SWNOVELS Chapter 49
From the moment I woke up the next day, I couldn’t stop smiling, knowing that my letter will reach Sigmund within a week.
‘Oh I can’t wait for this week to end so that I will be able to reunite with my family and friends again!’ I thought dreamily.
“What’s got into you, Angela? I notice that since you woke up this evening, your face is always wreathed in smiles,” Xavier who just emerged from the bathroom asked me out of curiosity, pulling me out of my reverie.
“I’ll thank you to mind your own business,” I retorted.
“There’s no need to be rude, Angela!” Xavier chided as he marched up to the bed where I was sitting on.
“I didn’t wish to be rude; I just don’t like you meddling with my business,” I reasoned.
“I think we’d better drop the subject now. I don’t want to argue with you again,” Xavier suggested.
“Fine. I’m also not in the mood for an argument, anyway,” I agreed.
“Get ready!” Xavier told me, “We’re leaving in five minutes.”
My forehead was bunched in a frown. “Where are we going?”
“We’re going to meet my friend,” he replied.
“No, I don’t want to go with you. I prefer to stay here,” I refused.
“You must come with me because I want to introduce you to my friend. He has to know that I have a very beautiful human pet,” Xavier insisted.
“Hey, I’m not a trophy that you can show off to your friends, you know,” I protested.
Xavier chuckled. “OK, OK, you’re not my trophy; you’re my little pet.”
I snorted with annoyance.
“Hurry up! Get ready now! I don’t want to keep my friend waiting,” commanded Xavier.
“I told you I don’t want to go with you,” I said stubbornly.
“Nonsense! You must go with me!” he insisted, “You know, my friend has come all the way from the kingdom of Ambersky, especially to see me. I didn’t have much time to talk to him yesterday because I had to rescue you from the vampire that tried to attack you. And when I went back to the ballroom after you regained consciousness, he had already left. That’s why I need to meet him now. I want you to see my friend too so that you can explain to him that it was your fault I couldn’t accompany him yesterday.”
I gasped in surprise. “Wait! You said this friend of yours came from the kingdom of Ambersky?”
Xavier nodded. “Yes.”
“Don’t tell me your friend’s name is Prince Maximilian!” I blurted it out before I could stop myself.
“Ye--” Xavier stopped short when he realized something.
“Wait! How in the world did you know that my friend’s name is Prince Maximilian?” The prince looked at me suspiciously.
My hand clamped over my mouth. ‘Whoops, I wasn’t supposed to say that,’ I thought.
“Why won’t you answer me, Angela? How did you know that my friend’s name is Prince Maximilian?” he asked impatiently.
“I know his name because… because…” I was groping for the right word to answer his question. “Because he’s a vampire prince, so everyone surely knows who he is, including me,” I finally added.
“But I am a vampire prince too. How could you know him but you didn’t know me when the first time we met?” Xavier complained.
‘Of course I know him. He’s my ex-fiancé. But there’s no way am I telling you this!’ I retorted in my mind.
“Prince Maximilian is more popular than you. That’s why I know him, but I didn’t know you,” I cooked up an excuse.
“What did you say?” Xavier growled.
“Peace.” I grinned, holding up my hand and making a V-shape with my first and second fingers.
“Forget it! Come on!” Xavier grasped my hand and dragged me from the bed before pulling me towards the walk-in closet.
Prince Xavier grabbed a pair of shoes from the rack and dropped it in front of my feet. “Put your shoes on!” he barked an order.
Reluctantly, I slipped the shoes on.
After that, Xavier draped a coat around my shoulders.
“Right, we’re ready to go now. Come on!” With a vice-like grip on my arm, Xavier propelled me out of his bedroom.
‘I have to stop Xavier from taking me to meet Maximilian no matter what,’ I thought.
“Wait, Xavier!” I screamed.
The vampire prince stopped walking and asked me snappily, “What else?”
“You’d better go without me, Xavier. You know, I’m still feeling unwell. So, I ain’t fit enough for going out yet,” I made up an excuse.
“Oh, come on--we won’t take long. My friend is staying in a hotel just a few minutes from here. We’ll pay him a brief visit and come straight home after that,” said Xavier.
“But I--”
“You’re coming with me,” he barged in, “no buts about it.”
Xavier started walking again, pulling me along with him.
“Be nice to me, Xavier! I am not feeling well yet. So, let me stay here! You can meet your friend alone,” I tried to persuade him.
“Do you really expect me to believe you? I know you deliberately make up an excuse to avoid meeting my friend,” Xavier hissed.
“Xavier, please--” I tried to beg him, but he cut me off.
“Shut your mouth, if you know what’s good for you!”
His remarks succeeded in silencing me.
Xavier frogmarched me all the way out of the palace into the twilit driveway. He then bundled me into the front of his car before walking around the car and climbing into the driver’s seat.
As the car began to pull away, my heart was hammering in my chest. Fear also twisted my innards in knots.
‘Oh no, what should I do now? There’s really no escaping from meeting Maximilian. I haven’t the faintest idea how Xavier is going to react if he finds out that I am actually Princess Mirabelle. I’m afraid Xavier will go ballistic after he knows the truth. Even worse, what if he tries to kill me? I doubt Maximilian will be willing to help me after everything I’ve done to him. He will probably let me die in the hands of Xavier, or maybe Maximilian will join up with Xavier in torturing me,’ I thought.