Princess Bridget.

Chapter 20

The next morning I woke up with a strange heaviness in my chest, I had hardly slept, I with a disturbing and strange nightmares.

I had only been up for a few minutes when a knock came through my door.

Not the gently kind, the kind that carried expectations.

" Princess Bridget." My maid said as she entered , her voice careful." His grace wishes you to prepare, another suitor has arrived

" Another ?".

Those men only care about themselves and status, to them I'm just a tool for power . "No one really cared what I wanted , or what I wish to achieve.''

I stood up from my bed , already i knew what this was all about," power". I closed the book on my lap without marking the page. I already knew I would not return to it tonight.

“I thought the matter was settled for today,” I said quietly.

"So did I," she replied, avoiding my eyes. “But the council insists.”

Of course they did.

I had barely recovered from the last meeting, from the sharpness of Aaron's words, from the way his presence has unsettled in my thoughts long after he left. I do not want another man parading his worth before me.

" I will prepare", well I said at last.

But even as my maid moved to fetch a gown, an uneasiness setted deep in chest.

My the time I finished dressing, "the so called suitor had arrived, I glanced through my window and I could see the presence he commanded , he was welcomed warmly by my parents and his presence demanded respect.

"I came out of my room , "my mom always say as a noble lady should, show respect to her supposed husband.''

I was walking when I saw him.

"Aaron"?

A presence.

I turned slightly, and there he was.

Aaron stood near the far wall of my chembers, posture relaxed yet entirely improper. He had not announce himself.

How long have you been standing there?. I asked, keeping my voice steady.

Long enough, he replied .

That is not an answer.

His gaze lingered on me , thoughtful and unreadable

You shouldn't prey on people, it's not a decent thing to do .

I just happen to be here,can't I take a stroll?

I walked ignoring him but he followed me, he kept coming and that got me furious.

" this isn't a parade party lord Aaron, I need space and privacy .

but his grey eyes held me captive.

" another suitor,," he asked.

that has nothing to do with you. I should go.

I left without another word.

***"

I should have known he won't let me be.

Even with my careful distance, even with every step I took to guard my thoughts and my patience, Aaron had a way of speaking exactly where I did not want him. That morning, I had been walking through the water gardens, hoping for silence and some semblance of peace. The early sun cast long shadows across the stone path, and the scent of dew and the rises should have been enough to direct me.

It wasn’t.

Because there he was.

Leaning casually against the low stone wall by the fountain, his dark coat hanging open, the morning sun catching the gold thread in his hair, the way he tilted his head slightly as if he had all the time in the world. And somehow, by simply existing in that way, he stirred something in me I had tried to ignore for far too long.

"You look… like you belong to the sun,"he said before I could step past him. His words were low, teasing and deliberate.

I went surprised For a moment, my heart betrayed me, and I hated myself for it. My cheeks warmed not from heat, but from irritation.

"I belong to no one," I said, sharply.

He chuckled lightly, a sound that was impossible to ignore. “Not even to me?”

I wanted to bite back. Wanted to snap at him. But instead, I pressed my lips together and walked around him, ignoring the way he subtly adjusted his stance, his gaze flicking toward me in a way that made my chest tighten.

He followed, Not immediately, not with words, but with presence. That, I realized, was the most dangerous thing about him. He didn’t rush. He didn’t push. He didn’t need to. Just being there was enough to make me aware of every inch of space between us. Every brush of air. Every heartbeat.

“You’re too serious,” he said, catching up beside me. His tone was light, almost playful, as if nothing mattered more than teasing me. “Relax. Smiles suit you better than frowns.”

I stopped, now facing him.

“You’d do well to mind your own lane,” I said, my voice low but firm. “I don’t have time for games.”

He smiled then. A knowing smile that made my teeth clench. “Ah… but games are what keep life interesting. Don’t you agree?”

I didn’t. I hated it. Hated the way his words made me feel. Flustered. Irritated and Unbalanced. And yet, somewhere deep inside, I knew the truth: part of me loved that he could make me feel so out of control without touching me, without demanding anything.

I moved past him again, and this time he stopped, raising a single brow. “You know, he said, his voice low, “I could follow you all day, and you’d never tell me to leave. Not really."

. My hands curled into fists at my sides. “I warned you,” I muttered, turning sharply. "Stay off my path "

He lifted his hands in mock surrender, that sly grin never leaving his face. “As you wish,” he said. And then he stepped aside, letting me pass.

I walked faster. I didn’t look back.

But the moment I reached the corner of the garden, I heard laughter. Light, musical, the kind that made my stomach twist. And I knew immediately where he had gone.

***

After a brief discussion with my mom, i decided to walk along the castle walls to clear my head. That was when I saw the pack girls gathered near the central fountain leaning close, fluttering around him like moths to flame. And Aaron because of course it was him was leaning just enough to make them feel he was giving them attention, smiling, teasing, his hands casually brushing against the fountain’s stone edge, his voice low and charming, every movement calculated to draw them in.

I stopped, somewhere between outrage and something I refused to name. My pulse raced. My cheeks warmed not from the sun, but from the sudden heat of jealousy.

" I didn't know why I felt it "

They were obvious, these girls. Flattering him, laughing at everything he said, leaning into his jokes, swaying their bodies slightly as though he were the center of their world.

And he responded to them. fully, but not with the same care he gave me but enough to draw their attention completely, enough to make me grit my teeth and step back.

I hated him.

And I hated that I hated him.

I watched from behind the hedge, careful not to let him see me, careful not to interrupt the scene I could not unsee. He was perfect. Too perfect. Too dangerous. And his charm was a weapon one I had never encountered before. The way he tilted his head, the ease of his smile, the warmth in his tone when he spoke to them, the subtle gestures that made the girls lean closer it was infuriating.

I wanted to step forward. To confront him. To tell him, in no uncertain terms, that he belonged nowhere near me or my thoughts. But I didn’t. Instead, I clenched my fists, feeling the heat swirl in my chest and throat.

Because as much as I hated him, as much as I resented the way he provoked me, there was no denying it he commanded attention. Not just theirs but mine. Every motion he made pulled my awareness like a tide, dragging it out of control, forcing me to notice, forcing me to react.

I could hear snippets of what he was saying to them, laughter punctuating his sentences, a voice smooth and teasing. He asked questions I could see were carefully calculated to let them feel important, and then he leaned slightly, and a smile, soft and just enough, drew their gaze like gravity.

And my stomach twisted with something I refused to name.

I hated jealousy. I hated myself for feeling it. But I could not stop it. Every time a girl laughed at his joke, every time she brushed her hand near his arm, my blood heated and my chest tightened. And all the while, he remained unaware or pretended to be of the turmoil he left in me.