언녕하세요! 여러분 뭐하세요? Hello guys, what are you doing? Here's a new chap, hope you like it 😁*CHAPTER 19 NEOLA"After all these years, ma chérie," he pulled me in and kiss my forehead. I shivered, not used to having someone treating me like Luke does. I stared at him, eyes wide, not believing he was here, golden mane and cheeks dusted with freckles, "Lyle?" my voice came out little and scared, I cleared my throat and repeat, "Lyle.""Le seul et unique, Lyle de L'ile," he kisses each of my fingers which made me laugh, a bit nervous. " How, I mean, what a coincidence!" my voice came out like a whisper. I stared at him, still not believing that he is here. "I am here Loisa, I am really here." He pulled me in for another hug and twirled me. After a moment, he puts me down. We both look at each other. Gosh, he is so tall. I ran my hands to the tip of his mane. It was pretty in the afternoon light, golden like the sand. The sun hasn't set. He pulled me by the bench and just looks at me. "Yo
CHAPTER 20NEOLALyle is so good with kids. He is so kind and generous. The kids love him every time he visits the hospital because he dresses up. "Be a pirate!" Simon ask him. I watch as Lyle took his tie and put it over his eye. He menacingly looks at the kids and laugh. The kids laugh with him. "Être un prince (be a prince)." Rose says as she lean on her wheel chair. "Non! Pas un prince. He better be a pirate," Simon defended, his voice raising. Lyle stares at the kids, confusion apparent on his face. "Mais c'est le prince! (But he is the prince!)" "je te dis, il n'est pas. (I tell you, he is not)" Simon stomped his feet, trying to win the argument. "Yes, he is not the prince," Kendra supported him, holding Simon's hand. Lyle watch them, disappointment in his face seeing as they are not paying attention to him anymore. I know what they are talking about and he stood there clueless even though he can perfectly understand French. "Simon, Rose," I stood between the both of them a
CHAPTER 21 LUKE I am bored out of my mind. I twirled the pen on my hand, spinning it as the budget secretary rambles about the latest budget. Oh, come on Kurt! Stop this boring act and get to the point. Pft. I couldn’t focus on the task at hand. I can see my grandfather glaring at me from across the room. I clench my jaw and decided that I should run this my way, “Mr. Hobbins, how do you expect this plan will work out for years?” my stare made him nod at me. The cue is finally on. “I have looked upon it and it seems they have done it at Quebec. Their royalty have a very influential power towards preserving old buildings.” Kurt Hobbins looks at me, glasses glinting. “I believe that if you will do the same thing. This will help us greatly.” I raise my eyebrow at him. He’s a good actor. I can nominate him for Oscars. I look at grandfather to see him nodding in agreement. This is my chance. This is my final shot to make this work. I have to do it, one way or another. I will nev
CHAPTER 22 NEOLA "Yeah!" I look at the weird guy as he cheered. The guy next to him join him and together they clapped. I glared at the both of them before clapping with the crowd. "Whooo!" Lyle was silent. He did not utter a single word after I told him that I am already engaged. The words taste bitter and sweet in my tongue. It felt like a fresh wound that is currently being pampered at. The dull ache lingers but I can bear. Why does it seem so wrong to make that excuse? I look at Lyle as he sat beside me, his face like a stone carved out. So perfectly sculptured but still a stone. No emotion. He looks almost murderous. Like he can do anything to make everyone believes what he believes. And that scares me. We wait for the show to finish. My thoughts are in a jumble. Now that I told Lyle about my engagement, maybe that will make him draw the line between us. I bit my lip. But what if Luke decides that I am not good enough for him? What if he breaks off the engagement? The
CHAPTER 23 NEOLA I hold the resignation letter on my hand, shaking. I tuck my hands inside my coat, taking the other path leading to the head nurse. I don’t want Simon to see me. Or Kendra. Or Rose. I don’t want the kids to be hurt. I open the door and went in. The head nurse, Jodi, is surprise to see me there, not wearing my uniform, “Miss West, how can I help you?” she looks at me as I stood there, my hands shaking, “Please sit down.” I bowed and take the seat in front of her table. Biting my lip, I gave her my resignation letter. Her eyes widened, “Why? pourquoi?” She takes the letter and put it inside her drawer, “Neola, the kids love you so much. You gave them hope when they are losing it. They need you. We need you.” Her eyes shone as she cried. She held my hands and I grip hers tightly, “I know. But I can’t stay. I need to go back.” “Back to where?” I look at her eyes, so full of questions. I bit my lip. “I am sorry, I can’t tell you…” “Do you really have to go?” I shake
CHAPTER 24 (Days before Neola returns to France) LUKE I took a deep breath, my head hurts because of the jet lag. I took the hot tea prepared by Gigi and carefully sip. “Agh,” I sigh, relaxing on my chair. “So, you are back?” Grandpa’s wheel chair whirred as he entered the dining room. He looks at me, eyes gleaming. He seems to be in a cheerful mood. I stared at him and wait as he settle on the head of the table. Grandma is right behind him. She sat across me beside the king. Her expression solemn as she looks at me. “How did it go?” Grandpa’s tone is light but his eyes has a tint of seriousness in them. He took some bread and spread it with butter. I cleared my throat, “The prince of Canada is very welcoming. They expect to see progress with our project. He would love to visit here soon.” The king laugh, his chest heaving as he let out a loud snort. He took his napkin and wipe the sides of his face. Gigi gave him a cup of tea and he sip on it. Grandma sat on his other side, n
