30 Days As A Substitute Prince

Chapter 40

Nervous pacing had never been a habit of Tina, yet she found herself marching up and down the hall that led to Joshua’s room.

Before everything with Chad, she could’ve sworn that she hated him for not only what he did but for how he made her feel. But now, all traces of anger had flown through the window, leaving unusual but genuine compassion in her heart for him.

She wanted to know if he was okay, yet she was scared to knock on his door. Why? Because she now realised that she reciprocated his feelings just as much, and she had no idea how to go about it. She wished she was more like Aria. Aria wasn’t shy with her feelings about Chad. In fact, he had been the sole driver of her motivation nowadays, and everyone could see it.

Tina desired to know what she should do with her emotions. Yet, she found herself doubting whether she would say the right things or not. She even felt the need to use blush and groom her messy curls all of a sudden. Both resulted in nought. The blush looked awful on her, and she could not tame the mess of tendrils on her head. Joshua never seemed to mind, though, so Tina eventually decided to leave them be.

With one last rub of her sweaty palms against her dress, Tina marched down the length of the hall and knocked on his door. There was no answer, and so she tried again. Still, there was nothing, so she pushed the door open, now worried that something was wrong. However, she soon discovered that he was nowhere to be found.

Huffing, she strolled down the hall once again, passing Aria’s room where she heard hush, happy whispers.

She smiled at the thought. Tina was elated that everything worked out just fine for Aria and Chad. It had been a rough month, but they both deserved this happiness.

Tina gave up trying to talk to Joshua, and so she grabbed her bow and arrow from her room and quickly found her way through the castle and towards the back door.

She slowly trotted down the narrow path that led to her particular spot and stopped instantly when a tall, lean frame stood in the centre of her clearing. Her heart pounded against her chest when she realised that it was Joshua.

Why had he come here?

“I thought you’d find me here,” he said as he turned around. The evident fatigue in his eyes wasn’t unnoticed, yet they sparkled when they met Tina’s. Her heart slammed against her chest as she inched closer to him. Her dark curls bounced on her shoulders as she moved. It had always been Joshua’s favourite feature of hers.

The way her mane commanded the space around her like the queen she ought to be. The way her slender frame swayed with each step she took was nothing less than perfect, and the way her eyes would study him easily as if a lioness approaching her prey always bewitched him into falling into her trance.

The pain of his mother’s death remained, so Joshua came here in Tina’s spot to clear his head. Even though it was outdoors, her presence lingered, and so it calmed him. He had only hoped that she would’ve found him there.

It pleased him that his wish came through. Even though she had her bow with her, meaning she came here not to look for him but to practice her archery, it still excited him that she was there.

“I was looking for you,” she mumbled shyly as she dropped her gaze. “I was worried.”

Smiling, Joshua inched closer to her and took her hand. “You need not worry about me, Princess. I can deal with the grief as long as I have you.”

“You speak boldly as if you knew I would’ve yielded to your affection.” It almost sounded as if she was complaining, but Joshua loved it.

“I doubted it very much, Tina,” he chuckled. “You are a complicated woman to shake.”