As the sun spread its yellow glory across Lila's luxurious room, Margaret, the royal maid, graciously presented Lila an exquisite invitation card embellished with an intricate design of orange lilies.
"An invitation from Princess Heather, Your Highness," she said, anxiously looking at Lila.
'Orange Lilies?'
"Margaret, what do these flowers mean?" Lila asked as she pointed to the orange lily.
Margaret replied, "Love and warmth, Your Highness."
Lila, with a skeptical expression, replied in her head, 'No, I know what this is, this represents... hatred'.
"How thoughtful of her," Lila's lovely lips twisted into a sardonic smirk. 'I do wonder what Lady Heather could possibly want from me.'
"Margaret, do you know where Axel is?" Lila asked, her voice tensed with impatience.
"He's in his chamber or his office, I believe. It's the floor above your room, Your Highness," Margaret gently said, her posture remained courteous despite Lila's abrupt tone.
"Thank you, Margaret," Lila said with a nod before hurrying off to Axel's place.
Lila's footsteps echoed throughout the huge marble floors, as she searched for her fiancé, Axel, Crown Prince of the Northern Empire Ezra.
With troubled brows, she approached a passing servant and said, "Have you seen Prince Axel?"
The servant paused for a while before nodding cautiously. "He's in his office, Your Highness," he said, gazing down the hall.
"Thank you," Lila answered, taking a decisive stride towards Axel's office.
As she approached the big door, she banged hard before pushing it open without waiting for a response.
With a crystal glass of amber liquor in hand, Axel sat idly in his chair, his look unwaveringly stern.
"What do you want, Lila?" he inquired, his tone hinting faintly at annoyance.
"Axel, darling," Lila laughed out, her voice dripping with honey and full of sarcasm, "I do hope I'm not interrupting anything important, such as drowning your sorrows with liquor today."
Axel's jaw tightened in response to her remark, but he gave no explanation as he took another sip of his drink, his attention locked on the swirling liquid. "Is there a reason for this rude intrusion, or are you simply here to annoy the hell out of me?" he snarled.
Lila, unconcerned with Axel's sudden chilly manner, said, "Just checking to see if my future husband is still breathing. I am afraid that he might be an alcoholic instead." Lila couldn't help but wonder what secrets Axel was keeping behind his icy demeanor.
As Axel poured himself another drink, the subtle perfume of booze filled the air. Lila, her expression tinged with irritation, approached him.
Sitting at his desk, Lila pulled the bottle from his grasp, "You know we have important matters to attend to." Her tone was sharp, cutting through the tension like a blade.
Without a knock, another uninvited guest came. It was Heather.
For a fleeting moment, time seemed to stand still as Axel's eyes met Heather's.
In a desperate move to avoid the rising tension, Axel seized Lila by the waist with his big hand and the other hand pulled her neck into a passionate and fervent kiss.
What Heather saw after passing the entryway sent a surge of disbelief rushing through her veins. Heather's previous lover, Axel, sat in his dimly lit office, locked in a passionate embrace with Lila, the woman who now wore the title of his betrothed.
With her pulse pounding so hard she was afraid to admit it, Heather dropped the tea party invitation onto Axel's attendant and turned to walk out the door, her footsteps echoing in the hallway outside.
'She left,' Axel pondered in his mind.
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Lila's heart pounded in her chest as Axel's lips met hers in an intense, treacherous kiss, igniting conflicting emotions within her.
Inexperienced and uncertain, she wavered between the urge to pull away and the intoxicating allure of Axel's touch.
'This is my first kiss. It tastes so bitter, it must be the liquor.' Lila pondered.
Sensing Lila's hesitation, Axel's hands gently cradled her pretty face, his touch both tender and commanding, "Open your mouth," he whispered huskily, his breath hot against her skin.
Caught in the trap of passion, Lila's resolve crumbled as she succumbed to the overwhelming intensity of their kiss. Her lips slightly parted, inviting Axel into the depths of her being. With each passing moment, the world around them faded into insignificance.
"Ah- euppk,"
She wanted to get away, to break the tantalizing embrace, but her body betrayed her, responding to his touch with an intensity she couldn't understand.
Lila ran her fingers through Axel's soft black hair. The sound of their merging intense breaths filled the air, accented by the faint sound of saliva as their kiss intensified.
As the seconds passed, reality returned, breaking the illusion. Breathless and ecstatic, they broke apart. Lila realized what had happened and moved off of Axel's lap. Lila's heart couldn't stop hammering as she drew away, meeting Axel's red eyes burning with desire.
The air became tense; their lips had briefly connected, but there was now a definite sense of uneasiness between them.
Lila's mind raced with an infinite stream of conflicting feelings.
'It's simply because it's my first time, that's why it feels like this,' she whispered to herself, her heartbeat hammering irregularly in her chest.
Axel's gaze was unreadable as he observed Lila; his typical arrogance had been replaced by a heavy gravity, and he knew he had crossed a line that he couldn't easily undo. "Lila, I-" he began, but his words stuttered, lost in the silence that filled the room.
Lila pulled herself away from Axel's stare with a faltering breath and uncertainty. "I... I should go," she muttered, her tone hardly audible above a faint murmur.
Axel found himself alone with his thoughts as Lila stepped out his office, the door shutting lightly behind her. He felt a sharp pang of regret, a harsh reminder of what he had done.
Outside, Lila could see the royal hallways going on forever, her anxiety resonating with every step she took. She was unable to get rid of the uneasy feeling she was experiencing or deny the fact of what had happened between her and Axel.