After the meal, Duke Kensington sent Lord William to the guest chamber to take a nap. Although the young boy protested at first, he eventually succumb to his father's instruction. In order to fulfil her expanding curiosity as to how big the palace was, Lady Melissa seek permission from the Queen to take a stroll in the royal garden. Queen Serina readily obliged her request and asked Duke Kensington to escort her. As much as she wanted to wander alone, she couldn't possibly drive Duke Kensington away. Therefore, she walked with her hand looped around the Duke's arm, proceeding to the royal garden. In one hand, she held the white rose which was placed on her plate earlier.
This was the first time he held her so close to him and he could smell a faint flowery fragrance coming from her. His body instinctively grew rigid and he found it hard to concentrate. He kept stealing glances at her from time to time, sensing her obvious curiosity on her surroundings. Duke Kensington was slightly puzzled at this. Didn't she attend the palace before? She's behaving as if this was the first time she's been here. After a moment of silence passed, Duke Kensington said,
"I apologized for Princess Katherine's words just now. She shouldn't have said that. You must feel upset."
"Upset? No, I'm not. Don't worry about me." Melissa answered truthfully.
"Really? You don't have to act brave in front of me. If you're upset, you can tell me. We're going to be husband and wife soon. You can tell me anything you want." Duke Kensington reminded her.
"But I'm really not, Your Grace. Anyway, I'm going to sit here for a while. Do you want to join me?" Melissa said. Her eyes just wanted to feast on the vast choices of flowers in front of her, and not to be reminded of that uncouth princess.
Coincidentally, they have reached a gazebo and there's a seating area available. Before Duke Kensington could answer, an attendant came over and spoke quietly to Duke Kensington, causing his eyebrows to furrow in what seemed like annoyance. He turned to Melissa and said apologetically, "My Lady, I'm really sorry but I need to step away for a while. I will be back soon. Do you mind sitting here by yourself until then?"
Melissa was obviously delighted at this golden opportunity. 'Wow! I can explore without supervision! You can come back tomorrow for all I care.'
But to Duke Kensington, she replied sweetly, "Of course, Your Grace. I will be here waiting." With that Duke Kensington left with the attendant.
However, the moment Duke Kensington left, Melissa suddenly had the same bad feeling creeping in again. She didn't know why she felt like someone was watching her but every time she looked around, there was only trees and flower beds surrounding her. There was no one else in sight. Melissa felt regretful for not insisting that the Duke stayed with her, or at the very least followed him back to the main palace. Great! Now what? She couldn't really remember the way back as they went around for quite some time before they reached this gazebo. She's afraid she would get lost if she tried finding her way back. In this massive courtyard, how would anyone find her if she got lost? Thinking of this, Melissa decided to stay put and wait for Duke Kensington.
Few minutes in, Melissa suddenly felt her eyes grew heavier and unknowingly, she fell asleep.
Prince Xavier approached the gazebo where Lady Melissa was. He had been watching her closely since the moment they left the main palace and after that troublesome Duke left, he finally had an opportunity to meet his beloved. When he stepped into the seating area, he noticed Lady Melissa was fast asleep. Taking this chance, Prince Xavier feasted his eyes on her face, her lips, her milky white neck, her bosom, all the way down to her slender waist and feet. He cautiously held her hand and kissed it. The fragrant smell of her skin nearly drove him crazy with both love and lust.
Lady Melissa Rose Knight. The girl of his dreams. The first time he met her was when Duchess Rose Knight brought her to the palace. She was only 13 years old at that time while he just turned 21. She was so adorable with her amazing violet eyes. He couldn't forget those eyes. No one knew how, but she ended up fighting with Princess Katherine. Not allowing his sister to bully this young girl, Prince Xavier had stepped in and stopped the fight. He then took Lady Melissa with him and they ended up spending the rest of the day together. Even though she's just 13, Lady Melissa didn't act like a child. She was intelligent and not afraid of showing it off. Prince Xavier was taken by both her beauty and intelligence. Despite being arrogant, it actually added charm to the young girl's attributes. Unfortunately, Lady Melissa didn't come back to the palace after that.
