CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
“Don’t!” Alyssa screamed as she rushed towards Liam who sharply turned to look at her.
“Please, don’t kill yourself” Alyssa pleaded and held his wrist as she led him out of the lake.
Liam scoffed and glared at her in amusement. Never in his life had he seen a girl so caring and selfless like Alyssa.
“Alyssa” He whispered quietly as a tingly feeling surmounted his stomach.
She gulped down hard and finally settled her gaze on him. Just like yesterday, she had found him standing at the edge of the bridge, and thoughts of what might have happened to him if she didn’t show up made her turn cold in fear.
“How could you think of doing that again? Aren’t you supposed to be glad that you are alive? I already promised that I would be here whenever you wanted someone to talk to. Why then do you intend to take your life?” Alyssa barked angrily as she peered piercingly into his confused eyes.
She couldn’t tell why it pained her so much. Perhaps, she cared about people’s life, or maybe, she couldn’t live with thoughts of not setting her eyes on him again.
“I was only admiring the beauty of the lake” Liam said to Alyssa who was now sitting on the grass and somewhat, lost in thoughts.
Liam couldn’t figure out the expression to wear. Her face looked gloomy and that made him feel like breaking into a loud laughter. But also, he remembered that she thought he was a servant who wanted to take his life and that made him feels every bit of guilt.
“Alyssa” he whispered softly as he sat down beside her and tucked her hairs between her ears.
Alyssa jerked up the moment his hands came in contact with her skin. She couldn’t decipher what her body felt that moment, but she could swear that she wanted more of it.
“You are very peaceful and my heart is a lot settled now”, Liam said with a sincere gaze, with Alyssa throwing a puzzled gaze at him.
He was true with his words. The day had been hectic so far. His father had summoned him and his men for a meeting once it was dawn and the details of the meeting bored him to death. While they conversed about political alliances, treaties, and royal gift exchanges, Liam’s mind was enclosed with thoughts of Alyssa and her alluring smile.
“I’m glad you didn’t kill yourself”, Alyssa muttered the exact words she had in her heart.
Almost immediately, she stood to her feet and picked up the hedge shears. She was almost at the verge of forgetting that she had to trim the flowers.
“I won’t kill myself. At least, not after I’ve set my eyes on you. You are worth staying alive”, Liam commented and Alyssa couldn’t help blushing.
She headed over to the flowers and started trimming them down, ignoring Liam who stood by the side while admiring her.Exclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.
“I love your outfit”, Alyssa commented with a small smile on her face.
The air was becoming awkward and she needed to lighten it up with some pleasant compliments.
Liam narrowed his eyes to what he was clad in; a blue tunic which he had collected from one of his very faithful servants.
It was the newest in the servant’s collection and wasn’t surprising to see that Alyssa loved it.
“You haven’t said anything to my response. It still seems as if you don’t believe that I won’t kill myself, Liam said to Alyssa who honestly couldn’t provide a response.
It was certainly no coincidence that she saw him standing right at the edge of the bridge. Any little misstep would have seen him falling directly into the lake.
“Well…”she was saying when something caught their attention in the lake.
“That’s a duck! It has new ducklings”, Alyssa squealed in excitement as she rushed closer to the lake.
Liam sauntered behind her, clearing enjoying every minute she stood beside him.
“They are beautiful!” She noted in elation, fixing her eyes on how they moved in the water.
The next minutes saw them talking about different animals and their young ones.
“If I’m to be an animal, it would certainly be an eagle”, Alyssa said to Liam with a wide smile dancing on her lips.
Liam chuckled in amusement. He had thought that she would choose a dog or cat since ladies are more acquainted with such pets.
“For me, I would be a tortoise!” Liam added and together, the laughed aloud.
Alyssa was having every bit of fun and deep down, she couldn’t help feeling glad that they had assigned the garden to her.
“Why the tortoise? In some books, they are known as tricky and sneaky animals”, Alyssa noted and Liam smiled calmly.
He had chose the tortoise because it was truly his best animal. He believed that the tortoise was a slow and very strategic animal. In order words, smart and calculative.
However, Alyssa’s perspective threw him off balance, especially because he was currently tricking her.
“I just love how smart the tortoise is. He’s not as loud and powerful as the others, but he ends up pushing them aside”, Liam explained, with Alyssa staring at him intently.
“I love the eagles because they are fearless Liams. An eagle will never surrender to his prey, no matter what their size might be. It would end up fighting until he has won his territory”, Alyssa said and chucked calmly.
Liam admired her lips as she smoke and all he thought about was savoring them until he explorer every part of it.
“You are beautiful, Alyssa”, Liam whispered and gazed into her soft eyes.
Alyssa turned to stare at him.
“Thank you, Michael”, Alyssa responded.
A small frown spread across his face the moment she called him Michael. He had totally forgotten that he had to change his name in order to preserve his lie.
“Come here, I have something for you”, Liam said, pulling Alyssa on her wrist and leading her to another part of the garden.
It had beautiful flowers scattered around and all Alyssa could do was open her mouth in awe.
Liam plucked out a flower and inhaled it deeply. That was his favorite flower because of how calming the scent was.
“This flower suits the role you play in my life. It smells so great like you”, he handed the flower over to her.
Alyssa collected it and inhaled it deeply. The smell was enchanting that she wished she wouldn’t take her nose off.
She was the first girl to receive a flower from him. That was a big record in his life and this caused him to smile.
The flower was still on her nose when she heard Liam’s voice.
“Where are you from? And how about your family?” Liam asked and immediately, the flower fell from her grip.
Her mood became sullen and without uttering any other word, she started walking away.
“Wait! Alyssa”, Liam called out, but kept mute when he gazed at her retreating figure that wasn’t making any effort to swirl around.
He wondered what might have gone wrong with his honest question.
For a minute, he thought of running after her, but he shoved it aside when he recalled that he was prince and not a servant.
At this, he dejectedly walked out of the garden and towards the hidden corner where he would take off his disguise.