30 Days As A Substitute Prince

Chapter 28

It had been nothing but chaos after everyone saw the guard hanging from the balcony.

Aria’s sobs never stopped, and men from all over, both guards and lords, volunteered to get the man down. 

They tried to pull him up with the rope, but that only resulted in his entire body falling splat onto the floor, while his head hung from the rope.

A bellowing scream escaped Aria’s lips when she saw this, and she immediately buried her face in Chad’s jacket to rid her sight from the gruesome image. 

However, Chad only stood in his with his eyes glued to the mess, as guest upon guest scurried away. 

On such a day like this—on Aria’s birthday, Heather had the gall to do something like this. 

It made him sick. 

Her point was clear now. She wanted to show them all that she had full access to the castle, and no one could save him from his death. 

His Adam’s apple bobbed at the thought. What had Zadkiel done to have this crazy woman hunting him down, wanting to do nothing but kill him? And since she believed that Chad is Zadkiel, he was the one on her hit list, and not the real prince.

He now knew that he had no other choice. He had to tell them all the truth. Or better yet, at least tell Aria. 

The way she wept in his shirt made his heart break. 

He knew she not only cried for the guard or what happened here tonight, but she cried for him too. If Heather could easily kill him, then it was only a matter of time before she gets the deed done. 

Maybe, just maybe, no one will be able to save him this time. And that is what scared her. It scared her to the bone.

It also angered her. Aria couldn’t begin to comprehend that someone would want to take him from her, and she hated it.

In fact, she felt like if she had the chance to, she would kill Heather herself. 

The things we do for the ones we love. Aria had never thought of killing another human being, but if it was her life in return for the man she loved, she would happily kill Heather a hundred times over before she let her hurt him. 

But this was reality. Aria knew that she could never in a hundred years kill Heather. She had neither the training nor the skill. Hell, she didn’t even know how to swing a sword. 

Maybe if she had been more like Tina, then maybe-

“Aria?” Chad’s soft and careful voice pulled Aria from her dark thoughts, and through blurry eyes she raised her head to meet his. “Come, let me take you from here.” 

“No.” Aria gripped his hand tighter as he made a move to walk with her, and she met his eyes with her scared ones. “No. Stay in the light where people can see you. The minute we’re alone then…”

Her lips trembled at the mere thought, and Chad’s heart broke at the very sight. He massaged the creases away from her forehead and wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb. More than anything he wanted to reassure her that everything will be okay, when he knew that he probably won't make it through the night alive. 

There was a big ‘If’ hanging over his head and a loud ‘Maybe’ shouting in his ears. 

“Your father will want you out of here. It’s not good for you.” 

“Do you know what is not good for me?” she asked with her voice trembling. “Losing the man I love to a crazy woman. Why is she hunting you, Zadkiel? Why?”