ADESSA.

As much as I wanted to stay in Kael's arms longer, we didn't have the luxury of time.

I wanted to run away with him, but what kind of life would we have after that?

Although the stupid Royal Game is in the way of us being together, being a royal was also my only chance of being free from the crime I committed. I was holding on to the hope that somehow I could convince the King to change his mind and let me choose who I wanted to be with.

Maybe if I told him Kael and I had no plans of being the King and Queen of Absalom, he would just let the idea go. Besides, with five princes, what are the chances of us being crowned as ruler of Absalom? So, this Royal Game was obviously a waste of resources and time.

I looked at Kael, wiping the wetness between my legs and making sure none of his cum was running down my thighs while I continued to hold the hem of my gown's skirt.

"I don't think I can remove my smell on you." He stood up and threw the toilet paper in the nearby bin before standing before me again.

"It's okay. We can't regret anything now." I smiled at him as I let go of my gown.

He cupped my face and rubbed my cheek with his thumb. "I don't regret anything, but I hope he won't do anything that will harm you."

"I don't think so." I held his hand on my face. My eyes watered as I stared at him. "Kael, do you know about the Royal Games? The King will sign a decree about that today."

He nodded. "I was already expecting that."

"I don't know how..."

"Shh..." He held my face with both hands and smiled at me, but I could see sadness in his eyes. "I'll take care of that. I will join the games to get to you."

"It terrifies me. What if something happened to you during the game? What if it's dangerous?"

"We're a team, right?"

I nodded my head as the tears I was struggling to hold rolled down my cheeks. He wiped them with his fingers, but they kept coming. "As long as I know you're the one waiting for me at the finish line, I will do everything to win." "What if he doesn't allow you to join?"

"He has no reason."

"He's the King."

"Adessa..." He pulled my head closer and rested his forehead against mine. "Have faith in me."

"I do. I always do. But I don't trust anyone. Not the king, not the people around him." How could I tell him the King didn't like him because he divorced me?

He pressed his lips against mine before mumbling his response. "We'll take it one day at a time. I will do everything so I can participate. And I will win."

"Thank you..."

"Don't thank me, butterfly. I should be the one thanking you because you still want me despite having all this luxury around you," he said as he pulled away from me and we ended up looking at each other's eyes.

Despite the hard task ahead of us, Kael's eyes showed me everything I wanted and needed to see: the determination, the strength, and the love all for me.

"I can trade all this luxury for you for a simple life with you," I told him, and I meant it.

His eyes watered as he nodded, and my heart crushed at his next words. "How I wish we could go back to a year ago will do everything right wish I didn't have that accident wish didn't forget about you Maybe we're already on our way to being truly happy."

"Kael... Don't make me cry more."

"I'm sorry, Adessa. I brought this to us. If I didn't make stupid decisions after stupid decisions..."

"It's not your fault. No one wanted

that accident," I cut him off before cupping his face as well and trying to smile despite the tears. "I'm

happy you're alive. That's all the ne

matters. I can take all these trials as long as you're alive, Kael."

"I don't deserve your heart, Adessa."

"No. No. Don't say that." I said almost immediately, panicking that he might not fight for me anymore. "Don't leave me..."

He took my hands and brought them to his lips, peppering them with kisses. "No. I will never leave you. I'll prove to you, the King, and the Goddess, that despite the mistakes I made, I'm worthy of a second chance with you. I will take you home with me." I was a crying mess as I kept nodding my head. I wanted to tell him many things, but there was already a knock on the door.

"Princess Adessa, do you need any help there?" Danielle spoke from the outside.

"I'm okay. Just give me a few more minutes."

"Okay. I'm just here. I can assist you."

"Let her in," Kael whispered, and my eyes widened.

He went to the single cubicle and closed it before I hurried to the door and opened it slightly. My eyes immediately found the two men the King sent with us, the ones I asked to stay back. They might have followed us as we were taking so long. "Come. I need help with my skirt," I told Danielle. She immediately nodded her head before stepping inside the restroom and locking the door.

"I'm not going to ask what you did here, but the gentleman needs to wait until we are gone for a long time before he comes out." She said in a whisper while opening the small window that I hadn't seen earlier.

I washed my hands and saw her grab a diffuser sitting at a tall table near the window.noveldrama

"His name is Kael," I told her at the same time Kael slipped out of the cubicle.

"Your husband," she mumbled without looking at him, and I nodded my head. "I assumed that already, my princess."

She then poured some of the diffuser oil into her palms before rubbing them together. "I hope you don't get an allergy, but we need to mask off the scent. It's too strong."

I nodded as she dropped to her

knees in front of me and lifted my

skirt. If she got a full smack of the smell of sex, I didn't notice it, as she did not show any reaction and just rubbed the oil on my legs. She then poured more and whisked it on my dress before rubbing it on my arms.

Good thing the diffuser oil smelled like apples and lemons, fitting for a breakfast event.

"We need to go, my lady," Danielle said the moment she was done.