The water trickled down Ruen’s hair to his torso as he took a refreshing shower to cleanse his thoughts.
It would have been one good way to relieve his stress, but every time he watched the water run down his skin, it reminded him constantly of how the liquid would mold well with Lianne’s body.
It would seem that the water was luckier than he was for it could touch her and feel her without qualm.
“Lianne…” Ruen murmured in desperation as he closed his eyes and recollected his thoughts to that last kiss they shared.
It ached his heart somehow knowing he would never see her again.
Would she be angry if he would come looking for her then? Would she be angry if he were to find her and have her imprisoned inside the castle?
Of course, she would.
He violently shook his head to clear the thoughts away.
Throughout his life, he had been restraining himself just to protect her from the attention of his father; if he will lock her up again in the palace grounds just so he could have her all to himself, it would never be worth it when all he’d get from her are scowls, glares, and caustic words.
‘Never will I do that,’ he opposed his thoughts, gnashing his teeth in disappointment with himself.
He could never break his promise to her.
It was all just lust playing in his mind, but unfortunately, a lust only her presence could sate.
He couldn’t endure seeing her look at him again with those disdainful eyes. He promised himself never to hurt her again. He had tried his best though, but it seemed she was all bundled up in hatred of his father that in reflection, to him also.
Those resentful eyes that night in the dungeon, it tormented his heart so much thinking about it. It will never be erased from his memory and that alone was his driving force to give her her freedom.
***
After the not-so-refreshing shower, he donned on a new white long-sleeved turn-down shirt, partnered it with black khaki pants and a low cut black boot.
His hair was slightly in disarray as what he was accustomed to. Although he wasn’t in the mood for it, he willed himself to be ready to face the royal council.
The prince left his chamber with nothing in mind but to focus on the ensuing meeting.
Her absence would greatly affect his attention surely, but it was also his duty to dispense his time with the council; after all, he was about to become the new king of Regaleria. Many things will occupy him, probably numerous enough to keep his mind off of her.
To focus on the meeting was supposed to be his sole intention, but when he descended to the grand stairs of the north wing, he paused at the sight of the hallway leading to the princess’ chamber.
As empty as his emotions were, he couldn’t deny the gloomy feeling that was surrounding him.
He was a fool to even hope she’d still be in the mansion; but nevertheless, the urge won over and it drove him to visit her chamber.
He knew full well it would torment him to see the empty space of her room; to see nothing but vacancy in the bed covers, but he just wanted to fill that gaping hole in his heart with delightful memories of her.
When he arrived at the front of her chamber door, he paused for a moment, battling on whether it was right to fool himself of her memories.
He took in a deep sigh of surrender, then proceeded to open the main door. He promised himself this would be the last time he’d visit this vile barren room.
The fireplace was unlit and there was coldness surrounding the receiving room as he stepped inside.
The iron chandelier had no glimmer in it and the balcony was open; a sign that no life had provided the room warmth.
He remembered her sitting on the sofa near the fireplace. Those dancing, gleaming light in her eyes definitely shamed the fire itself. He missed it so. And her kiss… Of course. That kiss they shared before he left for the burial.
She did respond to his kisses!
That fact alone he couldn’t deny, and now, how he had wanted to know why.
After examining the receiving room, he knew he would be able to reminisce that perfect moment clearly if he were to go inside her bedroom, so he proceeded to open the door.
Before he could grab the doorknob, however, the door suddenly flung open and to his surprise, he saw the princess in his front, standing still and with the same amount of surprise painted on her face.
“Lianne!?” Ruen exclaimed in disbelief.
His eyes widened, showing the first surprised emotion she had seen in him.
Lianne was startled herself and quickly stepped back to open up a space between them. Their eyes met and he realized then that she was here, not in any other place, not with any other man.
“Ru-Ruen?!” She was so dumbfounded that she unwittingly spoke his first name. No titles, not even a designation; just purely the bareness of his name.
