The Princess and The Criminal [ CAITVI ]

21 | Crossroads

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Caitlyn's POV
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The silence between us was suffocating, heavy with unease that pressed in from every side. It felt like the calm before a storm, the kind that lingers on the horizon, heavy and foreboding, waiting to break. I could still feel the ghost of her touch—her fingers brushing against my skin, her breath warm against my cheek. That kiss, that reckless, unbidden kiss—it was something I had not expected, nor something I had invited.

And yet, it had happened.

I told myself it was just a distraction—an impulsive moment to dismiss, like so many others in my life. That it was nothing more than a fleeting indulgence, a momentary lapse in judgment. Vi said it herself. I don't matter to her. She's a wanted criminal who had used me, manipulated me, and then was going to abandoned me without a second thought. That kiss was nothing but a tool, a way to make me vulnerable. She had made it clear that she had her own interests at heart, not mine.

And yet, the feeling lingered. My pulse fluttered, heart racing at the thought of her. I couldn't help how the memory of her touch clung to me like a fever. I should be angry, outraged, even. And yet, I couldn't bring myself to feel the anger I knew I should. Instead, there was only...confusion. A confusion so deep it made it hard to breathe.

I stepped into Vi's room, closing the door behind me with a soft click, my fingers trembling as I turned the handle. The sound was a hollow thing, as though it were sealing me away from something I couldn't quite define. I leaned back against the door, pressing my back to the cold wood, and let out a breath that felt far too heavy for my lungs.

What had I just done?

The question hovered in my mind, unwelcome and persistent.

I should've pulled away, shoved her back, demanded an explanation. But I didn't.

No, I had let her kiss me. Worse, I had kissed her back. And now, it sunk in, feeling like a betrayal of everything I had ever stood for—everything I had been taught to believe.

I sank to the floor, my legs too weak to support my weight any longer. I drew my knees to my chest, pressing my forehead against them, trying to steady the whirlwind of thoughts that threatened to drown me. The room was dim, shadows stretching long across the walls, as if the darkness itself sought to swallow me whole. The air thick with silence, I could only hear the faint echo of her voice in my head—the rasp of it, raw and unrefined, so different from the proper speech I had always known.

Vi was dangerous. I knew that. A reckless, merciless fugitive. And yet... I couldn't shake the memory of how her touch had felt, the heat of her body against mine. Her calloused fingers against my skin, the sharp scent of sweat and smoke.

Everything in me screamed that it was wrong. That I should never have let her get so close.

I wanted to hate her. To despise her for using me, for dismantling every wall I had so carefully built around myself. I wanted to be furious at how she'd dragged me out of that tower, offered me a fleeting taste of freedom, only to return me right back to that cage.

But how could I? How could I despise her when, despite everything, she had given me something I had longed for—freedom? A chance to experience something beyond the suffocating confines of that royal cell.

But even more than that, I wanted her to understand me.

I wanted her to see the part of me that I had buried beneath layers of propriety—the part that wasn't just some rebellious princess or a polished ornament to be displayed for the kingdom's admiration. I had never let anyone see that part. But Vi... she had gotten close. Too close.