The Deal with the Demon Prince

*Chapter Thirty-Nine*

*Chapter Thirty-Nine*

“Did you see Aurora?”

“Huh? I thought she went off with the funny woman?”

“Cade?”

“Yeah?”

“Your stupidity makes me want to cry.”

He pouted. What did he do wrong? So what if she seemed a tad bit suspicious? Well, he probably had it all wrong. He knew this much: it wasn’t that Gabriella didn’t trust the woman. Hell, whoever—or whatever—she was, she saved Gabriella’s life countless times by telling her what to do at the most critical situations. Gabriella herself told him that. That only left one other option—it was Aurora she did not trust. He then realized she’d just insulted him.

“I’m getting you back for this!”

Gabriella was already way ahead of him. She tore through the corridor, and he quickened to catch up. He could feel her exasperation rolling off her in waves. She grabbed a nearby brunette’s arm.

“Did you see Aurora?”

“Um, the new girl? No.”

Gabriella let go of the girl’s arm and sprinted past several other students.

“Gabriella!”

“Cade, we need to find her. Like now. I -”

“Stop.”

Gabriella came to a halt. The corridor now was practically empty save for the two of them.

“Cade, she could -”

“She could be killing herself at this moment?” Cade finished.

Gabriella winced and spun around to face the brunet. “How can you say that so easily?”

“You don’t want to see her hurt. I get that, but have you ever thought about it from her perspective?”

“Cade, what -?”

“She’s hurting. She’s been hurting for a long, long time. I wouldn’t be surprised if she feels tired, exhausted even. Give her a right to make her own last decision.”

He blinked and took a step back as the rim of her eyes turned red. His lips moved several times, and his hands were awkwardly raised.

What on earth do you do when a girl cry? Cade yelled in his mind.

Cade clumsily wrapped his arms around her and let her weep into his chest. By saying it out loud, he was confirming Gabriella’s fear. The word ‘last’ probably wasn’t the best choice, but Cade didn’t want to euphemize his words. He wanted to go straight to the point because running away from reality was not going to work.

He looked down. His eyes were drawn to her full lips. He cursed in his mind. Gabriella looked up. She looked so broken and so vulnerable. He had to comfort her. He had to give her some sort of protection.

Just as opposing thoughts swam around in his mind, the strawberry blonde tilted her head back and crashed her lips against his. His eyes grew wide.

Was it possible? Had her memories…?

“S-Sorry.”

She was brighter than a tomato looked ready to faint. Cade hid a smirk. She looked so damn cute. His smile faded, and a sense of disappointment washed over him at the petrified look she wore. Nope, he thought. She definitely did not get her memories back. Then why would she…?

The answer popped into his mind. Could it… Could it be that she was falling for him even without her earlier memories?

“Um, Cade? I have no idea why I did that. I’m sorry. I’m so -”