Page 64 of His Beloved Princess
He took a sip from his drink while I gaped at him in surprise. “Life is a fucked-up mess, full of unexpected events that will bring you to your knees, and it’s up to you to find the strength and kick the fucker’s ass.”
He looked me directly in the eyes, and the sadness in them matched my feelings perfectly. “If it were the other way around, it would crush him to see you on the verge of death, but he would never give up on you.”
“I’m not giving up,” I exclaimed, releasing tension in my shoulders. His intense stare was scaring me. He looked like he would throw me off the roof if I said something like “I don’t know what to do” because they all knew how to function. But I didn’t know. I was on foreign territory, wracked with pain and guilt. I didn’t want to think about my responsibilities as Bastian’s girlfriend, let alone as his wife.
“This just never should have happened.” I hid my face behind my palms, avoiding looking at Derek and his resolute expression.
“Yet, it happened,” he grumbled, finishing his drink and placing an empty glass on the coffee table. “Andreas is planning a press conference tomorrow to announce news about Bastian’s condition.” He took my wrist gently, moving my hand away from my face. I groaned, giving him a tired glance, finally understandingwhy he came. “You should be the one to stand in front of the cameras and answer those questions.”
“I won’t be able to handle it,” I breathed, my voice trembling. “I’m not strong enough to face them.”
Derek sucked his lower lip into his mouth, drifting his gaze to my knees. When our eyes met again, I saw the silent plea behind his brown orbs, yet his words didn’t match the emotion in them.
“Try to rest a little, Electra,” he said, standing. “Maybe in the morning, you’ll see things differently.”
“I’m sorry,” I burst out, the tears of pure worthlessness welling in my eyes. “I’m so sorry for everything.”
“You don’t need to apologize.” He buttoned his jacket, preparing to leave me alone in this monstrous apartment, which felt extremely cold. “What you need is to find your inner warrior and to finally see what Bastian sees in you. Then you’ll understand why he did what he did.”
“He made a mistake,” I sobbed, hugging my torso helplessly.
“Stop doubting his decisions.” He gently wiped the tears from my cheek. I almost flinched because of the surprising touch of his thumb. “You’re a blessing, not a failure.”
With that said, he left, leaving me utterly dumbstruck by his last statement. He didn’t know me. This was our second meeting, yet he acted like he had known me for years.
Confused and sad, I curled into a ball and lay on the couch. Tears were again flowing down my face. They were my faithful companions for the past few days, and there was no indication that anything would improve anytime soon.
A common cliché appeared on the edge of my consciousness, and I rolled my eyes at my foolishness. Yet the words didn’t let me take a much-needed rest. They were nudging me, keeping me awake with my erratic thoughts.
It’s always darkest before the dawn...
But how much darker could I handle until I fell apart?
31
Will You Marry me?
Electra
Iwoke in the middle of the night with a jerk. For a second, I didn’t recognize my surroundings. There was darkness around me, and the only light I saw was from the moon.
It took me a moment to realize I was in Bastian’s apartment, where I lived for almost two months. After Derek left, exhaustion overtook me, and I fell asleep on the sofa. Because the building was forty-seven stories high, the light from the streets didn’t reach the living room.
With a groan, I lifted myself up, supporting my upper body on my elbows. My eyes were burning, my stomach felt like a heavy boulder lay inside my belly, and my back hurt like hell. I began to feel the effects of the uncomfortable position I had been sleeping in.
Stretching my body to release the tension in my muscles, I closed my eyes for a second. Instantly, the image of Bastian appeared in my mind. His beautiful face was haunting me every waking or sleeping moment when I wasn’t with him. Subconsciously, I knew that if this situation continued the way it was, I would slowly lose my mind because of it. Without proper sleep and food, it would only be a matter of time before my body gave up. And my mind was the next in line.
Sitting up, I yawned, thinking I should move to bed and continue sleeping. But my brain was so distracted by the lack of information about Bastian that I knew I would not rest until I found out if he was okay. I tapped my hand mindlessly on the coffee table and located my cell phone. The bright light from the screen pierced my skull uncomfortably.
Surprisingly, I already had two messages from Peter, who should be with Bastian during the night.
Peter (8:03 pm):I’m here; everything is fine.
Peter (1:08 am):Just woke up and am reporting to you. No changes:(
Sighing, I placed the phone back on the table and stood. It was pointless to call Peter and ask him questions. He would have reached out to me if something changed. He needed rest, too.
Before our accident, Bastian gave him a job at Thorn Enterprises, and with him gone, Peter was under a lot of pressure. And for sure, Andreas wasn’t any help. He was the biggest idiot on the planet regarding his half-brother. I witnessed a few of their collisions, and it wasn’t pretty. They hadn’t ended up in a fistfight only because their father stopped them.
