My Prince Charming

Chapter 17

Louis POV

I carefully sneaked down the stairs, looking around to make sure nobody saw me. It was five in the morning, and I was trying to meet Ava before she left for work. All I had to do was walk through the dining room, and then I would be in the entry.

I tiptoed through the dining room, and I had just reached the door to the entry.

"Yes," I whispered. I don't know why I hadn't looked around the room, because I jumped when a voice suddenly spoke.

"Going somewhere, son?" I whipped around to the table. On the other side of the long dining table sat two people. There were three plates of food, but one seat was empty.

"Mother. Father," I greeted, my hand still on the doorknob. My father gestured to the seat on his left from his spot at the head of the table.

"Come, have breakfast. We have something to discuss," I nodded reluctantly, and walked slowly to the other side of the room.

The three of us sat in silence, the sound of our forks hitting the plate the only noise.

"So, what have you been up to as of late?" I looked up from my plate at my father and shrugged lightly.

"Not much, father," I responded.

He hummed. "Why were you attempting to leave so early in the morning?"

"There was a...market that I wanted to attend."

"Is there not a market daily in most towns?"

I nodded. "Yes, there is, father."

"Then you should take us to attend this market with you. It must be very good if you leave so early in the morning."

"Umm, actually-"

"We shall leave after breakfast. Make sure to dress appropriately, not in," he gestured to my hooded jumper, "that. We want people to be aware that we are there and be treated with the respect that we deserve." The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence.

I was worried about Ava. What would she think of this? Would it frighten her if she saw my parents with me? Do I try to see her? She was already anxious last night when we spoke about our relationship, and this would just make it worse. She didn't need to be put under this kind of stress, especially so early on in our relationship.

"Let's get ready then, shall we?" My father rose out of his chair and offered his hand to my mother. She took it, and with that, I was left alone in the dining room. I leaned back in my chair with a heavy sigh.

What was I going to do?

* * * * *

Ava POV

It was almost 10 o'clock, and still no sign of Louis. Did he get caught by somebody on the street? Was he in trouble?

"Hello, could I please get these three apples?" A customer's voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, yes, of course, you can," I grabbed the bag of fruits he held out and tallied up the price. He gave me the money and continued on with his day. I heaved a sigh and sunk into my chair. I hope Louis was ok. Was he regretting his choice? I mean, it would make sense. He could have anybody he wanted, so why pick me?

"Oh my god!" A squeal cut through my thoughts and I looked up from my stand. A crowd had quickly formed near one of the entries to the market. The clanking of armour made me nervous, but apparently everybody else excited. There were phones being held up in the crowd, and everybody was whispering or talking animatedly to one another.