All Chapters of PRETEND PRINCESS: Chapter 191 - Chapter 200

Yuki's POVI couldn't have rushed to take the next train and go directly to Yokohama with Creed. To throw caution to the wind, grab my loveliest coat, and just be gone. But I couldn't. Not yet. Not like this.I needed to remember. Restart. Recharge. I needed to clean — not just my apartment, but my mind.I looked around, and the first thing I saw was the Suzu-shaped rug. Not the dog itself, naturally — she was with Grandpa — but the rug that sort of resembled her, with a fat dumb stitched grin and three tiny paw prints. I missed her. A lot. The rug had become this emotional security thing, and I hadn't even realized how much until now.God, I was falling apart.There were soup cans protruding from my ajar kitchen cupboard, clothes of all mismatched pairings scattered on the bedroom floor as if a tornado had emotional angst and used my room to offload it. Even the living room — the "better" area — was something out of a sad-boy indiefilm. Year-old wrappers, unused notebooks, a mug that

(Yuki's POV)The dining room was breathtaking. Towering ceilings draped in gold and ivory tapestries, crystal-studded chandeliers shining like star clusters crystallized, and smooth jazz pulsating in the air. Creed and I had just descended downstairs, and I could tell something was amiss.He looked. distracted.He had a hand in his pocket and was moving slower than usual, like his head was behind him. And honestly? I'd be too, if it were me. The exact same guy who had convinced me to go on this trip just got really close to being sexually assaulted in the hallway. By me. What was wrong with me?A kind woman in a navy kimono led us to our table. She smiled graciously and handed us two leather-bound menus, standing as we browsed through them. I stared at the pages. I had no clue what any of this was.It was written in Japanese. Duh.Creed, on the other hand, browsed through like he owned the joint.The woman sensed that I was lost. "Trouble?" she asked politely.I shook my head. "No, no

Yuki's POVI'd already called the taxi.The taxi lights were flashing, the driver waving impatiently for me to get in, and all I wanted to do was crawl into the back of it, have him drive me home to Tokyo, and make the last twenty minutes never have existed.Then I heard him."YUKI!"I turned around.Creed. Taking off from the hotel like a mad romantic from the bad romcom, jacket blowing open, hair disheveled, desperation in his eyes.I turned around quickly. "Tokyo, please. Can you drive me to Tokyo?"The cab driver blinked. "To.Tokyo?""Yes, Tokyo!" I waved my hand, voice getting higher. "Quickly, please."Before Creed could even register what I was saying, he caught up. His hand intercepted mine just as I was about to reach for the car door."Yuki, wait—"The cab driver looked at us hesitantly, as if choosing whether to intervene or not.Creed didn't even blink. He pulled out a hundred-dollar bill—like it was chicken change—and gave it to the man."Sorry. He's not going anywhere."

(Yuki's POV)I must have slept.Again.The warm heat enveloping my body was not from the hotel room heating but from the duvet, which had been carefully pulled around me. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes, then very gradually lifted my head. Light flooded the suite in the morning through the half-drawn curtains, sending gold lines across the carpet. Creed had positioned himself in front of the closet, wearing a dark gray business suit with a jacket that clung to his body in all the right places, tie already tied, shoes buffed. His hair, clammy to the touch, still possessed that unwashed beauty I was beginning to grow used to.He turned when I moved, his face lighting up. He approached me and leaned down a bit, kissing my forehead gently enough to cause me to burrow further into the blankets."Hey, sleepyhead."I stretched and yawned. "What time did you get back from last night?"He smiled sheepishly and scratched his hand through his hair. "I didn't. I just got back about an hour ago

(Creed's POV)We returned to the suite, and for once, I wanted time to freeze. Not because Yuki had consented—and yes, he had thoroughly consented—but because I wanted to just be with him. I would glance at my phone as it rang consecutively through work calls. Each time, I would flip it over or silence it. I had other things to think about.Yuki had agreed. Those three words had echoed in my head like a refrain since he'd said them. It was as if my world had finally settled, finally balanced on its axis, turning about a pole which had been bent too long. Him. Joy stuffed my heart so full that I worried I might suffocate on it.The second we closed the door behind us, I didn't think. I turned to get a good look at him—Yuki, in the middle of the room, gleaming and unreal. Somehow beautiful and other in a way that I still hadn't deciphered. He looked amazing, as always, but this time he looked. my own.He smiled at me, a sweet smile, the kind that hurt my heart agonizingly.And then he