I'll Protect You [Charles (oc) x reader]

Chapter 3

I sigh and fall back on my bed, today was exhausting. I smile and think of Edward. He was the best of the suitors so far AND he wants to meet again. He seems like a pretty interesting person.

"I can see you liked the prince," Charles says teasingly. I sit up and see him peering through the door. My face goes red.

"Only a little bit. He was charming, but he doesn't really have a sense of humor." I responded. Charles walks through the door, closing it behind him. 

"A sense of humor won't matter once you're married." I don't know why, but I feel like there's pain behind his voice. "In fact, once you're married nothing about your partner really matters, especially if they actually love you or not."

Charles pauses and coughs. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

 "Charles, if you need to talk about anything, you can."

"I.." He looks me in the eyes and quickly looks at the floor. "It's just a rough patch with me and my wife, it's nothing important."

"Are you sure?" I ask. "It doesn't seem like it."

"Yeah, everything's fine. But enough about me. How was the prince's visit?"

I shake my head and look down. My head is full of worry for Charles that I almost completely forgot what happened today.

"It was great. Better than the usual ones."

"I'm sure it went better than that. You looked really happy earlier."

"Oh, I was, I'm just tired."

"Then I shall leave you alone. From what I know, there's nothing on your itinerary for tomorrow."

I nod. "Thank you. Goodnight Charles."

He smiles. "Goodnight your highness." He quickly leaves, almost slamming the door behind him.

I get changed and lay in my bed. Something seemed off. He had more emotion in his voice today. I'm not saying that he usually doesn't but it was more prominent than usual. I'm surprised that he asked me about my day, but he is usually with me, so he doesn't have to.

I try to think more about Edward but my mind keeps drifting back to Charles, but it's not just worrying.  I wish that he was still here. I don't know why, but his being outside my room isn't enough. These thoughts have been happening more frequently. I wish he would just sit down and talk to me instead of the whole, "you don't need to know anything about me," shtick. 

He wasn't always like this. Like I said, he's been around me my whole life. When we were little he would actually talk to me. I would always ask him if he wanted to play games, but his father wouldn't let him. Maybe that's where he gets it from. I don't remember Charles' father really well, but from what I do remember, he was a very serious man. He was serious about his job, his family, and his religion. He would take Sundays off to take Charles to church, a tradition Charles has since dropped.

"Charles!" I yelled. He rushes into the room.

"Are you alright?" He asks, his eyes are filled with worry.

"I'm fine." He lets out a sigh of relief. "I just want you in here."

"...Why?"

"No reason specifically, I just enjoy your company."

"My... huh?"

I smile warmly at him. It might just be the dark lighting but I could've sworn that I saw his face turn red.

"I have a question," I say.

He coughs, "Yes?"

"You asked how my day was, so I wanna know how yours was." 

His face contorts into a sort of disgusted expression. "You really wanna know?"

I nod. He sighs and closes the door before sitting on the edge of my bed. I notice him playing around with his wedding ring.

"Well... Stuff in between me and my wife isn't the best right now. She's not... well... faithful in short terms." He takes a deep breath before continuing. " Basically, she told me that I'm too invested in.. my work! And that I'm not home as much as I used to be and that when I am home I'm too worried about work and... Well, long story short, she wants a divorce."

My heart drops. I feel sorry for Charles. He doesn't deserve this. I understand that he's at work a lot, but that's no reason to be unfaithful to your partner.

"Charles... I'm so sorry.."

He sighs again. "It's fine, I guess it's good to talk about these things, even if it is with you."

"Hey! What does that mean?"

"I didn't mean it to sound like that, it's just.."

"You're my guard, and I shouldn't know anything about you?"

"Not exactly, it's just that I feel guilty roping you into my personal life when you have other things to deal with."

I nod. "I'm sorry you feel like that."

"Well it's my duty to be your guard, you can't exactly be my friend, imagine what your parents would think of me." 

"But my parents love you."

"Not if they thought that I was trying to get in the way of things."

I open my mouth but nothing comes out. I have no idea what to say to that. What does he mean by 'get in the way of things?' Wait, does he mean? I shake my head and yawn.

"Sorry for keeping you up for so long," he says, getting up. "You should go to sleep. Currently, there's nothing on your schedule for tomorrow, if that changes, I'll be sure to update you when you wake up. Goodnight your highness." He starts walking towards the door.

"Goodnight Charles, have a good night," I say as he closes the door.

I sigh and cover myself with my blankets. I'm surprised that Charles actually opened up to me. I'm happy he did though. I wish he wouldn't be so worried about what my parents think of him. There's nothing that could tarnish Charles in my parents' mind. If anything, they probably see him more like a son then they see me as their daughter. It doesn't matter though. I hope Charles feels better soon. I can't imagine what it's like to have your spouse to divorce you just because you're dedicated to your work. 

I can't get myself to stop thinking about Charles until my mind finally wanders off as I slip into a peaceful sleep.

HelloHelloHello! I'm sorry that this took so long to get out, I just really haven't been feeling up to it and all this weekend I had to work on projects for school. I hope you guys like this chapter, it's a little out of character for Charles, but I really just wanted a nice heartfelt moment in between Y/N and Charles. I will start writing the new chapter as soon as I can.

Thanks so much for reading and I'll see y'all later BAII!!

-Kenny