30 Days As A Substitute Prince

Chapter 35

Liziath had been awfully quiet after her siblings and Joshua had left. Zadkiel noticed this, yet he didn't know what to say or how to start the crazy story.

Liziath sat across from him in her room, her eyes lost and void of all emotion. It was obvious that she was thinking, and she was thinking extremely hard too. Zadkiel felt awful. Just minutes ago, they met for the first time, and now she was probably second-guessing every thought of the first impression she had of him.

She just discovered that he was a liar, a very good one too. Could she trust him?

Even though they just met, Zadkiel knew he wanted to stay in her good light. He couldn't explain the urge to be approved by her, but it was there, lingering in his soul like a budding, unexplainable urge.

He never let his eyes drop from her, and though she could feel his piercing gaze, she didn't dare to meet it. She wasn't mad at him, though. Liziath wasn't the one to point fingers significantly when it wouldn't benefit anyone. The prince--Chad actually--was in trouble and hating Zadkiel wouldn't make that any better.

"I suppose it would be wise to talk now since we have so little time," Liziath mumbled after a while.

"Indeed," Zadkiel agreed, feeling utterly grateful and relieved that she spoke to him. "You might want to know how this all started?"

Liziath simply nodded, seeing it as the best fit to giving him an answer without speaking, and Zadkiel took a deep breath as he scanned his mind for all the aspects of the truth of all that had happened in his life and the past month. Of course, he knew that he wouldn't have been able to know precisely what had been happening here except what he learnt from Chad and Aria. However, he assumed that Liziath would already be knowledgeable of the past month's events, so he dove a little deeper than that. He started with his life story and what he was told as a child compared to the truth he just learnt from Joshua.

This, too, was news to Liziath, finally knowing why Heather was so set out to harm the prince. It all made sense now, and somehow, deep down, she felt pity for him. How awful it must've been to be locked up all your life simply because of someone else's sins.

That was no way for a young boy to live, and to make it worse, he had been lied to all his life. How awful.

Zadkiel saw the sadness in Liziath's eyes and hated that he put it there. Without thinking, he reached out to hold her hand, and the sudden gesture had her flinching away until she recovered from the shock. Then, quickly, she retook his hands with a small smile. The guilt in his eyes was evident, and though she understood why he felt guilty, she also felt for him deeply.

He was as much of a victim as anyone else. Liziath could imagine how he felt the first time being freed, only to be sent into a marriage with a complete stranger. She didn't blame him for wanting that freedom he deserved so much. And she made him know that.

"Zadkiel, it wasn't your fault. As young people, we are going to make rash decisions that have consequences. We are royals, not perfect people. So you don't need to beat yourself up about anything," she told him as she held his hand tighter. "You did what anyone else would do. And now, learning that you were robbed of your freedom because of a mistake by someone else, I can't say I blame you for what you did."

"Thank you," Zadkiel said, feeling his heart well in so much gratitude for her soft, kind words. It seemed like Liziath's approval was all he needed to feel better. It was odd, really. Someone he had known for an hour had so much effect on him. It was surreal.

"But Chad is still in trouble. As much as I am still not a hundred per cent okay with all that went down with you guys, I know that my sister loves that man very much, and she'd be broken if she loses him. We have to help."