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We will talk in the carriage," I said. Turning my back to her, I sat in the carriage. She followed behind me.
After she closed the carriage door, she turned to look up at me before quickly looking away. I clenched my jaw.
"Why did you choose to leave," I said as calmly as I could, but she could still hear the anger in my voice.
'I-I didn't choose to leave."
"But you could have stayed."
"No." She retorted. "I couldn't have. I don't have the power to-"
I laughed sarcastically.
"The power? You are the reincarnation of the black jade." I said matter-a-factly. She gulped, remaining quiet.
"I can't defy the King's wish. And I couldn't put you in a difficult position." She said. Hearing her words only made me angrier.
"Me? So now you chose to care about me?" I said, staring coldly at her. She winced, clutching her gown tightly.
"It's true! I was only doing it out of…" She suddenly stopped talking.
"Out of…?" I prompted her to finish. She only looked at another spot in the carriage.
"You lied. You promised you would allow me to leave peacefully."
"Don't avoid the topic, Eva," I spoke harshly. She shuddered slightly before looking back down at her hands. Her eyes never meet mine. I felt my anger grow.
"The assassin…" She started. "Was here for me, right?"
"For you? Why would an assassin be here for you-"
"They wouldn't be dumb enough to try and kill you." She interrupted. I paused.
So she knew all along? That the assassin was coming for her? Why didn't she tell me then?!
"You were hurt-"
"Don't say anything else," I said. She quickly pursed her lips. I continued to stare at her. She looked up at me, a conflicted expression on her face.
"Are you just going to pretend like you forgot everything that happened last night? The things you revealed?"
"I was lying!"
"And how do I know you aren't lying now?" I retorted. She quickly looked down to hide her face. I knew what I said hurt her, made her feel guilty. But I didn't regret saying it. I wanted to know why, why she ran away. Why she said the things she said if she didn't mean it.
"Then.." she spoke up softly. "Then, why did you come here?" She looked up at me. "If you hate me so much, why did you even let me talk to you, you could've kept going, you didn't have to stop the carriage. So why did you?" Her voice wavered at the end. I could hear the confusion in her voice.
"You are avoiding the topic again."
"So are you."
"...."
"...."
I watched as she wiped the tears in her eyes. Part of me wanted to hold her, another part of me wanted to scream at her, hurt her as bad as she hurt me.
"Crap." She muttered under her breath. The back of her hands was covered with her tears as she sat there. My glare towards her softened.
'She is probably trying to make me feel guilty..' I thought to myself. Shaking it off, I passed her my handkerchief.
"...."
She suddenly began crying even more. I looked at her in confusion.
"Y-you!" I started. "Why are you crying so much-"
"I'm sorry." She finally said in between tears. I froze. "I just- I thought that the life I wanted here, would be different. I wasn't prepared to be met with such… emotions. I- and now, I don't know what to do because I, I…" She sniffed at the end of her words.
"What? You what?" I said, noticing a change in my tone. She looked up at me but quickly looked away, embarrassed. I remained silent. A bitter expression made its way to my face. "You don't want to leave the palace? Is that it? You still want a chance at, power and glory?" I questioned, my voice getting angrier with each word said. She shook her head vigorously, her eyes becoming less watery.
"No! That's not it!!" She declared. My patience reached its limit as I glared at her.
"Then what is it, Eva-"
"Because I don't want to lose you!" She shouted. Her tears began flowing as soon as the words left her lips. My eyes widened.
'....what?'
"Repeat that," I said almost immediately. I had to confirm I wasn't imagining things. She quickly looked away. A flash of all sorts of emotions made its way to her face. But most noticeable, fear. I quickly moved next to her. She still averted my gaze. Her eyes flickering around the room. Her thoughts clouded.
"I- the reason.."She started softly. "The reason I made those choices and did all of this was that…" she stopped speaking and bit her lip. Her eyes still glanced away.
'Was she scared to say it again? Did she think that I truly hated her?' I thought. A pit deep feeling of regret weighed in my heart.
I placed my hand gently on her cheek, forcing her to look at me. Her long lashes fluttered as I felt her face heat up in shyness. She gulped slightly.
"I don't want to lose you." She said.
I kissed her.
I didn't realize I had let my emotions overcome me until I pulled away. She was staring at me, the back of her hand covering her mouth as she gazed at me wide-eyed.
"Y-you just!!-"
I ignored her and pulled her hand away from her lips, kissing her again.
'Sorry Eva, one kiss was not enough.'
I was rougher this time as my mind quickly filled with thoughts of her, my grip on her hand loosened. Instead of breaking away from the kiss, she rested her hand on my cheek. I felt my emotions become even more uncontrollable.
I held the back of her neck with my other hand, completely closing the space between us as we kissed. I didn't want to stop.
I felt her slowly pull away before I finally let her. She was breathing raggedly and was staring at me, her eyes full of...emotions. She bit her lip.
Before I could connect our lips again, I heard Bo call for me.
"Sir it is almost night time! We should be returning to the palace." Bo yelled. She looked at me flustered and tried to push me off.
"Y-you! you heard him…" she said softly. I continued glancing at her and she bit her lip again. I noticed the tears that still were on her face. My heart tugged.
I slowly wiped her eyes, not wanting to scare her. She didn't shy away, but instead, leaned into my touch. My eyes softened.
"You...need to rest well, okay? I will soon find a way to bring you back to the palace." I said. She continued looking away embarrassed but nodded. I smiled softly.
"4th Prince!" Bo yelled again, snapping me out of my trance. I pulled away from her reluctantly and quickly returned to my usual demeanor. She blinked dumbfounded before quickly arranging herself. I smirked at her as she bowed hurriedly before rushing out of the carriage.
'Cute..'
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(Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed.)