She didn’t realize that she would find him in her room this very day as she thought he was supposed to be at the funeral still. It was only a matter of seconds when realization hit her that she was being too careless about speaking his name and quickly managed to recover her composure.
“Uhm… I mean, Your Highness.” She curtsied in haste even though she had not done it before to him.
She felt a bit more flustered than before, and she felt more cognizant under his gaze.
What was wrong with her now? Her eyebrows furrowed with that thought, but to her shock, he straightforwardly responded her greeting with a firm embrace.
“Ah!” Lianne gasped.
Ruen tightly enveloped her with his arms and burrowed his face close to her own, enough that she could smell the spice and lavender shampoo that he just used. She was finding it hard to breathe, however, with both of his arms wrapped securely around her.
Her shoulders, owing to the fact that she wore a simple peasant dress, were bare with only a thin strap for support. Such clothing did nothing to maintain her modesty as the top offered a subtle lift of her breasts as it pressed against his hard chest.
Her face was covered by the collar of his shirt, but her nose and a part of her lips were touching the skin of his neck.
She instinctively tried to push him away hoping her strength could do so, but then his embrace tightened even more.
“I… I can’t breathe!” Lianne proclaimed.
The prince, with his eyes shut, jaw clenched and hands trembling, whispered on her ear, “Do as you wish. You can push me if you like Lianne. I don’t care. I just need to hold you now.”
Its as if time had stopped for a moment.
Lianne could indeed sense that he was genuine with his words.
Was it the tenderness of his voice or the fact that he was embracing her that she was already mute for a response?
She closed her eyes slowly and let herself feel the warmth of his body, thinking of nothing but the fact that he was here with her at the very moment.
“Your Highness, please, you can let me go now,” Lianne remarked after a minute or so.
Although hesitant, Ruen fulfilled her request, but not before asking a question she wasn’t able to prepare for.
“Why didn’t you leave?” His voice had a hint of confusion yet still dripping with command.
She blinked in response and quickly felt the heavy responsibility of answering him the question she herself wasn’t sure of an answer.
She knew he would never drop the subject, so she hurriedly thought of an answer.
She waltzed out of her bedroom and into the receiving room, hoping it could buy her time to give a good alibi. She then stopped close to the unlit fireplace, feeling his eyes track her every move.
“I… I can’t just leave without saying goodbye to Lady Faye,” she started, hoping he wouldn’t notice the anxiety in her voice.
His embrace back then would have been almost sincere until she saw a quickening coldness in his eyes.
“Or Cain?” Ruen added in a possessive tone.
She immediately shook her head. “No!”
She was firm with her word, but seconds later, she wondered why she even said no in the first place.
“I… I mean, Lord Cain is, after all, a part of my life,” Lianne hurried to add, her voice growing weak and unsure. “And the others too! Erza, Malerna. I… they… they are my close companions here! I can’t just go without saying goodbye to them!”
She tried to avert her eyes from his gaze, her only meager way to wall herself up from his interrogating brown-green orbs.
Ruen didn’t respond immediately. He watched her with not a single expression on his face, but the burn in his gaze was clear as crystal.
Lianne hated how she was unable to read his thoughts. She wanted to throw him a series of questions too but Ruen asked her a question again, something that she hadn’t expected at all.
“Then, what about me?”
“Huh?” The princess lifted a brow in confusion.
“Am I not part of your life too?” Ruen clarified.
He moved closer to her, passing an antique Victorian-style red chaise lounge sofa just a few feet away from the princess.
His eyes never wavered, it stayed glued on her as he waited for her answer.
Lianne couldn’t deny that she was feeling all flushed up with the situation.
“Your Highness I…”
“Ruen.” He sternly corrected. “Call me by my name Lianne, as you do to Cain.” His eyes hinted a small peak of jealousy but she failed to see it.
Lianne lifted her chin up, surprised by his command.
“Does it matter if I say your name?!” she asked.
This broke Ruen’s control.
“Yes! I want to hear you say my name!” The volume of his voice was higher than usual, almost angry. Huffing, he grabbed her left arm and gave her a pointed glare.
