CHapter 6
Ciara.
"Ouch!" I screamed as I crashed into the floor, and immediately scowled at Liam.
Blake grabbed him by the collar. "Do you always have to be like this?" he yelled.
"We have visitors, we can settle this later," Liam said in a low tone, before shoving Blake away.
Looking at me with a satisfied smirk playing around his lips, he put his hands in his pocket and grabbed a seat at the dining, then started eating like nothing had happened.
Blake extended his hand to me and I accepted it, after which he helped me stand to my feet.
"I'm sorry about him. He is mentally unstable," Blake said.
I chuckled. "That much is obvious," I said, which earned me a glare from Liam.
"At least, I'm not a liar pretending to have amnesia," he retorted.
"I would rather be a liar than be an arrogant hothead with zero manners or respect for women," I fired back at him, having had enough.
"I do have respect for women. I just don't have any for you, and I wonder why. Maybe it's because you're unattractive or it's probably because I don't see you as a woman," he stated. I was red with anger, and I couldn't think of a better comeback, so I decided to walk out.
Blake grabbed my hand and tried to stop me from leaving, "Hey, you shouldn't be listening to someone that's built like a tadpole," he said.
That should have made me feel better, but it didn't because I knew it wasn't true. Liam was in no way built like a tadpole. He was handsome, insanely so, and he had muscles to die for.
I politely made Blake let go of the grip he had on my hand and stormed out of the dining hall. At least now, I didn't have to stay back and be seen by the messengers. I didn't remember how to get to my room anymore and just kept on walking till I came across an open door.
The fragrance of the room lured me in, and when I stepped in, I fell in love with it. It was decorated with so many paintings and something on the table caught my eye.
When I got closer, I saw it was a painting, and picking it up, my eyes widened in surprise. It was a painting of a girl lying in bed and the girl looked exactly like me. No, she was me.
The bathroom door opened at that point and when I looked up, it was none other than the third prince, Alden. He was dripping wet with water with a small towel tied loosely around his waist. He looked like he came out of a romance novel, and my stomach knotted at the sight of his abs.
"Beautiful," I heard myself say.
He was numb for a while as his cheeks blushed fiercely pink, and he blinked, opening his mouth with no word coming out.
Seeing as he appeared flustered, I changed what I had in mind. "The painting is beautiful, I mean."
He swallowed. "As are you," he told me.
"You think I'm beautiful?"
"It's not about what I think. I'm just stating the fact. You are beautiful," he said.
"Liam doesn't seem to think so," I said, wetting my lips.
"And who cares what Liam thinks? He's an asshole, and you shouldn't be bothered by him," he said.
With that, he took a few steps forward and placed his hands on my shoulder. My senses tingled as he touched me, then he led me to stand in front of the mirror.
"How could anyone say you're not pretty? You're the most beautiful girl I have ever laid my eyes on," he said in a whisper, which brought a smile to my face.
I turned around to thank him, but I did it so abruptly that I grazed the towel around his waist which came tumbling down. He quickly spun me back around and covered my eyes tightly with his hands. "Don't look," he said.
I was too startled to even say anything.
"Did you hear me?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.
"Yes, I'm not looking," I said.
A few minutes later, he tapped my shoulders and said I could now open my eyes.
When I turned around, I saw him fully clothed staring at the floor and I just started laughing, but managed to stop when I saw he wasn't finding it funny.
"I didn't see anything, I swear."
"I know, I'm just a little bit shy," he said.
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"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have barged into your room like that."
"It's fine. Did you have breakfast?"
"No, not yet."
"Is it because of what Liam said?"Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
"Um... kinda."
"You really shouldn't let him get to you. There's food in the kitchen, and I'm making father his favorite meal. You could join me in the kitchen and help me out, while also having something to eat," he said. "You cook?"
"Yeah. Is anything wrong with that?"
"No, I'm just surprised. I didn't think someone with royal blood would want to go into the kitchen for anything," I said.
"That's because he's not pure royalty," Liam said, barging into the room.
"What are you talking about?" I inquired.
"Oh, Alden didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"Liam, get out!" Alden stated, raising his voice.
"Or what?" Liam barked, before looking back at me. "Alden's mum was a servant who slept with her mistress' husband," Liam explained.
I didn't know how to react or what to say. I looked at Alden and his fists were tightened, with visible anger showing all over his face.
"You didn't have breakfast because of me. What do you say we go grab a meal at the fanciest restaurant in the Silver Crest Pack?" Liam asked, looking me directly in the eye, which made my heart melt. "Um..."
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"I'll take that as a yes," Liam said, and to my surprise, grabbed my hand and led me out of Alden's room.
Outside, everything kept replaying in my head, and flinging his hand off mine, I pushed him away.
"You shouldn't have said that right in front of him. So what if his mother was once a servant? You don't even know the full story," I stated.
"Fine, whatever. Are you coming with me or not?"
"You can't just appear out of nowhere after speaking to me rudely and expect me to go out with you. Besides, I already made plans with Alden," I said.
"What plans? Assisting him in the kitchen? Are you sure that's what you'd rather do?" he asked, walking close to me and I started retreating with my heart caught in my throat.
"Why do you even want me to go out with you? You detest me, have you forgotten or are you bipolar?" I inquired.
"You're wrong about me. I do not for any reason detest you," he said, and when I tried to move backward this time around, I couldn't. I had already met a dead end and my back was against the wall.
I couldn't understand him. I had been so sure he hated me, so why was he being this way with me all of a sudden?
"Let me show you how I truly feel about you," he said, and just like that, he planted a kiss on my lips.
I was surprised as hell and I had no idea how to respond to his kiss, but instead of pushing him away, I closed my eyes tightly and parted my lips so he could kiss me harder.
He stopped kissing me and my eyes opened slowly. I searched his eyes, and just when I thought we were on the same page, he burst into a fit of laughter looking in the opposite direction, and when I followed his eyes, I saw Blake standing right there, looking really hurt.
"Didn't you brag about you guys having a moment? Told you all I needed to do was also act nice to her. Guess where I found her! She was in Alden's room. She'll do anything with anyone as long as they're nice to her, she's definitely not worth fighting over and I'm going to tell father that right this minute!" he said, then walked away.
"Sorry for interrupting you guys," Blake said, and walked out before I could call him and explain things to him.
I took a deep breath, feeling like a complete fool, and when I looked up, Alden was staring at me.
"Alden, I-"
"I came to give you this," he said, approaching me and then he handed me the painting he had drawn of me.
I collected it with my head bowed, feeling disgusted with myself. My first kiss had been with the guy who despised me the most in the world and treated me with complete and utter disdain, someone who had nearly choked the life out of me; and that had been after having emotional moments with his brothers who had even been more nicer to me.
"Come, let's get you something to eat," Alden said, holding my hand and taking me along with him, seeking zero explanation.
In that moment, I felt safe and like I had struck gold with Alden, but something about Liam that I couldn't quite place my fingers on lingered on in my mind.