Royally Bounded

Chapter 71

Clara

Hayden and I didn't fell asleep at night. We were lying in bed, completely silent as he held me in his arms. I stared over at the clock, seeing it was past midnight, nearly two in the morning. The rain was pouring hard outside, smacking against the window.

We still had no news of Josephine.

I prayed that she was safe in a hotel or somewhere. She could easily get hurt without protection, and her sweet personality made her an easier target for strangers. Maybe she just needed some time alone to think about her future.

Hayden brushed the back of my head gently. I rested my head into the crook of his neck, clinging onto him. I spent the entire night explaining to Xander about what happened. I made a little story that his aunt was getting married, but it was hard for her because she had some problems before marriage.

He understood most of it but had questions remaining. I managed to distract him, and it was easy for him to forget. It would be great if we kept our simple minds from our youth, then we wouldn't have to deal with so much problems.

"Are you worried?" I asked Hayden, raising my head to look at him. The dim moonlight shined over his face, showing a hint of concern, but he didn't say a word about it. "It's okay. Josephine is a smart woman. She knows how to protect herself if she needs help. She was a great support when I had problems with you."

"Love makes people vulnerable, Clara," Hayden reminded, exactly knowing what it was like. His fingers slowed down, combing through my strands. "We will go insane for the people we love the most."

I had no disagreement with it. Both of us experienced it before. Love could be turn into hatred, and it could be used against each other. I nearly went hysterical when Hayden kept hurting me. The nightmares caused us so much pain, and I didn't want to think about it again.

People talked about love as a magical potion, but it can be poison when we were sucked into the dark side.

"I sort of wish Prince Zykov was a decent man," I sighed heavily. "Maybe it would be less of an issue, but Josephine loves Abbas. It's not the same as us."

"If I was like Arnaldo, would you still marry me?" He wondered.

"No, one thing I knew for sure was that I wanted someone to respect me. Even if I didn't love them, I don't want to be with someone who treated me as a toy."

He fell silent, like he was clustered with thoughts. I wanted to be honest about my view on love. At first, I agreed to marry Arnaldo, but I was more clear that he was never the type of man I would be with. It had always been Hayden.

"You're not him, Hayden," I held his face, rubbing my thumb over his cheek. He had his hand on top of mine and kissed my palm. "I married you because a part of me knows you would be better than Arnaldo. You gave me a rude first impression, but we're in love now. We have a family. It's the perfect life I wanted since I was young."

He sat upwards, taking me in his arms as I straddled him. He pressed his warm lips against mine, greedy and dominant, as I parted my lips for his tongue. Goosebumps rose to my skin, and I hooked my arms around his neck, letting myself drown into his kiss.

My phone vibrated on the nightstand, and I pulled away from him, reaching over to see Josephine calling me. I turned my phone, showing Hayden who it was. He instantly snatched the phone out of my hand, but I took it back, answering it first with the speaker phone on.

"Josephine, where are you?" I questioned, my voice escalating with concern. "We're all looking for you since the morning. If you need someone to talk, I'm always here for you."