be my royal ♕ chris evans

12 - darius

Y/N POV

Wrapped up in his arms, I felt the sense of comfort I've been lacking in the past three years.

He leaned his cheek on my forehead, and I moved closer to him, hugging him even tighter as we swayed from left to right. I sensed his arms wrap tighter around me, making me instantly relax under his touch.

I was so lost in the moment, in the embrace I was sharing with the man whom I still love, that I forgot about everything else. I forgot about my parents, Darius, and the coronation that was being held in my honor tonight.

As soon as the switch inside me flipped and I remembered about the coronation, I pushed Chris away. The hurt look on his face was like a stab to my heart. I wasn't rejecting him; I was panicking internally. What if I was late for the ceremony?

"Shit. Chris, I'm sorry." I walked towards the door.

He was fast behind me, grabbing my arm and stopping me from taking another step.

"Did I do something wrong?" His voice was almost a whisper. His tone was clearly sad, and I was guilty for making him feel that way.

"No. Not at all." I let out a heavy sigh, "The coronation."

Chris' eyes widened, and he hastily grabbed my hand, leading me out of our- my secret garden.

Everything that had just happened in the garden and the fact that Chris was here in Davia was difficult for me to process. I had never even stepped foot in the garden after he left. But he just came back and took me there without giving me the chance to think about it twice. Not like I would've rejected him. I would never be capable of rejecting Chris.

I don't know what he's doing here and for how long he'll stay, but it thrilled me to feel his eyes on me again. It made my stomach nervous to think of his touch and the way he said my name, as if he were casting a spell on me. One which I keep falling for because no matter how hard I tried not to ponder about him in the past few years, it only took a few minutes for me to let Chris establish himself on my mind yet again.

Darius. I could see him running towards us from the other side of the hall. He halted in front of us and I tried to catch my breath after running so much in this dress.

"Where have you been?" He asked me but directed his glare at Chris, who had his brows furrowed in confusion.

My eyes danced across his face. I was trying to come up with an excuse that wouldn't worry him.

"She was with me." My eyes widened at Chris' response.

I probably should've told him I had a boyfriend. But now that I actually think about it, I didn't have the chance. I could've told him in the garden, but if I had, then we wouldn't have shared the moment we both clearly needed.

"Excuse me? Who are you?" Darius asked, taking a step towards Chris.

I gulped and tried to ease the tension. "Did the coronation begin?"

Darius' glare never left Chris, and I could feel the tension in the room grow thicker.

"It will begin in twenty minutes. That's why I was looking for you, while you were with this man." He gritted his teeth.

"Darius-"

"Where were you? What were you doing with him?" He asked, making Chris take a step towards him.

I immediately moved to stand in front of Chris. Darius would never dare to do anything to anyone if I was in the middle of it.

Funny how you're defending the man that left you years ago instead of your boyfriend. What makes you think that Chris won't leave again? My subconscious obnoxiously said. Even though she was right, I felt the need to defend Chris.

"Shut up!" I told her. I didn't have time to deal with the annoying voice in the back of my head when I had to deal with the two men in my life and their little staring contest.

Darius was now looking at me with eyes as wide as saucers, and I realized I had accidentally responded to my subconscious out loud.

"What?!" He raised his voice while Chris smirked.

"I didn't mean-" I nervously said, but he interrupted.

"You're telling me to shut up?! I've been looking for you so you could be on time for your own coronation while you were sneaking around with this man like a whore! You have no right-" Chris' fist interrupted Darius.

"Chris!" I gasped, trying to pull him back while Darius picked himself up from the floor.

I should defend my boyfriend, not Chris. But after what he just called me, he deserved it. Darius has never called me any insults, and it honestly hurts me to hear him calling me that. Especially when all Chris and I did was dance. It's not like I kissed him! He didn't even let me explain where we had been before jumping to conclusions.

Thinking about it now, Darius has never been jealous of anyone. To be fair, I never gave him the chance to be jealous, considering I only spent time with either him, my parents, Thomas, or Amber. After my heartbreak, I never went outside of the castle unless it was for a charity event. Which seemed to be the only thing I enjoyed more than reading poetry with Darius.

I never loved him, and after what just happened, I obviously never will. But there's wonderful memories I share with Darius. And I would never take back any of those memories because they were the ones that made me somewhat happy, in moments when all I wanted to do was cry like a baby.

"Don't call her that!" Chris yelled and tried taking a step towards Darius, but I stopped him.

I could hear heavy footsteps, and it didn't take long for me to recognize Thomas.

"What's going on?!" He asked with wide eyes.

He paused for a moment before muttering, "Chris?"

Did anyone in this castle know Chris was here? If Thomas didn't invite him, then who did?

"We are over. And you better pray that your parents still give you the throne after what just happened!" Darius screamed at me, his face red with anger.

This man did not just threaten me.

"Excuse me? My parents will give me the throne. I will be your Queen in a few minutes and your pathetic ass better pray that I'll have mercy on you and not take your title of Duke after what you just called me!" I was inches away from him, my finger pointed at his firm chest.

He remained silent and just shook his head. With one last glare at me and at Chris, he turned on his heel and walked down the hall until he was no longer visible.

"So... what did I miss on tonight's episode?" Thomas smirked.

Chris chuckled at his joke. But I didn't. I was still mad at Darius for what he said and the fact that after years of being together; he didn't trust me. I was mad at the fact that he had the audacity to threaten me. The only good thing that came out of this chaos was that we were no longer in a relationship. I didn't have to force myself to be with someone who I always knew I'd never love. But in some masochistic way, I was sad that it had ended this way. Darius probably left thinking that I cheated on him and that I never cared for him. When in reality, I did care for him. Just not as much as I'd ever care for Chris.

"The ceremony must be about to start. Let's go." My voice was firm, and it didn't show any of the emotions I was feeling. I walked down the hall without turning to look at Chris or Thomas.

My goal in life has been to become Queen and not depend on anyone to take my life decisions for me. And I was about to achieve it. This drama could be handled later.

But I couldn't deny that it made me feel happy to know that Chris would be in the audience watching me achieve that goal. My heart skipped just thinking about it.