Chapter 5 Dining with the Princess

 Bentley continued to study the body of the damsel before him. He'd seen countless attractive women with nice body shapes. He wasn't sure if it was her natural beauty, or perhaps the way his clothes hugged her frame perfectly that got his interest.

    It even felt like he could smell his cologne on her.

    "It makes me feel comfortable," Nova broke the silence, explaining her choice of attire.

    Bentley cleared his throat, steering the conversation towards dinner. "I wanted to tell you that dinner is ready. Shall we? Ladies first," he offered, gesturing towards the stairs.

    "Okay. "

    As Nova descended, Bentley's gaze lingered, momentarily drawn to her movements,his eyes fixated on her behind. The way her perfectly round ass popped each time she took a step. From the way it bounced, he could tell that it was soft.

    'What is wrong with you, Bent?'

    'Stop looking at her. You don't even know how old she is.'

    'You can never be interested in someone like her.'

    'You can never be interested in anyone ever again.'

    With that, he controlled his facade and walked down the fleet of stairs.

    He led her to the dining table where an array of dishes were served and a servant standing by the side with a smile on his face.

    The servant began to serve them and as soon as he added the Shrimp on Nova's plate, she respectfully asked him to take it out.

    "Sorry I don't eat that. I'm allergic to it," she told him, a subtle smile on her face.

    "Sorry, ma'am," the servant responded, promptly removing the shrimp.

    "Thank you, Diego," Bentley acknowledged as the servant, Diego packed the extra trays and left.

    He watched as Nova did the sign of the cross and closed her eyes.

    'She must be praying' he thought.

    Bentley found himself intrigued, his attention caught by the delicate flutter of her eyelashes as she closed her eyes.

    "Amen," Nova whispered, and Bentley quickly returned his focus to his meal, a fleeting smirk gracing his lips before fading away.

   "You pray?" Bentley inquired, slicing into his meat.

"Yes. Everyone prays, even if it's not to God. To something," Nova responded.

"Well, I don't."

"Why? You don't believe in God?" she asked.

"I wouldn't put it exactly like that, but I prefer to keep an open mind."

"I see," Nova dabbed her lips with a cloth. "I respect that."

"I still don't know much about you. Nova, right?" Bentley inquired.

    "Yes, Nova Sinclair," she confirmed. "I believe I have already mentioned what happened earlier today. Worst birthday ever," she continued, returning her focus to her meal.

   "Besides that, I'm interested in getting to know who you really are," Bentley stated.

Nova couldn't quite determine if his tone was rude, but perhaps it was just his natural demeanor. His voice was deep and commanding, nothing more. It didn't really matter anyway; he had a right to know who she was.

    She set her cutlery down with a sigh, feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of explaining herself to him. Where should she even begin? She didn't have much going on in her life to talk about.

"I'm not sure where to start, but I'll just speak my mind," she said, raising her index finger. "As long as it's the truth, of course. So," she continued. "I'm the only child of Dominic and Victoria Sinclair."

    Bentley's brow arched at the mention of Dominic Sinclair. It was a strikingly familiar name, yet it couldn't possibly be the same person he thought about.

  Nova sensed Bentley's confusion and decided to address it directly. "I can see what you're thinking, and you're correct," she affirmed. "The Dominic Sinclair you're thinking of is indeed my father. He's the chairman of Sinclair Enterprises."

    Bentley's spoon slipped from his grasp, its clinking against the plate echoing in the room. "You're Dominic Sinclair's daughter? The one they call the Sinclair Princess?"

    Nova chuckled, a faint smile tugging at her lips as she scratched her head. She wasn't sure whether to take it as a compliment or not, but she found herself at a loss for words. "Uh, yeah," she replied uncertainly.

    "How are you---" he sighed, his fingers hovering over his lips as he struggled to find the right words.

    In that moment, a million thoughts raced through his mind. He realized he could potentially face charges of kidnapping. It wasn't just any kidnapping; it was the abduction of the daughter of one of the world's wealthiest men. If he had known she was Dominic's daughter, he wouldn't have accommodated her at all, let alone brought her to his home.

    The situation spelled trouble for him.

"How did you end up here?" he finally asked, his voice kept low.

Nova's eyes widened in response to his question. "How am I here? You brought me here. We had an agreement," she retorted.

"It's not that!" he interjected urgently. "You're Sinclair's daughter. The real Dominic Sinclair's daughter. Your father is a troublemaker. Are you even thinking straight? Do you realize what he would do if he finds out you're here? How it would affect my company's stocks?"

"Your company's stocks! Are you kidding me right now? So you care more about your stocks than a human life?"

"I don't even know you, young lady. Why should I care about you? You're nothing but a—"

"—Damsel in distress. A damsel in distress who you found in a restless state, isn't it?" Nova interrupted, her voice rising in pitch before she caught herself. She knew escalating the situation wouldn't help, and she already felt like she was on the losing end.

Right now, one thing was certain: she had no intention of returning to her parents anytime soon. They had shattered her trust, and she couldn't bring herself to trust them again. If they were willing to try to force her into an unwanted engagement just to salvage the company, then she knew they were capable of even worse.

She let out a sigh of defeat. "Look Bentley, I'm sorry, but I need your help. You're right about my dad being troublesome. I know how he can be, and I can assure you, he's already frantic about my disappearance. But I'm an adult. I'm 23 and can't be controlled like a child. I came here of my own free will, so you have nothing to fear."

"Do you even hear yourself? Look, I'm not saying I'm afraid of your father. I'm not. What I'm saying is, it won't take long for him to find you here, and that spells trouble for me. There are literally hundreds of CCTV cameras outside your home, and my car's license plate is on record. It won't take long to track you down."

"I know," she said, making a puppy face. "But I still don't see the problem here. Even if he finds me eventually, you can't let him take me, please. Things would be different if I were a kid, but I'm not. I'm 23. I can make my own decisions," she pleaded, her cute face trying to convince him.

But just then, a knock came on the door.