CHAPTER 12 AMELIA It's been days since we commenced our lessons, it has been overbearing with a lot of 'Ladylike' rules to follow. It has been difficult to move with a corset dress that tries to suffocate the life out of me and i have to deal with that while keeping my chin up. How do one survive with so "do's and don'ts" all just to be graciously crowned the queen to the dragon king; again, a title I have no interest in having especially when I know that king is the douchebag that made me care for him and left me heart broken with no word. He had been living a lie, he made me let my guard down with him and I knew nothing about him. He played me for a fool and I fell for his trap, never again. We were allowed to take a break from the lessons today but were also advised to seize the moment to practice our crocheting and embroidering skills. May I remind you, I suck terribly in both skills? "Ma'am you need to take your embroidering seriously, no self-respecting lady doesn't know h

CHAPTER 14 AMELIA My heart began to race at the touch of his finger, it felt like whatever our soul was made of, his and mine were the same, I could see the genuineness in his eyes as his hands trailed up my body "I don't know Alaric," I whispered, I couldn't say more as my voice was shaky. "Come on, Amelia, do you despise me this much," Alaric's plea echoed in my mind, tugging at my heartstrings. "Amelia, I know I hurt you, but if you just give me one last chance, I will explain everything," he pleaded earnestly. I knew that he was being sincere and I could hear it in his voice. The anger that once consumed me had subsided, yet a flicker of curiosity ignited within me. A part of me yearned to hear his side of the story. I wanted to know why he left with no words, why he just couldn't say goodbye, why he never mentioned he was the king, and why he never told me he was a dragon shifter, was he dangerous? Was that why he left to prevent himself from hurting me? "Okay," I respond

CHAPTER 16 AMELIA The next day, the first competition was to be held. I was far from ready and I had no training whatsoever, before yesterday, I had no interest in participating in this competition but here I am now, doing that. As Constance helped me into the tight dress I felt my whole life being sucked out of me by that dress and it was unbearable, I couldn't help but complain. "The dress is too tight," I grumbled, feeling suffocated by the constriction around my waist. How do some of these ladies wear dresses like this all day, if I go a whole day in this I would most likely die and my corpse would be so shrunken by them, I would only have my skeleton to bury. Constance frowned, her disapproval evident. "Please, do not complain. The corset needs to snatch your waist tight, so you have a smaller waist. It's all about looking good for making babies," she replied matter-of-factly. This was so bizarre was I doing all this just to look appealing, so my waist would look smaller, hen

CHAPTER 18 AMELIA I glared at him, still trying to comprehend how he could look at me with a straight face and tell me that he doesn't want to see me anymore. "I didn't say we shouldn't see anymore," he corrected and I sighed, what difference does it make, just when I was getting used to being happy in his arms once again, he drops this sort of bombshell. Was he used to breaking my heart? "Do you take pleasure in hurting me?" I asked and I could see him chuckling and I playfully shoved his hands which were wrapped around my waist and he pulled me into his arms again. "Come on Amelia, why would I ever delight pleasure in hurting you, I am doing this to protect you," he explained, his hands were trailing down my arms and then up to my neck and he pulled me into a deep kiss, his hands laid gently on my back, as his lips and mine touched, his lips was warmth and his breath was a bit heavy, heaving and pulling me in and then I paused and tilted my head forward to accommodate his mou

CHAPTER 20 AMELIA It was the day of the competition and I kept clenching my hands together, I was nervous and I couldn't. Keep my heart from racing, I had the cooking skills of a five-year-old and I wasn't even that good. I knew Alaric couldn't come to my rescue today because he had to keep a low profile and tone down the favoritism. I was on my own. Well technically, I wasn't completely on my own, I had Constance by my side who is meant to assist me but she isn't allowed to give me any direction or intervene. So, yes, I was on my own today. We all walked up to the cooking quarters dressed in our aprons and forced to put on a smile to appear appealing. "You would have to wear your smile on all the time during the cooking contest," Constance had reminded me before we went up to the courtyard, and I frowned almost immediately. "Why," I had asked, I don't know why I had to be forced to do something as remotely boring as cooking and forced to wear a smile the entire time while d