Chapter 20
Elara
My stomach was still queasy, and I was still nervous. Zuriel gets to his feet and asks, ‘ How are you feeling?’
‘Better,’ I answer, still out of breath. My throat was still sore. Zuriel gets in the driver’s seat. He glances at me once before he starts his car. The ride home is silent, and my eyes sway to my ring. It suits me.
We arrive at home. He gets out of the car to open the door for me. I am shocked by that manner. Why is he being gentle all of a sudden?
‘The stores will bring in all the dresses,’ he tells me before getting back in the car. I watch him with a frown as he drives away in a hurry.
As soon as I enter the house, my mom, Aunty Kiya, and Solena surround me. They all want to see my ring. I show them, plastering a smile on my lips.
‘It’s just too beautiful,’ Sol purrs.
’12 carats. Must have cost him quite a penny,’ Kiyana grins.
‘It’s nothing to him, Mom. It is Zuriel Crawford we are talking about. He lives in a 50 million dollar penthouse,’ Sol says. She was right. Two million for a ring was nothing to Zuriel. Everyone is still in awe of my ring. All I want is to go to bed, but that isn’t happening with these three hounding me.
‘What about the dresses?’ Mom asks.
‘They’ll be delivered tomorrow,’ I sigh. I’m still exhausted from the shopping and the pain I felt earlier.
‘I’m tired. I want to sleep,’ I say.
‘Alright. It’s a big day tomorrow. I’ll send dinner to your room. Good night, honey,’ Mom kisses my hair. Yep, tomorrow is my engagement party.
Once in my suite, Shonda prepares a bubble bath for it. It is just what I needed. It’s like she reads my mind. I get in and sigh, relaxing in it.
‘You look stressed. Did something happen?’ she asks, concerned.
‘No,’ I answer quietly, not wanting to trouble her. I hear footsteps recede, and the door shut. I close my eyes. My mind goes to the kiss I shared with Zuriel. It was empowering and just wonderful. Our first kiss was magical, gentle, yet passionate. My fingers moved to my lips and traced them. I can’t help the grin that appears.
Getting out of the hot tub, I dry my hair and wipe water from my body. The night is horrifically slow. I close my eyes, but the only face I see is Zuriel. I wonder how he’s doing or where he is. Is he thinking about me?
Zuriel
My blood was boiling after what happened in the jewelry store. That mother fucking bastard will pay when I catch him. How can she cause someone as innocent as the little princess so much pain? He knows the consequences of his actions, and he does it on purpose. It’s a way to punish her. My jaw tightened around the steering wheel as I thought of ways to murder Connor. For now, he escaped his pack, but I have people watching it every day. Once they spot him, they shall grab him and bring him to me.
‘We should castrate him first when we catch him,’ Riel growls. I nod in agreement. He shall suffer. My mind drifted to the green-eyed princess and her dazzling smile.
Today was a total failure. I shouldn’t have kissed her. Now she consumed my mind. I had to leave quickly when I dropped her off, or I’d have done it again. That kiss was the most beautiful ever.
Normally, I don’t kiss women. I only fuck them, but Princess Elara is different. Her lips are enticing, and I can’t help myself. When we kissed, I felt the world fade away. Her soft lips moved against me in sync.
I can’t stop thinking about it. Her divine scent still lingers not only in my car but it’s on me. I can’t be with her in that way.
I don’t go to my apartment immediately. I go to the lakeside. I go here to calm down. It soothes my troubled soul.
I don’t know how long I stayed there, but only left when it was dark.
Getting home, I’m surprised to see Bruce.
‘How did you get in my penthouse?’ I ask. He sighs.
‘I’ve always known the code. Dude, I lived here for three months when my house was under renovation,’ he says.
‘When?’ I ask.
Bruce looks offended, ‘ You need to be a better friend. I stayed in this house, and you didn’t know?’
‘Whatever. What do you want?’ I ask. His dull mood vanishes as he pulls out two bottles of my favorite drink. Scotch whiskey, Springbank 1919.
‘Tomorrow is your engagement and a week after your wedding day. I think we should celebrate,’ The thing about Bruce is that no matter how rude I was to him, he never left, nor would he get offended. He has a cheerful personality, and we are so different. I always wondered why he wanted to be my friend. But even I must admit that having him around me wasn’t the worst thing.
‘Can you keep up?’ I ask, and an eye-splitting grin takes over his features.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
‘The question is, can you, boss?’
We go to the lounge and start our drinking spree.