Cinderella Story [Wriothesley x Reader]

Page 7 - II

"What happened?"

Of course there was no way Wriothesley wouldn't immediately notice that something was wrong, that something had happened. You stood in front of him looking like a picture of misery, holding a big bag filled with your belongings with both hands, dark circles under your eyes from lack of sleep and a look on your face that didn't hide the fact you had been crying.

"Your grace," you started, still unsure of your request and quite nervous to even be asking such a thing of him. "I... I might need a place to stay."

"I'll get a room ready for you." There wasn't even a single question he asked you, he just immediately agreed to what you needed. It actually took you a bit by surprise. He led you into his office and sat you down on his couch. "Wait here."

Only minutes later he was back with a pot of tea and sat down next to you. "I'll find you a bed for the night," he stated. "It might not be the most luxurious, but I hope it'll suffice for the start."

"I'm sure it will. Thank you so much." You almost damned yourself for tearing up again, wasn't it about time you stopped crying at everything all the time?

"So, what happened?" Wriothesley handed you a cup of tea and you took it, thanking him. You took a sip of it and a familiar scent met your nose. Chamomile. After a second sip, you put the cup down, wiped your tears and faced him, to tell him what had transpired the day before.

"So, in short," you finished up, "I can't live with my family anymore. I just can't. It's going to break me."

"You won't have to," he told you, calmly, as if he was just stating facts (which he probably was.) "You can stay here as long as you want."

A smile stole its way onto your lips. "Thank you, your grace."

You were truly lucky. So, so lucky to have that many people to depend on, that would help you without wasting even a second thought. Emil. Chiori. And now, it seemed you could count Wriothesley towards those as well.

Maybe it was the tea, maybe it was Wriothesley's presence, maybe it was the fact that you finally realized that your situation was getting better instead of worse. You didn't know what exactly it was, but at this moment, the heavy weight on your chest finally lifted and you could take a deep breath. The small smile on your face turned into a bigger, more earnest one. From now on, everything would improve. This was a turning point in your life, and it was your decision where it was turning to.

"There's work I must do. But please, rest up as much as you want." Wriothesley stood up, letting you know that he had to leave. He probably felt bad for letting you be all alone when you were in such a bad state, since he hadn't realized yet that you were suddenly feeling much better.

"I will," you tried to sound as encouraging as you could.

After Wriothesley left, you felt the exhaustion finally get to you. Now that the weight was lifted, now that you weren't feeling like utter shit anymore, your body started screaming for the rest it urgently needed after everything that had happened yesterday and after that night that had been less than a few hours of sleep. You'd just rest your eyes, you thought, but it didn't even take a minute for you to fall asleep completely. On Wriothesley's couch, in his office.

╼❅╾

You didn't know how much time had passed, but when you woke up again, Wriothesley was sitting at his desk, doing some paperwork. Still a bit groggy, you sat up and rubbed the sleep out of your eyes. He noticed your movements and looked up from behind the piles of paperwork to meet your gaze.

"I fell asleep," you said, a bit embarrassed about that fact.

"You probably needed it." He walked up to you with what looked to be a fresh pot of tea and poured you some into your cup. You thanked him with a smile.