Episode three: Tearful Goodbyes

Aurelia

“Papa?!” I called out in the darkness, my heart hammering against my chest. My eyes darted around, searching for any sign of him in the office. “Papa? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Silence answered me—then a rough voice, but not the one I wanted. "Stay right where you are, Princess." It belonged to Arthur.

Defiance and panic rose sharp in my chest, mingling together as I ignored Arthur's order. “Papa?”

Where was he? Why wasn't he answering? What happened to the lights? I moved my hand blindly across the desk, looking for something to defend myself.

When my fingers closed around something solid, I gripped it in my right hand, slowly making my way around the desk.

I took a step forward, when I caught a shift in the shadows. Something moved, sharply, and a glint flashed through the room. My heart flew to my mouth. I gulped silently, clutching my weapon tighter.

Whoever the intruder was, I wouldn't go down without a fight.

I caught the glint again. It was closer this time. My fingers shook as I stopped dead, holding my breath not to draw attention to where I was.

I squinted—

And then—

Something gripped my arm.

My eyes widened as I swung hard, without thinking. I heard the sound of something cracking. The lights came on at the same time.

“What the hell did you do that for?” Arthur groaned, cupping his right cheek. I could see the bright red color peeking from between his fingers.

How did he get hit?

I pursed my lips in confusion. “Did you hit your head in the dark?” I asked.

He glared at me for a full minute. I arched my brow, folding my arms across my chest. “I'm only being sympathetic,” I snapped. “If you're embarrassed to admit it, then that's fine.”

Arthur's lips flattened in a scowl. His gaze dropped to my hand, then back to my face. I followed it—looking at my hand…at the wooden pen holder I was still gripping.

And then I realized.

The intruder I thought was coming to attack me, was Arthur. I was the one who hit him.

Crap.

“I'm glad you learnt how to defend yourself, Princess,” he drawled mockingly, “but maybe your tutor should've taught you the difference between friend and foe.”

I bit my lip hard, feeling very guilty. His cheek was beginning to swell and it looked like it hurt. A lot.

“I—“ I struggled with my apology for a moment. “I'm sorry,” I mumbled under my breath.

He arched a brow, cupping his ear. “What? I didn't hear you very well. Did you say you were sorry for smacking me in the face when I was trying to stop you from spiraling?”

“Spiraling?” I scoffed. “I definitely wasn't doing that.”

Arthur gave me a pointed look. “You were calling out for your father. Who I should point out—was the one who asked me to make sure you were okay, so he could assess the situation.”

Oh.

I fidgeted with my hands, my gaze dropping at the floor as heat flooded my face. My cheeks were the same color as his face, only mine was from embarrassment.

Why did I have to apologize to him, though?

Sure, I was in the wrong…but maybe he deserved it. Maybe he deserved it for dumping me six years ago and still having the nerve to pretend like it was nothing.

It was his karma.

I lifted my head, ready to tell him off, when Papa burst into the room. “Aurelia,” he grunted.

I straightened instantly, my body going rigid.

He used my name. So I knew something was wrong.

He rushed over to where I stood, gripping my shoulders. For the first time, I could see fear in his eyes. “You need to go now,” he said, urgency sharp in his voice. “You and Arthur are leaving for your aunt's place today.”

Today?

Heat rushed through my body, followed by a sudden chill. “What happened, Papa? Does it have anything to do with the lights?”

He shook his head. “I don't have time to explain.” Papa glanced over his shoulder, nodding once at Arthur. I frowned when Arthur hurried out of the room, but I had no time for questions.

“Your aunt will get you everything you need,” Papa told me, his words rushing out too fast for me to get anything in. “I'll send her enough money when you're settled. Okay?”

I wanted to know what he knew but something held me back.

I nodded firmly, biting hard on my inner cheek to keep the tears from falling down my cheeks. “Okay.”

Papa pulled me into a tight hug, his arms almost crushing. I heard him sniffle—although that might've been me. “Come,” he took my hand. Then he noticed the pen holder, his brows furrowing in concern. “Do you want to take that with you?”

I shook my head as I dropped it on the floor. “No. It's—it's a long story. Nothing important.”

He seemed relieved, which only made me more anxious, because he always had time to listen to me. Papa gripped my wrist again. “We'll take the back exit,” he said, dragging me out of the room. “There's a car waiting for you and Arthur.”

The back exit?

I knew about it, but I'd never used it before.

We hurried through the hallways, going through the kitchen and into another smaller hallway. Cobwebs caught in my hair and my throat clogged with dust, making me cough. But we didn't stop once until we got to a large iron door and Papa pulled it open.

