ROSALINE’S POV:Kiara had the eyes of a powerful woman; her gaze held so much intensity that it could make any non-royal fall to their knees. But I was no peasant.She clicked her tongue as her eyes raked up and down my body. Tilting her head to the side, she asked, "What was it you said? That prince Damien requested for you to be here." "Yes," I answered her, keeping my head up and my eyes firm.My senses kicked in as Kiara began to encircle me like I was her prey. I could feel her eyes on every part of my body until she finally stopped to look me in the eyes. "I do not know what you did to Damien to make him even look at filth such as yourself, but I assure you, you won’t last here." I didn’t plan to.She struts past me along with her clique, and I did not fail to catch their snickers and snide remarks as they did. I sat idly with my hands placed above my thighs, watching as the other princesses conversed amongst themselves. Occasionally, they would glance at me in a way that made
ROSALINE’S POV:This had to be a nightmare. Why did I have to speak? I should have just stayed silent and acted as a ghost. How could I be so stupid? I really need to learn how to control my tongue. My heart pounded wildly against my ribcage as I stood on the far edge of Damien’s room in nothing but a blood-red robe. Immediately after Damien had demanded that I be the first person to warm his bed, two servants appeared by my side and escorted me to a room to change. My pleas fell on deaf ears as I received numerous glares from the other contestants. The maids helped me change into blood-red lingerie, and I did not fail to catch the look of pity in their eyes. I practically had to wail before I was given this robe. Once we were done, they escorted me to his chambers, and one of the maids shot me an encouraging smile. "Good luck," she told me before shutting the door behind her.I was the only one in the room, yet I felt so suffocated. My back was pressed against the wall as I waited
ROSALINE’S POV:I sat silently in the carriage with my eyes focused on the world as we passed by. I, too, had never been to the southside and wondered what it was like. I knew it was where the locals resided, but how primitive were they? And how was their lifestyle?Thoughts like this filled my mind as the other girls complained amongst themselves about how ugly and disgusting the people were and how they were not going to get any good shopping done because everything about them was of bad quality.Occasionally I would zone in and out of their conversation; not all of them engaged in the conversation, but I could tell none of them were happy about this. Maybe the Southside was not as bad as they made it out to be. I was a royal as well; I grew up with the same luxuries and care as them, but I also experienced a major downgrade. Maybe I would not find the place that bad.An hour later, we arrived at the southside, and I immediately took back my words.Okay, this was as bad as they sai
DAMIEN'S POV:I sat with my parents on the balcony with my fist placed beneath my chin and my mind wandering far. My attention was far from them as they discussed political matters. I was too busy with the face that has haunted my every thought for the past three days. My mind was plagued with a pair of fiery green eyes and seductive lips.Maya. I hated how she took up most of my thoughts, but she sparked my curiosity more than anything and anyone else has in my entire life. She had a burning hatred for me, that was for sure. But why did I find it so hard to remember her? At first, I thought she had mistaken me for someone else, but it was clear she knew who she was referring to. Even knew my name and everything.But what could I have done to warrant such hate from her? I was genuinely curious because every woman in this town and many from beyond loved me.I was a god in their eyes, but this girl, this fucking maid, was not attracted to me at all. To think she even had the guts to s
ROSALINE’S POV: Who hit my head with a hammer? That was the first thought that came to mind as I fluttered my eyes open. A hiss left my lips as the pain worsened. My vision was blurry, and I tried to sit up, but that appeared to only worsen the pain.Suddenly, there was a hand on my shoulder, which stopped me. "Hey, take it easy. You shouldn’t get up yet." A groan left me as the voice I knew all too well filled my ears.Why him? Why did he have to be here? Why did he have to be everywhere? I managed to regain my vision, and his gray orbs were the first thing I caught sight of. They were hooded and filled with an emotion I could not describe. He looked almost angelic from this angle.Oh no, I must have sustained a serious blow to the head. "What happened?" My voice did not sound like mine at all; it sounded like it belonged to some frog. Damien did not seem to mind as he dipped a small towel in a bowl before placing it on my head. The cold sensation calmed the throbbing in my head, an
ROSALINE’S POV: I barely got any sleep last night. I mean, how could I? I have only been here for a day, and there have already been two attempts on my life. It made me wonder if any of this was worth it, but I had to remind myself why I was here.If I left on my own, Damien would stop at nothing to find me, which would put Ariana at risk. I would rather die than let that happen.If Damien finds out about Ariana, he will take her away from me and might lock me up for keeping the two of them apart. But it’s for Ariana’s good. Damien was a monster. Ariana was better off without him in her life.I tried desperately to get myself to sleep last night, but even the slightest sound had my eyelids flying open and my eyes searching for any form of danger, but there was none. It was almost impossible for me to relax, and just when I felt my body begin to succumb to sleep, the morning sun began to rise, and there was a knock on our door shortly after.I wanted to groan in frustration when one o
ROSALINE’S POV:What did I just see? The king is having an affair with one of the contestants while trying to get Damien to make her his Luna? How sick and twisted was that? Should I tell Damien? I mean, it really is not any of my business. Plus, I do not think he would believe me; no one would believe me. I had no evidence, so I would only be incriminating myself.I should just leave.I was too deep in my own thoughts to realize that I was approaching a vase until my body collided with it and it crashed to the floor. My heart practically flew out of my chest with surprise, but I knew I was a goner when the door came flying open to reveal the alpha’s raging figure."What do you think you are doing, little rat?" He snapped, making me flinch."Sorry, alpha. I was just passing by." I tried to turn my back to leave, but his enormous hand wrapped around my arm in one swift motion."What did you hear?" His voice was like a cold poison, sending an unhealthy shiver down my spine as it para
ROSALINE’S POV:I decided to host my event at the central park, specifically the playground arena where all the kids usually come to play. It was the best spot to engage a lot of kids, not to mention that this was my daughter’s favorite place to visit on the weekends. The planner assigned to me helped me prepare some posters that gave details of exactly what I was hosting.Basically, it was a series of games, entertainment, and lots of prizes to be won. One of them being a bicycle, I knew if Ariana saw that anywhere she would have Gwen bring her here; she was my sole inspiration for this event, and all I wanted to do was see her.I missed her so much. I needed to know how she was doing. I trusted Gwen, but I needed to see her for myself. Was she eating okay? Did she sustain any injuries while I was gone? Did she miss me as much as I missed her?I just hoped all my questions would be answered today.I discussed with some of the kitchen staff how to help me prepare some food for the