Semua Bab PRETEND PRINCESS: Bab 181 - Bab 190

Creed's POVThe bar was hot and dark, but the thud of music, conversation, and the constant cocktails coursed through it like a heartbeat. I was leaning against the counter, my drink in my hand, something smoky and potent stinging my tongue, but I didn't pay much attention. The night had started out with the potential for just unwinding, for letting my mind coast on something other than Yuki, but it was no use. Every laugh, every shrill note of the DJ's music cycle was too loud. Too bright. As if the world kept going forward, even when I could not.And then I saw it. A flash of icy hair, catching the strobe lights as it had caught them so many times in the past.The world around me froze. I blinked.Someone with silver-blue hair was pushing through the crowd, heading for the door.My heart jumped into my throat.I put my drink down. Did not even say a word to the bartender as I followed behind, weaving through the dancing throng like a ghost. My heart beat so hard I thought I'd go dea

Yuki’s POVMy heart leapt out of my chest, hammering against my ribcage in a sickening rhythm that felt like it might crack bones. I stumbled backward until my knees hit the cold floor, then collapsed, clutching my chest as though it would stop the madness inside me.Creed. Here. In Japan. I hadn’t seen him in months—not since Chicago, not since Grandpa Roman’s funeral, not since he slammed the door in my face.Why? I whispered to the empty silence. Why now? In my life? What does he want from me?My eyes roamed the ceiling, as if it held answers I’d forgotten.The doorbell rang, jarring me upright. My heart stuttered. Could it be him?I crept to the door and stared through the peephole. just a delivery guy with boxes.Right. I’d ordered glitter palettes and a rhinestone crop jacket, gearing up for this new bartender life. I wasn’t going to start off dull or sloppy. Yuki was bright. Yuki sparkled. Still, even as I signed the package, one eye drifted to the empty street, half-expecting

Creed's POVToday had to be different.The basket of food was nice. The balloon arrangement was theatrical. But today? Today had to be unforgettable.I'd become used to people dropping things off at my door. Expected. Easy to ignore. I wanted to disrupt the trend. I needed to turn it up a few notches more, and that meant doing what I do best: going big.So I called in a favor. No, not a favor—a big pull from my best fashion industry contacts. XO Team. The XO Team.If you're anywhere around fashion, you recognize them. Three individuals. One of the nation's leading makeup artists. A fashion designer whose clothes sell for over $600 an item. And the guy with the hair? A wizard with hairs.The XO Crew was coming over to Yuki's house.I warned them about all they should know: his taste, his previous appearances, his bold attitude, the way he would radiate in glitter, and the fact that his closet probably needed a refresh. They were all in. All I had to do was stage the scene.I pulled out

Creed's POVI sat in what seemed to be an unoccupied house directly across from Yuki's. The sun had gone down, and the only illumination in the house came from the soft white glow of my phone screen. I wasn't even sure the house was unoccupied, but it lacked any indication of life. No lights, no sounds, no bodies. But it did offer an excellent view of the door to Yuki's, and that was all I cared about today.I had passed the morning here, after I'd stood watching him parade down the red carpet like a creature of heaven and stardust. I didn't even care how silly it might have seemed. I wanted to see him once more. I wanted to be there when he turned the handle and returned to his world—perhaps to our world.I first sat up straight, alert. Then my back started slouching, my legs extended on the floor, and I tuned in to the cold wooden floor. I had ordered takeout, something I never do. The food was in a little paper bag now resting empty beside me. I did not even get a decent taste of i

Yuki's POVI didn't know my heart could race this fast.I mean seriously, I was sure the idiot piece of machinery was going to burst out of my chest and slap Creed in the face with all the excitement, humiliation, and wee bit of lust churning around in my blood. Hell, I didn't even know any of my internal organs were capable of causing blood and a reaction that fast as I wanted to leap onto him like he was some stunning wall built out of velvet and bricks.We were now on the floor, directly beneath the couch. Kim was passed out completely on the cushions above us, snoring gently like a baby, and Creed was hugging his knees to his chest. We were quiet. Warm. Uncomfortable. Cozy.All of it.I turned to him slowly, not certain yet that he was there, that he'd come so far, that I was looking at him in the dim light of my apartment and not in a memory, or on a billboard. This was real. This was happening."So," I pressed him softly with my elbow, "balloons?"His face turned bright red.Lik