am i the only one who hates my updating schedule?🥲
CHARLOTTEThe sound of car doors slamming shut made me pause in my descent downstairs. I leaned forward a little, trying to tell from the sounds alone who was approaching, but other than a few slow footsteps, there was nothing. I leaned forward a little further so I could peek through the window. I caught sight of a tall man dressed in a dark suit opening the back door of a tinted SUV. King Auric stepped out, donning sunglasses as he walked the path to the house, his usual domineering aura seemed to hang even heavier around him. I took in his outfit, he was dressed in his usual pressed suit and stiff tie, so that wasn’t what made me pause—it was his hair, trimmed into a neat buzzcut that made me feel like I was staring at an image of Taide, thirty years in the future. I watched him and his men approach the house, then when they got far enough, realization struck, and I turned and climbed up the stairs before they could see me lurking. King Auric’s presence was never a good sign
CHARLOTTE Caeson left for the palace that same night. I tucked my feet under me and reached for the TV remote, as I pondered over everything that happened yesterday. In the few seconds it took for me to turn on the TV, I caught sight of my bitter expression on the reflection of the TV. I hated seeing it, the exact same way I hated the fatigue, nausea and headache that had been following me since I got up from bed this morning. It wouldn’t be a stretch to deem it the worst slumber of my life—and that wasn’t only because of the headache and nausea that followed me afterwards—It was the fact that I’d spent a good chunk of the time tossing and turning, while thinking about Taide, and the painful realisation that he might be upset with me. I’d gone to his room the way I had three nights prior, albeit a little more tentatively than I usually did. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I drew closer to his door, but for some odd reason, I couldn’t bring myself to knock. I did lift my hand
CHARLOTTE I made my way downstairs with my hand on my throat. My emotions were a confusing mess within me and try as I might, I couldn’t pin a single one down. I felt my heart pound, and an uneasiness filled my entire being to the brim. I wasn’t sure how I managed to put one foot in front of the other as I hurried downstairs, but I somehow made it down without tripping and landing on my face, or throwing up all over the tiles. Through the mess of my emotions, I heard noises from the kitchen. I had to breathe, but it suddenly felt like I didn’t know how to. “You’re burning it,” Reigh spoke from the kitchen. “No, I’m not. I just don’t like it runny,” Madeline retorted, there was more clanging and even a laugh, till I finally summoned up enough courage to face a crowd. Reigh and Madeline turned around the moment I walked in, taking in the state I was in. I was probably a sight, I knew my skin was clammy and pale, and it felt like my entire body was being stretche
CHARLOTTEI tried to keep myself occupied the entire day. It was the only way to keep my mind off the situations unfolding around me. The realities I’d been trying so hard to wrap my head around while avoiding them at the same time. But one thing I had to keep reminding myself of was the fact that Taide and I weren’t together. We weren’t a couple… despite recent events. What—or who—he did, was none of my business. He helped me out at a time of need. That was all it was. Probably all it ever would be. We weren’t friends either. That I knew for certain. And yet… Every time the image of the girl on his bed popped into my mind, I felt like clawing it out with silver. Burning it with wildfire so it never dared to come up again. This completed mate bond was turning me into a person I truly didn’t recognize. I wasn’t new to the concept of the triplets and their women. Hell, one of them was already engaged. They flaunted the very fact that girls flocked around them with thin reservat
CHARLOTTTEThe question was loaded as it hung in the air between us. I didn’t let myself breathe because suddenly, I felt suspended mid-air, trying desperately to find my footing. He could brush me off, give me an answer that proved just how way over my head I had gotten. He could do it, and we could put this entire thing behind us. But I was looking at a version of Taide I had never seen before. One I couldn’t predict. One who could respond to the question I had just voiced with the words I had just heard fall from his lips, as he breathed out, “You know why.” “But I don’t,” I found myself saying. “I don’t know what’s going on inside your head when you do the things you do. I don’t know why you built me this bookshelf,” I gestured to my left wall, “I don’t know why you’re here, why you feel you need to be here after… after…” “After I had sex with someone else?” I swallowed down the rest of my sentence, hearing him complete the words I couldn’t speak myself. A wave of unease ro
CHARLOTTEI lifted my hand to knock, then dropped it after a second of hesitation. I really shouldn’t have been there. After the conversation we had yesterday, the last thing I should’ve been doing was sneaking over to his room and pacing around, hoping and praying he would let me in. But there I was, doing exactly that. I’d spent last night without him, and surprisingly, I wasn’t haunted by nightmares or anything like that. But my sleep wasn’t peaceful either. Instead of resting, my mind kept circling around one thing—or rather, one person. Taide. Which was probably why I ended up outside his room again. I let out a breath to muster the courage and rapped my fist against the door before I could think better of it. It was when I’d stepped back from the door to wait for him to answer that I realized there was a likelihood he wouldn’t open it. And let’s say he did? What exactly was going to happen? I didn’t have much time to dig too deeply into my intentions because the door op
CHARLOTTEI stifled a gasp at the feel of his hands on me. Trailing down the column of my neck. Reaching down to cup one of my sensitive breasts in his large hands. The calloused digits grazing against my heated flesh. His voice, raspy and deep, as I felt it right by my ear, “Charlotte…” I let out a low moan and pressed my hips against his, eager for some friction, anything that would soothe the ache between my legs. He reached down and slid a hand into the waistline of my pajamas… The pleasure suddenly faded to nothing as my eyes flew open. I sat up with a gasp. My heart was still racing in my chest, and the heat between my legs was still very much there. I placed a hand on my chest and tried to calm my racing heart, stunned not only by what I had dreamed but also by how real everything had felt. I ran a hand through my damp hair, and it was only when I could no longer hear my pulse pounding in my ears that I realized I wasn’t the only one in my room. I jumped the next sec
CHARLOTTE At the point of contact, my knees damn near gave out on me.It was soft, and gentle. Just like the feel of his lips on mine.I reveled in it.But it still didn’t stop me from noticing how rigid Taide had gone.He remained frozen and immobile.Part of me understood it; I caught him off guard. But I was too taken by the feel of his lips on mine to stop or pull away.Right then, it felt like everything that had happened around me was leading to this exact moment.His hands hovered at my sides as though he didn’t know what to do with them, as if he was afraid that the moment he touched me, I’d flinch back and break away from this.I could feel his surprise, confusion, and reluctant restraint. But more than anything, I could feel the desire that was starting to match my own.And maybe that’s what gave me the confidence I needed.I raised my trembling hands to his face and gently cupped his jaw. My movements felt like they mostly weren’t mine, merely actions fueled by a mix of de