After meeting Lady Melissa, Prince Xavier couldn't help but to think of her day and night. At 21, many peers of his age had settled down, some even had children. His mother had persuaded him to do the same, citing it was only proper for a prince to marry and produce an heir for the royal family. Many prospects were introduced to him but none had managed to touch his heart like Lady Melissa. He had rejected all of the proposals and informed the Queen that he needed more time. As to the reason, he kept it a secret from everyone. He couldn't possibly inform the Queen that he was in love with a young girl! Therefore, he decided to wait until she was much older before seeking her hand in marriage.
However, Prince Xavier always longed to see Lady Melissa. Given his status, it wasn't proper for him to seek Lady Melissa out, especially when there's no relation between them in the first place. Over the years, he had tried to get close to her by secretly finding out all the gatherings that she would attend but unfortunately, she was always guarded by either her parents or that damn brother of hers. Prince Xavier could only watch her from afar. However he also noticed that none of the other noble girls seemed to want to befriend Lady Melissa. He could only scorned at their foolishness for not able to distinguish between a real gem and a fake one. Anyway, these fools were not worthy of Lady Melissa and he somehow felt glad she's not in contact with any of them.
When she turned 16, the palace held a birthday party for his brother, Prince Xander and he found out Lady Melissa would be attending with her family. He was ecstatic and wondered how he could get her alone so they could spend time together like before. He wasn't sure if she remembered him given the fact that few years had passed since they last met, but he was determined to meet her anyhow.
When Lady Melissa stepped into the main banquet hall, almost everyone was captivated by her beauty. The young ladies eyed her with envy and jealousy, some even sneered at her appearance. Prince Xavier who was standing with a few close acquaintances of his, all of them young men from the aristocratic families, couldn't help but smirked at the sight of his beloved. As expected of the woman of his choice, she could stunned everyone just by standing there doing nothing. Prince Xavier was further pleased when he realized that the troublesome Lord Melvin Knight wasn't present tonight. It was only Lady Melissa and her mother, Duchess Rose Knight. "Isn't that Lady Melissa? The one who fought with the Princess a few years ago?" Lord Benjamin Blackwell said, while keeping his gaze on the lovely girl."Yes, I see that time has done her great service. She has blossomed well indeed." This suggestive remark from Lord Davis caused the rest of the noblemen around him to look appreciatively at Lady M
Prince Xavier waited, and waited for days but no news came from Lady Melissa after that. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months. After waiting for such a long time but still didn't hear from her, he was worried that something had happened to her. After the last palace banquet, Lady Melissa seemed to have vanished and she never appear in any social events anymore. No one knew what happened to her. Prince Xavier had tried to get information but everyone from the Knights' Estates was tight lipped and no news were leaked on their Lady's wellbeing. Prince Xavier nearly went crazy trying to find out the truth. She had clearly promised to give him an answer, and he knew she wasn't the type to forget about it easily.Unpleasant rumours started to spread about Lady Melissa after that. Some said she was disfigured and became so ugly that she didn't dare to show herself in public. Some said she was embarrassed as she had no friends so staying home was the best option. Some even went as far
For the next few days, Prince Xavier waited for the Queen to approach him with great anticipation in his heart. His mood was much better as well, thinking of the impending marriage between him and Lady Melissa. However, after much wait, there was no sign of the Queen nor was there any summon for him to see her. After much thought, Prince Xavier decided to meet the Queen himself. His marriage was much more important than his pride anyway. When he reached his mother's chambers, he knocked and was summoned in."Xavier, my son! What brings you here today? Is something wrong?" Queen Serina was surprised to see her normally aloof son appeared before her today. "How do you do Mother?" Prince Xavier went to hug his mother. "I'm very well, thank you. Is everything alright, Son?" Queen Serina probed again. "Well, yes I'm doing well. Mother, I heard you've been busy choosing brides these past few days. How's that going?" Prince Xavier asked casually."That's a surprise! I thought you didn't
