You Have My Heart, Lady Illea (A Lady Illea Novel)

Chapter Forty Nine

CAUTION: BEFORE STARTING i SUGGEST YOU GO TO THIS LINK AND PLAY THIS SONG WHILE YOU READ.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8NgF5s4ewc

JUST DO IT AND DON'T ASK QUESTIONS K?

K.

ALSO THE SOUNDTRACK TO WHAT A GIRL WANTS (WHAT'S GOOD FOR ME) ARE AMAZING THEME SONGS.

I couldn't find a lot of my papers, like letters, work I did for Adsila, and magazines I collected her and such but it didn't matter anymore. None of it did. I put my airplane ticket into my purse and Junebug zipped up my suitcase. She sniffled. I walked over to her and squeezed her shoulder.

"Please don't cry."

She sniffled again. "I just can't believe you're leaving."

I looked at my head maid Alma who had her head bowed looking a tad sad and defeated. Junebug did nothing to hide her tears but Esmeralda had an angry, deep, bitter scowl on her face. Her lips were pressed to fine line, her head was lifted but her eyes were low and her brows were furrowed.

"Of everything's that's happened to me within these palace walls,"You're the one thing I don't regret."

Then Alma break. She cracked and her knees gaze out below her, her brown hair falling around her, and I'd never seen her like that before. Esmeralda grabbed her shoulders and looked at my eyes burning a fierce vertigo but I couldn't overlook the sadness in them.

"Alma no, please don't!" I ran over to her and embraced her as tightly as I could. I cried out all my tears already, and the last of them when I booked my flight all on my own and the very last tear fell when I called my father and told him I was tired and was going home. For good. I just wanted to be wrapped up in my father's embrace as quick as i could. I wanted to go back to life as normal. Before the selection. Before all this.

Before Will.

"I just-!" Alma sniffled. "I'm just going to miss you so much!"

I squeezed Alma tightly. I wanted to pack all three of them into a suitcase and take them home to Carolina with me. I couldn't do that.

"If you'll excuse me," Esmeralda said and we all turned to face her. "I'm off to go pack my things."

"What?"

This time Junebug spoke. "What do you mean pack?"

I stood silent the whole time, waiting for an explanation.

"I handed in my resignation this morning."

My eyes flew wide open and I could tell the girls were equally as shocked as I was. They went on talking frantically and it wasn't until Esmeralda raised her head that I saw the tears in her eyes. She cleared her throat and looked at her fingers.

"It won't be the same," she said weakly and it frightened me because Esmeralda was not weak. "I don't want to work in a place where it isn't the four of us."