Page 27 of Sumanika

This didn’t feel right.

I turned to walk away, but he called.“Suno,”“Hey.”

I looked back at him.

“Stay,” he said, and I inhaled deeply, shaking my head slowly.“Someone will get suspicious,” I intoned.

“Wow, wisdom came, albeit late,” he mocked, and I sighed in frustration.

“Come on,” he said, and I couldn’t explain why my feet moved toward him as he gestured for me to sit on the couch opposite him.

"I cannot," I said, gulping nervously, shaking my head, and fisting on the couch’s top.

He insisted, gesturing for me to sit. Again.

I bit my lower lip, clenched my hands on my skirt, and walked around before sitting on the couch. He leaned forward to tear off a tiny piece of chapatti and began eating after putting it in the corner.

“Can I ask you something?” I asked softly, and he nodded.

“What does‘dinner notdinner’mean?” I murmured, and he half-smirked while pointing at the food with his index finger.“Dinner,” he said, then lifted his finger toward me and repeated slowly,“Dinner.”

I immediately stood up from the couch; my heart raced like a horse.“Are you…” Mad? The words hung in my throat.

Smiling, he said,“As I said, I’m not in the mood today. You can calm down.“

I shook my head mentally, not believing it. How could he say that? He was to be married in less than six months. And what was I doing here?

He asked, catching my attention,“Are you okay?”

The silence followed. His change of tone reminded me of his teasing nature.

He was just teasing me.

I nodded.“Yes, it’s just the memory that won’t fade away,” I said, and he nodded in understanding.

“Try putting your brain somewhere else,” he suggested, taking another bite. I bit my lower lip, unsure of where to put it.“Like what?” I asked, and he smirked a little.

“Like being…dinner,” he teased again, and I sighed while rolling my eyes. I couldn’t believe it. How could he talk like that?

I shot him a glare.“I feel pity for your wife.”

He cocked his left brow at me.“Really?” while taking another bite, and I nodded.

“Yes, no girl would ever want her husband flirting with another woman. She would be devastated to find out. You need to be loyal to her,” I tried to explain, and he looked at me, responding while taking a deep breath.“Says the one who is becoming a hurdle in that cause?”

I furrowed my brows, not understanding him, and asked.“What do you mean?”

He pushed the plate away, and I could sense he had gotten angry as he replied.“If you keep coming here, talking to me, and thinking about me, I won’t be loyal to her. Not at all. We have to forget that, and you can’t keep coming here,” he said, more like an order, leaving my mouth open.

“You asked me to stay,” I reminded him.

“Ah, th-that’s because you wanted it,” he spat back.

I inhaled sharply.“And since when did a royal prince care about the wants of a maid?” I raised my voice.

He stood up and walked towards me quickly. Before I could process it, he took the knife out of the sheath and placed it on my neck. My eyes widened with shock. My back pressed against the couch as he cornered me against it, putting his foot on either side of my feet. I felt weak in my knees, leaning back, longing for distance, and terrified to my core.

“Don’t make me do amends in my good deeds, half-wife,” he said with tight jaw and low voice, bringing tears of fear into my eyes.

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