Page 20 of From Princess to Queen

A smile creeps on my face as I savour that I was her first. I always hated the idea that some idiot would have taken her virginity whilst I was gone. Knowing she waited as I told her to put me in a much better mood.

“So, she doesn’t know anything yet?”

“Only the stuff like I own the shop and flat. That I’ve been making sure she wanted for nothing through you. She doesn’t know anything about what it means to be in our world. I should wait for you to be present before telling her why I stayed away. I don’t want her to think badly of you.”

The Lawson siblings have a close relationship, and I don’t want to be the reason there is any hostility between them.

“Okay, thanks. When should I come round?”

I check the time on my phone.

“Give it an hour and then come round. I’ll let her sleep for another forty minutes, then wake her.”

Oli mutters a goodbye, and I end the call. I quickly thank Harry and tell him I plan to be here most of the day if he wants to get off duty for a bit. As expected, he tells me he will wait. I know he will stay close in case there is any retaliation for what I did last night. That’s another thing I’m going to need to think about. I don’t regret killing Rossi, but there will be consequences for my actions, and we need to be ready for it. But for now, I must focus on Gabriella and ensure she has all the care she needs.

I quickly wash and dress in the trousers Harry left for me and make my way into the kitchen. Looking through the cupboards, I see Gabriella has all the ingredients to make her favourite breakfast. I get to work, hoping to have it all done in time to wake her up and get her to eat before her brother arrives.

Gabby

I wake up alone and instantly sit up, looking for Daniel. Glancing at the floor, I see that his clothes have gone, and his phone isn’t on the side where he placed it last night. Slowly I climb out of bed as my body drastically protests. There isn’t a part of me that doesn’t hurt in one way or another.

I quickly get dressed in shorts and a T-shirt that I grab from my drawers and open the bedroom door, dreading finding the apartment empty. Instead, I’m greeted by the smell of bacon. Frowning, I limp into the open plan kitchen and sitting area to find Daniel cooking over the stove in nothing but a pair of suit trousers. A smile creeps onto my face causing me to gasp as my slit lip reopens. Daniel spins around and sees me with my fingertips pressed to my lips.

“Hey, I was going to wake you up with breakfast in bed,” he declares with a smile as he approaches me and runs a knuckle softly over my cheek. “How are you feeling, princess?” he asks, gently pulling my hand away from my face and examining my lips.

“I would normally say I look better than I feel, but I don’t think that’s true today.” I blink back the tears, but like when I was younger, Daniel sees right through my act.

“Don’t do that. Don’t try and hide your feelings from me. You’ve been through so much and handled it better than I ever would have expected.” He pulls me into his arms, and I lean into his bare chest as I feel him kiss the top of my head.

“I’m okay,” I whisper, realising that at this moment, here in his arms, I feel better than I have since I woke up. He kisses my head again and returns to the oven, where I can hear bacon sizzling.

“Take a seat, princess. This is almost ready.”

I walk over to the breakfast bar, which separates the lounge from the kitchen, and sit. Daniel picks up a mug and pushes it towards me. “I noticed you had a ton of flavoured coffee pods for your machine, so I made you a vanilla one. Do you take sugar?”

I shake my head and sip the drink. As the hot liquid hits my lips, I try to stop myself from making a sound, but it stings again. Daniel watches me, and for a second, he looks furious. However, just as quickly, it disappears, and he returns to looking at his usual sensitive self.

“Sorry,” I whisper as I reach for the kitchen roll, but Daniel beats me to it and tears off a square for me. He folds it before pressing it to my lip.

“Don’t apologise; you didn’t ask for any of what happened to you.” Daniel places a finger under my chin and applies pressure forcing me to look up at him. “But next time you think you might be in danger, do not refuse my securities help. I know you had no idea how dangerous Leo was, but we did. I was trying to warn you, but we got interrupted.” Daniel sighs as he removes the kitchen roll away from my lip. “My security will always prioritise your safety, especially now that people will hear what happened.”

“Okay, sorry,” I whisper nervously. I knew I made a stupid mistake refusing their help. But I was so scared it would make the situation worse.

“Stop apologising,” he replies firmly with raised eyebrows, and I can’t help the small smile that lifts on the unharmed side of my lips. Daniel’s face relaxes into a smile as he leans over the bar and brushes his lips over mine. “That’s better; I much prefer it when you smile.”

I have to stop myself from smiling further in case it causes my lip to bleed more. But after years of pining for this man in front of me, hearing him say such sweet things makes me happier than I can put into words.

Daniel walks around the bar and takes my face in his hands before kissing me again.

“You are so beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to tell you that before.”

I shake my head as butterflies go wild in my stomach. He leans down and presses a soft kiss to my lips again. As I kiss him back, I hear keys in the front door. Without a second thought, Daniel grabs my hand and spins me so I’m behind his back as he reaches over the counter, grabs a gun from under a tea towel, and points it at the door as my brother walks in.

“Fucking hell, Daniel!” Oliver yells, throwing his hands up. Daniel curses, lowering the gun and pulling me back against him.

“Shit. Sorry, brother,” Daniel sighs as he holds me for a second before helping me back onto the stool.

I quickly let my hair fall over my face, hoping to hide the injuries from Oliver. I shouldn’t have bothered as he walks up to me, takes hold of my chin, and starts looking at the state of my face.

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