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Chapter Thirty Four

Courtney's POV

Evelyn and I stand at the entrance in silence as we watch our guards hauling away dead bodies. She bursts into tears again once she sees Nolan's, and I rest her head on my shoulder comfortingly.

"Shh, it's going to be okay," I murmur, sighing out quietly. I, for one, don't miss him. But something deep down makes me feel guilty, I don't know why. I just can't imagine how Evelyn feels, if these are my own emotions.

"Your Highness?" Rowena approaches me once more. "Prince Daniel has requested to see you in the infirmary."

I bite my lip, hugging Ev once more before walking after the nurse. My mind instantly goes to What happened? Is he hurt?

My second answer is answered for me swiftly when I see him sitting up in the second bed on the left. The infirmary seems packed with people injured during the attack, including my stepbrother, who appears to be asleep. Daniel's head turns towards me, and he sends me a warm and weak smile as I approach him.

"What happened?" I question quietly, placing my hand on his scarred right cheek as I take a seat on his bed, careful not to sit on his legs. "Who did this?"

"Nolan," he mumbles, sighing out. "I'll be alright though, and hopefully so will he." Daniel pauses for a moment. "Where is he, anyway?"

My eyes flicker down to my lap, and I remove my hand from his face. "Daniel, I'm so sorry.."

"Where is he?" he repeats, this time firmly.

I say nothing, walking over to the curtains to pull them shut before sitting back down. When my eyes finally meet his, the former are tear-filled. He then realizes what's happened, and his gaze becomes softer.

"I'm so sorry."

He sighs out and leans his head against the back, eyes closed. I place my hands on my knees nervously, scared that he'll lash out.

"Did you do it?" he asks finally, still not looking at me.

"Do I look like someone who's capable of murder?" I reply incredulously, surprised that his mind would go straight to me.

"You're not denying it, Courtney," he snaps harshly.

I roll my eyes. "I didn't do it, but I watched the person who did. And no, I'm not giving you their name. I don't want them dead either."

"They shouldn't have killed him," he hisses.

"What if I told you that he tried to kill us first?!" I burst, slamming my palm on the surface of the bed. "He was going to slit my throat, Daniel, and Evelyn defended me. She was only trying to make him go away. It was an accident!"

He evidently tenses up at my tone of voice and the hot tears that spill down my face, but I choose to continue.

"I do feel bad, okay? I hate myself for what happened, and I wasn't even the one who stabbed Nolan. But you can't possibly think that Evelyn and I deserve less forgiveness than him. You saw what he did to me. You tried to help me too. So help me now and don't blame us."

Daniel sighs out before wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me closer towards him. I have to shift my butt closer too, in order to be in a comfortable position. "I do forgive you," he whispers, placing a soft kiss on my cheek before doing the same to my lips.

My eyes widen for a moment, but they close almost immediately as I lose all common sense and return his kiss. The texture of his lips is soft and smooth, and his slightly rough stubble makes for a nice contrast when my palms are pressed against it.

Daniel grabs one of my legs and slides it over to the other side of him, making me sit on top. He then runs his hands down my arms and traces small circles into my stomach with his thumbs, and I can feel him smirking against me. "Stop it," I giggle jokingly, deepening the kiss.

"God, how much I wish I wasn't stuck in this bed," he murmurs back, moving his lips to my neck.

Just then, I hear the doors swing open. I jump right out of Daniel's lap just a second before Jordan opens the curtains. He pauses where he stands, and my heart skips a beat.

"Um, am I interrupting something?" he questions calmly, and I have to avoid letting out a sigh of relief.

"Nope, everything's great," Daniel replies with a small smile, and I nod quickly in support of his answer.

Jordan nods too, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet. "I need to talk to you," he explains, sending Daniel a tiny smile before bringing me out of the infirmary.

A little pitter patter of fear strikes against my chest, accompanied by painful questions surging through my mind. Luckily, Jordan doesn't notice at all.

"They uncovered Nolan's dead body. He appears to have been stabbed," he murmurs gravely, expecting me to show some sort of reaction. I have none.

"Yeah, I know.. And?"

His eyes scan mine before continuing. "Did you do it?"

I instinctively let out a tiny scream of frustration. "Why does everyone think I killed him?!" I ask indignantly.

He tenses up at my tone of voice. "I just thought... since he did all those things to you..."

"I did not do it. Yes, I'm still recovering from the horrible incident, but do you really think I am capable of murder?"

"Anyone is capable of anything when they're clouded with the right emotions," he replies firmly, then widens his eyes when he sees my shocked expression. "I-I mean-"

"I can't believe you don't trust me," I hiss, turning on my heel and storming away, my chest heaving with anger.

"Courtney, I really didn't mean it like that."

"Keep him away!" I yell to the guards, who bow in response before going to deal with Jordan as tears form in my eyes.

"Courtney! Courtney!"

I don't listen to him.

A/N

Okay I know we said we'd allow the readers to pick what they want to happen at 1000 reads on Switch, so go right ahead! Comment some opinions (closes on May 22nd) and we'll see which ones could be managable <3

~ Zalie :3