The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

Susan had never felt so embarrassed in her entire life.

If she had only escaped Alvin, that would have been a different case. But as soon as she got into their family chamber and locked the door, panting, she found Williams in the room, giving her a puzzling look.

"What is chasing you?" He asked her curiously.

He had wanted to know what she was up to only for her to stand up and leave without any proper explanation, and now she looked like a wild bull had been chasing her.

"Nothing," Susan said without meeting his eyes. However, he continued to give her a puzzling look. Not only was she panting and breathing so hard, but she was also very sweaty, and her entire face was flushed.

He put the book he had been reading aside and got down from the bed, approaching her. Susan was still trying to catch her breath with her back against the door and her eyes tightly shut when he neared her and scrunched up his nose.

"Why do you smell like this?" He asked in a panic.

Her eyes snapped open, and she looked at him, wondering what he was talking about again. She smelled her arms but got nothing.

"Where are you coming from?" He asked, his voice urgent.

"Nowhere!" She said defensively and tried to escape from him, but he grabbed her by the arm.

She winced and tried to get away, but he didn't let her. Instead, he opened the door, shoving her out as he also followed, and after closing the door behind them, he continued to pull her with him and even increased his pace when he heard their father's voice coming from the opposite direction.

"Where are we going?" She asked breathlessly.

"Do not talk, and follow me." He said sternly as he pulled her along with him.

He made sure to check every corner for people first before he pulled her along so they wouldn't bump into anyone around.

That was how he led her out until they were at the lake outside the main building that evening.

Before she could ask any other questions, he pushed her into the lake.

She let out a scream at the unexpected push as she fell into the water with a splatter.

"Why did you do that?!" She yelled at him as she pushed her hair out of her face, but she didn't come out of the water immediately, finding it soothing.

"Would you have agreed to enter otherwise?" He asked her as he painfully crouched down on the elevated platform above the lake.

"Why did you push me?!" She demanded angrily.

"How careless are you? You walked around the palace smelling like that? Are you trying to get yourself into trouble?"

"How... how do I smell?" She asked, a little flustered.

"Tell me, who were you with? Alvin?"

At the mention of his name, she began to see flashes of his body and immediately closed her eyes, shaking the image out of his head as she stuttered, "N...o."

"WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU?!" Williams asked in a furious tone as he got up immediately, ready to storm wherever Alvin was.

"Wait... wait. He... he didn't do anything!" Susan quickly called in alarm, stopping him.

"Then what happened? You were smelling like that. What if one of the crazy lads in this palace had found you? And you even had the guts to come to our chamber! You must have planned a proper explanation to give to father and mother if they saw you." He said in a harsh tone. "Why are you so careless and naive?!" His voice grew higher, showing how displeased he was.

"Stop yelling at me!" She yelled back, bursting into tears.

That took Williams aback because it was the last thing he had expected. Susan was also not the type to cry because she was being yelled at, especially by him.

She began to sob in the water, making him confused as he went back to squatting in front of her.

"Did you think I wanted to run around the palace feeling that way? If you had seen him too, you would have felt the same way!" She said in an accusing tone, making him frown.

"No, I wouldn't." He muttered, but that wasn't the point right now.

"I don't know what I was thinking when I said that! I am so embarrassed. I... I didn't even get to touch it before I ran away. I missed a big opportunity!" She sobbed in regret, making him look at her in confusion as he wondered what she was going on about.

"If you have a hard time controlling yourself around him, stay away from him in the meantime. Do not do something that would cause trouble. You know Father would go crazy if he noticed this." He advised calmly this time.

"Stop crying. I'm sorry for yelling. I was just frustrated." He added softly, but Susan sobbed even louder, feeling more frustrated than him because the image was refusing to leave her head and the stupid Alvin had pulled up the quilt instead of pulling it down, and despite her confession that she had never touched a man's body before, he hadn't pitied her and let her touch him.

"What can I do to make you feel better?" Williams asked her.

"Can you just pretend you want to check up on him so we can go back there together--"

"Are you out of your mind?" He asked in disbelief.

"I shouldn't have asked." She muttered to herself, burying her entire body in the pool dramatically.

"Let's go!" He called for her, but she refused to come up.

"Susan!"

She still did not.

Williams closed his eyes and breathed deeply in frustration. He wasn't sure what he did to deserve a twin like him. But the longer she was in the water, the more worried he was, and even though he threatened to leave her there, she still refused to come out.

"I kissed Paulina." He confessed in a soft voice, and at once, her head sprung out, and she coughed loudly to get water out of her lungs before looking at him with wide, red eyes and an agape mouth.

"Were you planning to kill yourself?" He asked in displeasure, but she quickly waved a hand in front of him.

"Do not change the topic!" She said before yelling, "YOU DID WHAT?!"

Williams looked around consciously before glaring at her.

"It was on her head. It was nothing serious."

Her mouth rounded in surprise as realization dawned on her. She remembered how Paulina had raced past her and how she had found Williams at the other end, but he had refused to tell her what had happened.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" She yelled as she swam closer to where he was squatting.

"Were you planning to make her die of shock? She just found out about our kind, and you kissed her? Oh no! What if someone finds out? What is going to happen?"

"Nothing is going to happen."

"Maybe not to you! She is a maid! Everyone is going to blame her for seducing you and have her head in a stake!"

"At least I do not go about smelling like I am ready for mating after meeting her, unlike someone else!" He said it in an irritated tone that had her gasping before she threw a handful of water at him, which he unfortunately couldn't dodge.

"Mind what you say to me!" She warned him. "I know it is going to be difficult for me, but at least I can trust Alvin. He is a warrior. And he is Prince Harold's friend. No one would dare hurt him. But Paulina, even though Princess Amber adores her, if everyone else wishes for her head, even Prince Harold would not be able to stop it. And I don't think you are strong enough to protect her."

He frowned at her as he listened to her words. Seeing the look on his face and noting especially that he was hurt either by her words or the truth in what she had said, she felt a bit guilty.

"You know I will always support you, Williams. But we are both taking a risk. And... I don't want--"

He stood to his full height, making her look at him in concern.

"You don't have to explain anything. Wait here. I will get you something warm to cover." He said before walking away without sparing her another glance.

She looked at his retreating figure dejectedly, sighing.

She remained in the water, enjoying the feeling on her body. It also reminded her of the time she had taken a bath in the lake with the other ladies and how they played together, including Williams and Lance.

Such a short time felt like a really long time already.

When she heard someone approach again, she naturally assumed it was Williams and looked up immediately. However, it was not Williams.

Susan swallowed nervously as she looked up at Damian, who was looking down at her in the lake.