Page 17 of His Beloved Princess
I nodded, taking my seat and waiting for him to sit opposite me. He poured us win, while I put chicken and potatoes on his plate, cautiously watching him.
Even when he was tense and slightly grumpy, his appetite didn’t vanish, and when he praised my cooking and gave me one of his beautiful smiles, I relaxed a little. It couldn’t be that bad if he talked to me normally. However, I had a hard time being patient. I wolfed down my food, drank the wine, and fidgeted while he played with his fork, smiling at me.
“Do you have a problem sitting on your ass, princess?” he asked, lifting one of his eyebrows, clearly mocking me.
“My ass is fine,” I retorted as I tapped my fingers on the table. “What happened?”
“First of all,” he started, wiping his perfect mouth and taking the glass filled with water into his hand. “I need you to clear my schedule for tomorrow. I have to leave, and I’ll come back on Tuesday.”
“Is it work-related?” My voice wavered a little, and the image of Rose appeared in front of my eyes. I wasn’t quite sure why she was the first person to come to my mind when he said he needed to leave. He had a successful business and traveled a lot. Yet, the idea of him being on the plane with her made my stomach twist with disgust.
“No, it’s personal. Andreas and I must take care of something,” he replied cryptically, licking his lips. I blinked a few times because my brain was distracted by the seductive movement of his tongue. “Fredy will come to my office to ensure the grand opening goes as planned.”
“You won’t be there?” It was odd. He worked extremely hard on this big fusion. My brows furrowed, thinking what could be so important that he was willing to miss the start.
“I can’t.” He sighed heavily and took my hand, stroking my knuckles with his thumb. “Which brings me to the second thing I must tell you.”
I raised my eyebrows expectantly at him, secretly releasing a deep breath. Thankfully, he wasn’t angry at me as I’d worried. I was relieved that I wasn’t in trouble. My ass was still stinging from my morning provocation.
“You and my brother will represent my interests tomorrow,” Bastian announced, and my eyes widened in surprise. I was sure I had heard him wrong. Yet he continued, confirming his previous statement. “Fredy doesn’t want to give a speech, so it’s up to you to charm everyone.” He winked at me, grinning with a mischievous glint in his eyes while I tried to comprehend his words.
“Are you insane?” I whispered, confident that he was making fun of me. This had to be some kind of joke.
“I’m not, beautiful.” He chuckled, pouring me another glass of wine. “Yesterday, I wanted to introduce you as my girlfriend formally,” he said, shocking me even more. Still, a feeling of pure joy settled in my chest, and my heart went wild. “However, everything changed when I knelt before you on the red carpet, helping you with your shoes.”
“What changed?” I asked, perplexed. Nothing he said made sense. It was just a bunch of different information without any connection.
“According to the press, you’re the future Mrs. Thorn,” he declared with a grin, and my mouth fell open. “Have you checked your phone today?” He stood, changing the subject again, confusing me even more.
“Not really,” I muttered, following his every move when he opened the counter and took out a new bottle of wine. “Dad texted me in the morning that I looked great at the party, and Zoe didn’t answer my calls,” I continued, frowning. “I don’t use my phone when I’m with you.”
“Well.” He stopped behind me, placing the bottle on the table and kissing my shoulder. “You gained two hundred thousand followers overnight on yourInstagram,” he whispered into my ear, and I snapped my head towards him so abruptly that I almost crushed my face with his. “Congratulations.” He pecked my nose and straightened to his full height, looking down at me.
“Are you serious?” I squealed, quickly trying to remember if I had put anything revealing, insulting, or humiliating there.
“Yes, princess.” He brushed my cheek with his fingers before going back to sitting down. I was shocked, but he still had that absurd effect on me when pleasurable shivers ran down my spine and butterflies woke up in my stomach. I couldn’t get enough of his attention. “People are going crazy about you. The photos of us from yesterday are everywhere.”
He fished his phone from his pants pocket, unlocking it to show me a picture of us while we danced. My heart instantly melted from the comment. “I want a man looking at me like Bastian is looking at her.”
I had to admit, he stared at me like I was a goddess.
“What does it mean?” I asked, taking the device from him and inspecting the wall of a newspaper. There were at least twenty images, each with a line about how beautiful I was or how cute we looked together. Yes, we were great, but this was wild. I was an assistant, a nobody. This couldn’t be happening.
“Given your recent popularity, you have a great opportunity to rise as a public figure,” Bastian claimed as he studied my expression. Still, the only things he could see were confusion and surprise. “You know who I am, princess. I always have them behind my back.” He bit his lower lip, drifting his gaze to the jug of water, frowning at it. “Sooner or later, this would happen anyway.”
“I can’t give a speech at the grand opening of your new corporation,” I whispered, giving him his phone back. “I don’t have any experience. I don’t know what to say.”
“So, you didn’t win the regional championship in reciting, right?” He raised his eyebrows, suppressing a smile. I felt as blood rushed to my face.
“It was fifteen years ago,” I pointed out, holding his gaze. He knew too many things about me. I didn’t like being at a disadvantage.
“What about at university?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. “If I remember correctly, you led your own class in rhetorical speeches?”
“How do you know that?” I breathed, watching him as the cocky grin settled on his beautiful lips.
“I asked around,” he answered casually, yet he never met any of my friends or family. The only explanation was that he paid someone to find him this information.
“Another background check? Really?” I shook my head in disbelief, glaring at him. His smile faded because he noticed I didn’t consider this a good thing.