CHAPTER 25 NEOLA “Wait,” I turn around to see Luke running towards me. “Luke, what are you doing? Go back! The king—" “It’s okay,” he took me in his arms and hug me tight. “He’s alright. I wanted to talk to you, I miss you...” he held me close, leaning in to stare at me. Though I snuggled in his chest and tried to avoid his gaze. “You never know how much I have longed for you for the past month.” Oh Luke, I miss you so much but what you did disgust me. I push him back, my lips trembling. “Quit acting like a saint, Luke, because you are far from being one.” He looks at me as though he doesn’t know what I am talking about. I glared at him. Puffing my cheeks, I put my hand on my waist and said, “Luke, tell me...what do you need to say so I can go?” “What? You are going back?” he looks like a lost puppy, I couldn’t focus my gaze at him. He hold my hand but I just push him off, “Luke stop this nonsense.” I step back and stare at him. He looks at me and sigh, “Okay, well. I just wan
CHAPTER 26 LUKE My hands are trembling. I look at the apartment owner before going back inside her room. “ Are you sure that she did not tell you where she went?” Mrs. Bell shook her head and sigh. “I swear, I didn’t. I was talking to the police on the phone and she was just there.” Mrs. Bell put her hand on her forehead and sigh once again. I pat her back before I sat by the window. Maple is surprise to see so many people in here so I took her in my arms. “Mrs. Bell, can you keep Maple for a few days while we search for her?” Mrs. Bell nodded, taking the cat from my arms, “Alright, I will. This little cat has always been under my care when she has to work at the hospital, right Maple?” “Meow,” Maple licks Mrs. Bell’s cheeks and she smiled down at the cat. I nodded at her before I head out and speak with the police and the royal guards. “Your majesty,” Edam bowed. I dismiss them with my hand, before focusing at the chief of the police department. “Sir, it seems that she was tak
Chapter 35LUKE “King Lucas,” the address is still not engraved in my mind even if a year have already passed. The king pass down the crown a week after I came back from Canada, before the year has ended. He was over the moon, happy that finally, he has been free from the responsibility. I can’t believe how jolly he is after the exclusive party we’ve had to announce my coronation day. Uncle Laurent watch the ceremony and together, him and the king gave their blessings to me. Queen Monica, my grandmother, was shaken when she saw my Uncle Laurent. She pepper him with kisses and showered her with hugs in almost every minute. It was startling to see her so intimate. As for Neola, I choose to not tell them about what happened to her. I halted the news from spreading her name. After a week, the rescuers have revealed that the other three passengers has been found. They announce that they will stop searching, but I didn’t lose hope. Instead, my desperation has grown a hundred times mor
CHAPTER 34LUKE My hands trembled. I watch as the people walk by, snow on their coats. It is freezing outside. I breathe in and look around, waiting. I’m starting to get nervous as the minutes pass by. I hope she will meet me, even if it is the last time. I wanted to reveal everything to her for she is the only woman I will ever love. I check my phone again and debated on calling her. She promise me, she would surely go here. When I depart for Canada, my grandfather and grandmother want me to send an official letter for my adoptive father to go to France. Nobody knows that he is my Uncle Laurent who was suppose to be dead. The king chose not to disclose the information. It will be considered a top secret limited only to me and my Grandparents. I ask Jace to accompany me with Kent seeing as Sebin is nowhere to be found. I left right before the sun sets yesterday. When I arrive today, my father was so ecstatic of seeing me rather than receiving the letter. He told me that it does n
Elle and Jacob on top!CHAPTER 33 NEOLAEdam is so annoying.He was stubborn. He wouldn’t leave me alone. He trailed me around like a lost puppy and I couldn’t handle it anymore.When I woke up after the incident. Luke has already gone back to France. He left me a note, promising that we will meet again after he fix the problem back at the castle. I wonder if Luke will ever fix it. I don’t even know if me and him will ever meet in the near future. I glared at Edam and push him out of my apartment. “Mademoiselle, don’t do this.” I push him back and try to close the door, hating the fact that he keep on asking me if I am fine, and I tell him that I am. Though the truth is, I don’t know how to express myself. So I kick him out, literally. “Your highness,” Edam tries to force himself inside my room but I push his fingers away with my ruler, “Please listen. The prince want me to stay.”“But I don’t want you here, Edam. Go back to France!” I hit his finger again and he hissed, “Please
