CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
Alyssa ran elatedly, not stopping until she caught sight of the garden. It’s been two weeks now and her relationship with Liam was blossoming into something real and passionate.
They met every evening at their usual spot, and after sharing thoughts about each other’s day, they would end it with staring at the stars and sometimes, dozing off in the process…
This was happiness for Alyssa. She was glad that the earth had good things in place for her. Back at her home, she had always thought that she was cursed by the earth never to be happy.
Just as she ran, she paid no attention to a stone that laid right on the ground and unknowingly, she struck her left leg on it.
“Ouch!” She screamed as she started traveling down the ground.
Just as she thought that she had made a great fall, something happened and suddenly, she got suspended in the air.Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.
Her eyes were tightly shut because she was already hoping for the worst. And so, when she observed that she didn’t land on the ground with a thud, she slowly opened her eyes and met those deep green eyes.
“Michael!” She whispered as a wide smile spread across her face.
They got lost in the moment for a few seconds, and after getting enough of the stares, Liam stood up and helped her regain her balance.
She felt embarrassed but chuckled calmly to conceal it.
“Please, always watch where you step on, even if I would always be there to ensure that you never fall”, Liam said and Alyssa smiled in delight.
He was just the sweetest thing she has ever known. With his kind words, and acts, Alyssa was certain that he was sent to her directly from nature.
“Thank you”, she mumbled as she grabbed his hands that were stretched out for her to cling on.
Just then, she felt an excruciating pain on a part of her leg.
She took a pause from walking and narrowed her eyes to her leg.
She was bleeding as the place she hit on the stone was hurt.
“You’re bleeding!” Liam said, with great panic in his eyes.
Alyssa shrugged and nodded her head calmly.
“It’s nothing, I’m fine…”, she said, but the expression in his eyes showed that he wasn’t having any of it.
“That is a big injury! It needs to be treated. Let me see”, he said and tried to touch her legs, but she only shifted it backwards.
“I’m fine”, she muttered quietly.
The injury was little compared to the ones inflicted on her in her home. To her, this one was a scratch compared to those.
Without listening to her, Liam crouched low to take a good look at her leg. It was bruised and was bleeding profusely.
“Come here!” He said and carried her in his arms.
Alyssa yelped and started laughing aloud. She wasn’t expecting him to carry her so swiftly and even, without warning.
They went over the lake. He dropped her on the grass and stretched her legs over the water. The moment her water got dipped into the water, Alyssa smiled in relief.
The pain relieved and it felt a lot more better.
“How are you feeling now?” Liam asked Alyssa who pulled him into a warm hug.
“Thank you!” She muttered with a wide smile on her face.
They settled on the grass and he dipped his hands into his pocket to bring out some apples which he had kept aside from his lunch.
“The prince gave me these”, Liam lied since servants weren’t allowed to carry food out of the dining hall.
***
Just as they ate the apples Liam had sneakily brought for her, Alyssa couldn’t help but think about a number of things.
Firstly, she thought of the prince and how possible it would be that he gave his servant some of his fruits.
“I always thought the prince was so cruel! I mean, who would believe that he would hand some fruits over to you. I mean, they said he was cruel and would rather throw a bowl of food to the animals than give his servants”, Alyssa explained while Liam listened with rapt attention.
He wondered how rumours turned out to spread like wide fire, even if none of the people talking have ever set eyes on him.
“You never know someone, until you are inside with him”, Liam noted while Alyssa nodded her head in understanding.
He was right after all. People would always have bad things to talk about other people, but you would never know until there have been a close contact.
Liam stared at Alyssa and drifted off in thoughts. The meeting with his mother yesterday didn’t yield much result like he had thought. He had expected her to tell him what she knows about his relationship with Alyssa, but instead she had kept mute and blabbed about his marriage instead.
However, he knew his mother and he needed no one to tell him that she had an idea about Alyssa but she was only concealing it. Thoughts of why she did that scared the hell out of him, but he silently hoped that Alyssa remains safe.
Alyssa on the other hand was lost in her own thoughts. She was convinced that the queen knows who she is. However, she is not so sure about that especially because she had no vivid evidence to back that up.
Her mind was clouded with thoughts of Tiffany and Michael. The moment she imagined leaving the palace, a wave of dejection would engulf her. She would feel that if she ever returned back to her kingdom.
But here, she was loved and cared for and that was something she always wanted.
“The stars are out today”, Liam suddenly said aloud and lifted his head to the sky.
They had been so engrossed in their different thoughts for some minutes. She was glad that they finally had something else to look at.
“Look at that one”, Alyssa said as she laid on the grass to have a better view of the sky and the stars.
Liam laid beside her and in a split second, their gaze was focused on the sky.
Alyssa stole glances at him severally, trying to summon up the courage to mutter the words in her heart.
“Liam!” She finally called out while he turned to look at her.
“I think I’m in love with you and it keeps growing everyday”, Alyssa confessed and peered into his eyes for an answer.
Liam got frozen on the spot. He tried to talk, but no words seemed to leave his mouth at the moment.
He was not expecting her to confess her feelings so soon because she had no answer for her at the moment…
Alyssa peered into his eyes, clearly waiting for him to say something about what he had said.
Liam suddenly turned quiet, darting his gaze towards the sky and completely ignoring Alyssa.
Alyssa was hurt to the core and made to talk, but the flashes of light coming from a distant distracted them.
“Someone is coming!” Liam announced and quickly grabbed her on the arms.
He was relieved that something came up to distract them and ease the tension.
“We should do hide over there”, he suggested and together, they ran over to a corner.
They stayed there for some minutes, quiet and listening to only each other’s breaths.
“Don’t say a word!” Liam said to Alyssa who was at the verge of saying something.