There was a black car, a common Mercedes, waiting there. “Go,” Papa urged. “Go now.”

He let go of my hand, but I hesitated for a second. “Papa…” I turned to him, tears shining in my eyes. “I don't want to leave you alone.”

He smiled sadly, touching my cheek. I leaned into it, a tear sliding down my face. “I love you, my little sunshine,” he murmured, his voice thick and low. “But you're a princess. You're royalty. And that means you have to be tough. Tough as nails. Tougher than anything else.”

“I'm counting on you, Aurelia Castleworth,” he whispered. “Don't let Papa down.”

I nodded through the tears. “I won't let you down.”

He grinned. “That's good enough. Now go.” He tilted his head toward the car. “Arthur will keep you safe.”

A loud crash echoed from somewhere inside the house, followed by an even louder, angrier voice. I didn't wait. I didn't look back. I ran to the car and stumbled in. It sped off before I could even close the door, before I could wave goodbye to Papa.

I held my tears in as we passed buildings I'd memorized over twenty-two years of living in Castleworth castle. I forced myself to stay quiet as we left the neighborhood behind, taking an unfamiliar road lined with nothing but deserted structures and miles of green fields stretching beyond them.

I bit my lip until it bled as we left the city entirely.

Not until I knew we were far from home, far from Papa, did I finally let the sobs tear out of me.

***

I cried myself to sleep at some point, only jarring awake when I felt a hand shaking my shoulder. My eyes flew open at the same time my hand shot out, but Arthur was quick to dodge getting hit this time.

“I'm sorry,” I mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

He shook his head, his eyes soft with understanding. “We've gotten to your aunt's place,” he told me.

The last dregs of sleep evaporated from my eyes. I sat up so fast I almost lost balance. “We're here?”

Arthur nodded. “Yeah. You were asleep the entire three hours.”

Oh.

My pulse raced as I edged closer to the other side of the backseat, looking out the window. We were parked in a large driveway, and there was a house at the end.

It was nothing compared to the castle, but it looked decent-sized, at least.

“Your aunt's inside,” Arthur informed me. “She's waiting for you.”

I hesitated, my palms growing slick against the soft leather seat. My aunt. Evelyn. What if she didn't like me? Papa's letter mentioned something about not being on good terms.

Worse yet, what if she hated me?

I could handle the scandal prints from reporters, but I was going to be living in her house for the next six months.

“Come on,” Arthur said gently. “She's not going to bite.”

He held his hand out, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. I took a deep breath as I moved closer, placing my hand into his bigger, slightly rough palm.

The contact sent a small, unexpected jolt up my arm. I glanced up sharply at him. His gaze was somewhat darker, like he'd felt it too. My lips parted as he exhaled softly, the air crackling between us.

Then he blinked.

And then I was roughly pulled out of the car.

“Ow!” I protested, when I was standing outside. “You could've ripped my arm from my socket.”

Arthur gave me a bored look. “You're tougher than that, Princess,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You'll be fine.”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him. “Some bodyguard you are.”

“You said you didn't want me,” he reminded me.

And yet here he was.

“I still don't want you, so you can go back to where you came from. I'll be fine on my own,” I insisted. I whirled around and marched towards the house, without waiting to see if he was following.

I was twenty-two. An adult.

I'd be just fine.

“Your father will have my head,” Arthur called out when I heard his footsteps behind me. “So I'll do my best to stay out of your way, but for the next six months, you'll have to deal with seeing me around.”

Despite the fact that I was very pissed at him, my lips twitched with a smile at his words.

And I suddenly found myself looking forward to the next six months.

I knocked on the door as my chest sparked with a familiar feeling. Like I was sixteen…and in love again.

Nonsense. I shook the thought from my head and knocked the feeling out of my chest. The reality was that I wasn’t sixteen again—and the boy I fell in love with back then was a man.

A man who didn’t care that he broke my heart when he walked away with a goodbye.

My smile flattened as I knocked on the door again, using my fist hard. I glanced over my shoulder when I felt Adrian’s presence. “I thought you said she was waiting for me?” I asked him. “Why isn’t she answering?”

He shook his head. “Maybe try a third time?”

I rolled my eyes. That was his response? Try again? “Sure,” I replied dryly. I raised my fist to knock again, when the door suddenly swung open.

I started to introduce myself, but my brows furrowed sharply when I realized that the person in the doorway wasn’t my aunt.

I didn’t know what she looked like, because Papa hadn’t shown me a picture before he forced me to leave in a hurry.

But one thing I was definitely certain of, was that Aunty Evelyn wasn’t the man staring at me with a glowering scowl.