After few days of being in what could be described as hell, when he was calmed enough, Prince Xavier began to organize his thoughts and found it hard to believe that Lady Melissa would forget about him easily. Something must've made her accepted this ridiculous arrangement. Yes that's right, someone or something forced her into this marriage. He needed to speak with her, but how? He couldn't just barge into the Knights mansion, could he?Prince Xavier spent the whole day thinking about his predicament. He harboured resentment towards his cousin, Duke Kensington. The Queen had always favoured Duke Kensington since they were young. Growing up, whatever he had, his mother would make sure Duke Kensington was given the same as well. The only difference between them was that he's of royal blood, destined to inherit the throne, while Duke Kensington would forever be his subject. That's the only consolation he had for this 'sibling rivalry' between them.However, he would never imagine that h
THUD! A loud sound could be heard as she fell to the ground.When Prince Xavier reached to where Melissa was, he could see her lying face down on the ground motionless, a big boulder could be seen next to her. She must've knocked her head on it when she fell! Panic seeped into his heart and he quickly turned her over to check on her injuries. What greeted him caused him to tear up instantly. There was a big cut on her forehead and she was bleeding profusely. Not wanting to waste any more time lest her life could be in danger, Prince Xavier quickly carried her up and headed towards the main palace, all the while blaming himself for what had happened. The whole palace was in chaos. The sight of Prince Xavier carrying a lady in his arms was too extraordinary! This was the first time anyone had seen Prince Xavier being so close to a woman, other than the Queen. Prince Xavier couldn't be bothered with the watchful eyes of the people around him. When he reached the main entrance, he saw D
"Aren't you afraid that the Princess would complain about you to the Queen?" Prince Xavier asked her while guiding her around the royal garden."Why should I? She's in the wrong, not me. How dare she called me ugly and asked me to fetch her a glass of water? Do I look like a maid to her?" Lady Melissa pouted her lips, not feeling the slightest guilt."Haha! Yes, you're right! How dare she! You're definitely not ugly at all." Prince Xavier replied, with a smile on his handsome face. "Of course, my mother is so beautiful, and I look like her. That means, I'm beautiful too, am I not?" Lady Melissa said proudly.Prince Xavier nodded repeatedly, indulging her vanity. "By the way Your Highness, why did you save me? I think you're in more trouble now than me." Lady Melissa said, puzzled as to why this Prince would rescue her from his own sister."I think you and I can be great friends. So, I saved you. Friends should look out for one another." With that, they reached to where his garden wa
Melissa's own heart tightened at this revelation. She felt Lady Melissa's longing, expectation, desires and love towards Prince Xavier, as if they were her own. It was truly overwhelming. She was speechless. Then she remembered something happened to Lady Melissa when she turned 16. It was at this palace banquet! In order to unravel this mystery, Melissa cast aside her own thoughts and concentrated on the memory of Lady Melissa. While she was admiring the roses, Lady Melissa heard a light cough and a voice saying, "I remember those are your favourites." Lady Melissa was startled and almost fell backwards. She felt a man's hands holding her steady and she felt shy at his touch. She quickly stood up and turned to face him. At first glance, Lady Melissa seemed uncertain as he looked somehow different with longer hair, but she would not mistake the warm blue eyes staring back at her. It was Prince Xavier! She exclaimed excitedly, "Your Highness!" "Do you still remember me?" Prince Xavie
"What?" Lady Melissa said softly, staggering backwards. She held onto a nearby chair to steady herself, both physically and emotionally. 'Fiancée? How can it be? Just moments ago the Prince has asked me to become his intended. Is she making a joke?'"Yes, you heard me right. Prince Xavier and I are betrothed. The palace will announce it soon." Lady Anastasia said proudly."Why are you telling me this?" Lady Melissa still couldn't believe it. She must've ulterior motives to say these things to her."Why? You should know why. You didn't think your little seduction will work, did you? Smiling at him, hanging onto him shamelessly. Who do you think you are? You're just an outcast, a nobody in the society." Lady Anastasia was no longer smiling, in fact she looked so sinister as if she wanted to kill Lady Melissa that moment. "You're lying! The Prince is not engaged! Definitely not to you!" Lady Melissa couldn't accept this, it's outrageous."If it's not me, should it be you? Yes, I know ab