Lianne squared her shoulders. “I have done so many times to disregard your every command, what difference is there now? Calling you by your name wouldn’t make a lick of difference at all.”
“So you prefer Cain than me?” Ruen’s query was rather off-guard and it certainly left her speechless.
This was the first time Lianne had seen such an expression on his face.
Just the mention of Cain’s name, it’s as if it boiled his blood to the core; even his stoic and cold facade could actually be threatened.
Now, she could evidently feel the tension between them.
She tried to pull her arm away, but Ruen didn’t let go.
“Unhand me,” she commanded.
“No. Not until you answer me,” the prince replied, standing his ground too and showing that he wouldn’t relent.
“What is there to answer? Isn’t my reasons enough for you?” Lianne asked, her brows creased as she stared back at him. However, she realized it was a wrong move.
His brown-green eyes were too much. It made her shiver. It made her feel funny inside.
“Lianne, look at me,” Ruen ordered when he noticed her look away.
“Just let me go already!” she said, but the prince only tightened his hold some more.
“You’re hurting me!” she shouted while she watched her captured arm. “Why are you like this? Your father just died recently and you’re acting like-”
But she stopped when her gaze inadvertently rested on his. The way he looked at her made her feel drowning inside in a different kind of way. The pleasurable way. It’s as if he was looking at her like she was a Goddess, naked, and venerated and revered and showered with petals of flowers.
“I have been restraining myself in front of the King, Lianne,” Ruen started through clenched teeth. “You don’t know how much it pains me since we were still young, to see you locked up in that dungeon… to see you become a servant… but seeing you become such a damn fine woman and then being betrothed to that old wasted man!” His jaw tensed. “Just to know you’re within my reach if anything happens, that’s what hinders me from being close to you! But I have had enough! Either you are too naive to actually notice the obvious truth that is in front of you or your heart is filled too much with hatred for King Garlow that I am also affected with it!”
She was affected by his words, yes, but still she couldn’t swallow the fact that he was accusing her of being insensitive and naive.
She mock-laughed then, took a deep breath and then gave him a piece of her mind.
“It amazes me how you act so callous. How would you understand my hatred for your father, when you are his son!” Lianne fought back her tears and battled to keep her emotions at bay. “Yes! How many times have I made my hatred known? Do you want me to elaborate it again to you?”
Ruen stood motionless as she poured out her anger, but deep inside, the desire to embrace her again slowly grew. He wanted to comfort her and shower her with kisses.
“It is against my principles to taint someone who is already dead, but to remind you again, he is the reason for my wretched life without my family! I have grown and wasted my childhood living in this blasted mansion, not even knowing what it feels like to be loved!” With those full words, a quick stream of tears tracked down Lianne’s cheeks.
She wanted to whimper on the floor and curl up to her knees, but she stood still showing to the prince she was not easy to break.
“If it would help you understand, my hatred could not be doused by death alone, for one remaining blood in his veins runs through you and that is a fact I have already conceded. True! I detest you as much as your father and nothing could change that!”
“You don’t even know what you’re talking about, Lianne,” Ruen answered, the frigidness of his voice made Lianne shiver.
She tried to free herself from his hold, but Ruen pulled her closer to him.
“Unhand me,” the princess ordered again, her eyes avoiding his.
He inched closer to her face and whispered in her ear, “No. I would never let you go nor I would take you out of my sight!”
“Was my freedom only then your game?!” Lianne clarified, anger, and panic slowly bursting out of her.
“You should have left when I allowed you, Princess. You have no idea how much I restrained myself just in order not to chain you to me!” he admitted, his words undoubtedly alarming her.
With one swoop, he lifted her up the floor and directly placed her on the chaise lounge near them.
Lianne protested as hard as she could, hitting his chest with her fists, yelling him to stop, but his strength overpowered hers.
He seized both of her hands and positioned it on each side, locking it with his own hands making her open and welcoming to whatever he could do.