighten it.
"Archer, don't give up on me, please." She was crying,, holding on to him tightly. She was hurting and struggling with her own feelings and thoughts. Archer couldn't see her like that; it broke him to see her like that.
So he turned to face her, with her arms still around him then he lifted her face. Cupping her cute cheeks, he wiped a tear with his thumb, and she looked at him with her big wet hurting eyes as he looked into hers as well smiling softly, "I promise I won't, dear Bella." Then he kissed her forehead,, pausing a little as she closed her eyes, enjoying his soft lips on her skin. She knew that she won't allow that to happen again when she is sober and not half drunk like now; hence, she decided to relish in the moment.
Archer felt beyond happy hearing those words from her. That means that she has feelings for him, but she is stubborn.
And that gave him hope now. Maybe seeing Valerie and how she acted and talked about them getting married got into Bella's head and made her aware of her true feelings.
Maybe, no, surely she will try and deny all that she felt and said to him just now. However, Archer will hold on to his word anyway because he already knew how she felt about him and how hard she was afraid. She built those walls to prevent such feelings from slipping into her, and he promised he will tear down all those barriers and get to her heart.
He will make her realize how much she needs him as he needs her.
He will make her fall for him as he is already falling for that beautiful princess now.
And that's a promise he won't break.