The Tattooed Prince 2

103.

"Why do you want me?" I asked him suddenly, catching him off guard.

Mateo raised an eyebrow, unsure if I was being serious. "Why do you want to be with me?" I asked again. "is it because you truly want me or is it the chase?" If he only wants me because he is enjoying the chase, then what will happen when he has me? He won't have anything more to go after, yet if he truly wants to be with me, why me?

"You are worthy of being loved, Adalyn." he caressed my cheek, smiling down at me. "there are people out there who genuinely want the best for you."

"Please stop making Sebastian the bad guy," I looked away from him. I get it, Mateo is blaming Sebastian for how broken I am—when truly I grew up broken. If Mateo knew, Sebastian made me feel safe and happy, regardless of the shitty decisions he made.

"Stop making excuses for the guy," he blurted out. "that guy can kill you and you'll tell everyone in the after life how it was an accident. Accept the facts Adalyn, you carry his mistakes as if they were your own permanent scars,"

"And I moved to the other side of the world to get myself away. It is hard to stay away from him when my sister is married to his cousin!" I began to raise my voice. "No one fucking gets it. Sebastian cheats and has a kid—everyone praises him for stepping up and going to rehab. I move to the United States and I'm running away. I am tired of being the bad guy," I slumped my arms down in surrender.

Mateo sat on the rest arm of the couch and chuckled quietly. "you have to stop,"

"Stop what?" I demanded.

"No one, and I mean no one, has made you out as the bad guy except you!" He pointed at me. "While I was in Spain your sister, your friends, and Sophia have praised you for being strong! Maybe it is time for you to stare at the mirror and appreciate yourself more."

"I do..." I try my best to give myself credit for doing what I thought was best for me. I forgave Sebastian for treating me the way he did, but the damage he did to me is something I can't fix easily. Truthfully, I don't feel as if I am enough, if I was Sebastian wouldn't have pushed me away.

"You don't. I can't relate to what you went through or how hard it is to get through a divorce at twenty-three, but you walk around as if life is over. Sebastian wasn't your ending but your beginning."

"To what?" I looked at him with tears rolling down my face.

"To every possibility out there. You aren't shackled to anything, Adalyn. The Royal Family nor your parents control you anymore."

My phone starting ringing and I pulled it out of my pocket, Sophia, name was on my screen. Fuck she must have noticed I didn't come home.

"Hello," I answered, trying my best to clear my throat so she didn't know I was crying.

"Where are you?" She asked tiredly.

"I am with Mateo but I am heading home,"

"Okay, Sebastian called me. He said you sounded upset and you weren't making any sense. Do you need me to pick you up?"

Of course she was calling me because of Sebastian. Sophia needs to get away from all of this, she doesn't work for the Royal Family. She deserves to live her life with Tony, without having my problems burden her.

"No, I'm fine. I'll be home soon, don't worry about me." I assured her.

"I'll stay up until you get home," she simply said.

"You don't have to do that. If I wasn't okay, I would let you know. Go to sleep!" I chuckled quietly, hoping it was enough to ease her nerves.

She ignored the comment and said, "Come home," and the phone call ended.

I stared at the phone—she really is acting like a mother figure. Who am I lying to though? Sophia has seen me as the little sister she didn't have. She cares about me, just like I do.

Mateo lifted my head by placing his finger underneath my chin, "you are loved."

"I am pushing everyone away huh?"

He nodded, "you want to be with Sebastian so bad, you blame others for trying to tell you otherwise,"

"It's pretty stupid to want someone who hurt you," I confessed. He shook his head, disapproving.

"You want Sebastian because you got comfortable. You say you wanted freedom but choose not to have it if it means trying different things with someone new. Some couples are toxic, Adalyn."

"Yeah," I whispered. He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"You should go home. Sophia is worried about you and it seems as if she is ready to talk,"

"I don't know what to say to her," I think she is extremely disappointed in me to the point she is ready to leave.

"Be honest," he smiled.

✨✨✨
Entering the house, Sophia was laying on the couch watching the television. As I closed the door behind me, she sat up on the couch. I sat next to her and we stayed quiet for a moment.

"I am sorry..." I spoke first. "I know you are looking after me and I love you for that, but you don't have to keep watching out for me. You need to start your life Sophia. You talked about starting a family and enjoying your life with Tony. You deserve more than to me burden by my life,"

"Tony knows who he married. I swore to protect the Queen of Spain although you may not hold the title, you continue to be the Queen to me. I care about you a lot and you deserve to be happy too. I don't want to leave you and let you drown yourself in alcohol like Sebastian did." She grabbed into my hand. "Maybe I have been approaching you the wrong way with things. It took me a bit to realize, Sebastian is your first break up. And the first breakup will always be the hardest and it will be the one to shape you out for your future relationships. It's okay you want to him to be happy knowing he made a mess of your heart. What you need to do is give yourself credit for how far you have come. You did what you thought was best for you, at first you seemed proud for coming here. Then you saw him living his life as if you didn't matter and it bothered you. You'll encounter relationships where someone will put a bit more effort than the other one and when it doesn't work out, one will go straight into a relationship and the other will be sad for awhile. Everyone deals with their pain differently,"

She squeezed my hand when she noticed the tears trailing down my cheeks. "He cares about you Adalyn. Sebastian will always take care of you even if you two don't go back together." she wiped away my tears with the sleeve of her shirt. "if you don't go back to him, you don't deserve to live your life alone. You didn't take that oath,"

"And he doesn't either," I sniffled.

"He won't. Right now, you and him are hurting and saying all these things. In reality Adalyn, the sting in your chest will go away and someone else will walk into your life and make you remember how beautiful it is to fall in love. Sebastian will fix the mess he left behind and it might take him time to find someone and when he does you have to be happy for him. Sometimes Adalyn, people aren't meant for each other—we tend to get comfortable,"

"Mateo said the same thing, some people are toxic together,"

"And that includes friends too. You have to learn how to step away from those people. Sebastian will be harder to do, but with time seeing him will just feel like a small warm feeling in your stomach. It's like seeing a old friend after awhile,"

"Yeah, I think sleeping with him was probably not a good idea," I chuckled quietly.

"Maybe not, but you're old enough to make your decisions. Just know every good or bad mistake makes a reaction,"

"I am sorry for the way I have been acting. I feel really bad about it,"

She wrapped her arms around me, giving me a tight hug. "I love you and we will fight, doesn't mean I am going to leave you behind,"

✨✨✨

I want to wish all of you  a Merry Christmas!