CHAPTER 32 LUKE *dream* "Lucas" I look up to see my father. His face resembles mine, with a few wrinkles here and there. He pats my head and smiled down at me, "Let's go." "Where?" my voice echoed, I look around to see the vast ocean. I am lying on a piece on wood, floating while he is up the ship. "To your grandfather, of course. We need to go, now. " I reach out with my hand but I slip. I tried to resurface but the waves seems to swallow me. I cough out and tried to pull myself out of the water when someone took me by my coat. I breathe heavily as I tried to catch my breath, my coat drenching. I open my eyes to see my father and a man looking down at me. His blonde hair so much like mine and my father. Though his eyes are blue, like Grandpa and me. He looks like a male version of my grandmother. "Uncle Laurent." He smiled at me, scratch the back of his neck and chuckled. "Lucas, we don't have much time left..." Father says, handling me a box. I tried to open it but it was lock
Right, I am so sorry that I didn't update as soon as I promised. So sorry :(*CHAPTER 31 FLEUR My hands are trembling as I stare at Luke coming out behind the curtain. He have heard it all. I might have doubt it but base on his actions, he knows. I square up my shoulder and said, "Let's have a talk, Luke." He looks shocked to see me there. He cleared his throat and followed me back to my room. I open the door and ask him to go inside. I follow him and sat on the chair. He sat on the balcony and looks out in the evening sky. He seems deep in thought. I tuck my hair on my ear and glance down on my hands. "it is all true. What you've heard, it is true." I look at him to see that he still staring at the evening sky like he doesn't even care. "Luke do you even listen to what I am saying? It is all-" "I know," He smiles at me and stood. He crosses his arms and sigh. He looks at me, and smiled, " I know about you and him." I look down on my hands and ring my fingers. "Don't worry. I
CHAPTER 30 LUKE It pains me that I have to leave her there, sweetly sleeping. All I left her was a note, and a kiss on the forehead. “I’m sure she will be alright,” Jace says as he sit next to me. He sigh and take some magazine, “That girl will survive everything, your majesty. She is strong. She would make a great queen…” “But I already break the engagement. Tonight is the dinner and tomorrow, everyone will recognize Fleur as the new crown princess.” I stated making Jace shake his head. “You don’t need to be so sad of that, your majesty. The princess can finally live a normal life.” I nod at his words, not really minding him. Kent and Sebin were asleep across us. Edam choose to stay back in Canada and look after Neola. It’s an assurance that nothing wrong will happen to her, and I am glad he volunteered to stay. * “Gigi, how many times do I have to tell—” Fleur stop short as Gigi curtsied. “Your majesty,” I brush her off making her scurry to the kitchens. “Fleur.” She turns
CHAPTER 30 LUKE It pains me that I have to leave her there, sweetly sleeping. All I left her was a note, and a kiss on the forehead. “I’m sure she will be alright,” Jace says as he sit next to me. He sigh and take some magazine, “That girl will survive everything, your majesty. She is strong. She would make a great queen…” “But I already break the engagement. Tonight is the dinner and tomorrow, everyone will recognize Fleur as the new crown princess.” I stated making Jace shake his head. “You don’t need to be so sad of that, your majesty. The princess can finally live a normal life.” I nod at his words, not really minding him. Kent and Sebin were asleep across us. Edam choose to stay back in Canada and look after Neola. It’s an assurance that nothing wrong will happen to her, and I am glad he volunteered to stay. * “Gigi, how many times do I have to tell—” Fleur stop short as Gigi curtsied. “Your majesty,” I brush her off making her scurry to the kitchens. “Fleur.” She turns
CHAPTER 28 NEOLA "Okay, I couldn't. What I really wanted to say to the king, I couldn't say any of it." A tear falls down on his cheek as Luke continue, "How hard it is for me to live as an orphan and sell my sister. I hated the king so much. I blame him for what had happened in the past. Because I thought they are going to look for me, I stubbornly refuse to be adopted, hoping that he will find me soon for I haven't change my name. In the end, he never found me and I felt so lonely." "Then , I got adopted. I struggled to be the best but in the end, there is this void I couldn't fill." He looks at me, his eyes glassy, " I miss them so much, I miss my parents..." I pulled him in my arms and gently tap his back. After a while, we pulled back. He cleared his throat while I tuck my hair on my ear. "Are you finally okay, now?" I ask him lightly and he nodded. "Yes. A little bit. Earlier that-" "Hmm?" I smiled back at him and he bowed, sighing. "That-" "What? About you crying?" his fa
CHAPTER 27 NEOLA The wind is cold. I tighten my grip on Luke’s arms as we slowly trek down the mountain with the moon as our only source of light. The mush of snow soaked our jeans, making me shiver. “Don’t worry,” Luke’s voice trembled as he speak, he puts an arm around me and pulled me close, “I know a place nearby…” He says as he held the trunk of a tree that is weirdly marked with a circle. We pass another tree with that same symbol and he smiled. “We are almost near, do you think you can handle it?” I nodded, not having the voice to speak. The wind is cold. Thunder occasionally rumbled, I look up the sky to see the moon covered by clouds. I hope we can reach the shelter he’s been talking about. Luke tighten his hold on me as we struggled up the mountain. I couldn’t feel my feet because of how numb they are. Luke is breathing hard like I am. After a while of trekking, Luke spotted the shelter and he happily pointed at it, “Look there. Can you see it?” The huge shadow of the