Royal Temptations

Bonus Chapter 19

What if I did an incredibly evil thing and DIDN'T write part 4 yet? How mad would you be? Probably enough to send me to an early grave. Will I do that? Well who knows.

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Li Jie's POV

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Wait, what? DaeHyun...kissing me?

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DaeHyun's POV

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A pair of hands on my chest confused me for a second, but soon enough I was being shoved away. Li Jie backpedaled fast, bumping into his bed and sittimg down, staring up at me with eyes as large as dinner plates. I swallowed down the bile climbing my throat and faced him calmly, nothing on my face betraying the torment I felt inside (you got good at that being a prince after all. Always look good for your people). For a long, long time neither of us said anything, the tension filling the air so thick I nearly choked on it. I jutted my chin out, practically daring him to say anything.

"Sire, I..." he began, but I cut him off quick.

"Don't 'sire' me," I demanded, hoping it sounded more like an order and less like a plea. "Not right now." The servant part of him jumped at the chance to obey my orders. The friend part of him, though, looked two seconds from bolting out of the room. "That...wasn't what I was expecting," I added quietly, the weight of my actions finally slamming into me. I buckled, and Li Jie jumped up and helped steady me. "God Jie that wasn't supposed to happen at all." He guided me to his bed and helped me sit. He sat beside me, though now there was many centimeters between our bodies when a few days ago there wasn't. It was almost enough to drive me to tears.

"What did happen?" he finally asked me, twisting so we were face to face. "What was that Dae?" I closed my eyes and said nothing, not trusting my vocal cords to work anymore. My silence must've been enough, because I felt him rock back. "I... I'm flattered DaeHyun. Really, I am. But I don't... I don't like you that way. I'm sorry."

No.

No please.

"Okay," I said, wincing when my voice cracked over the word. "Sorry for bothering you."

"Dae..." But I didn't wait for him to finish. My body carried me away before my brain could catch up. Out of his room. Out of this hallway. Out of the palace entirely and into the sparse wilderness beside it. Finally I collapsed to the ground when my legs couldn't keep me up anymore. I heaved a couple times, but nothing came out. Naturally. The universe couldn't even give me that pleasure. I curled up on my side, my knees to my chest, shaking. No. No. My love wasn't supposed to reject me. We were supposed to live happily ever after like dad and pa. We were...

I wasn't sure how long I stayed there. Long enough for the sun to begin to sink below the horizon. Usually dusk was my favorite time of day, and I would marvel at all the pretty colors of the world. But right now it felt like a slap in the face. The world could still be so beautiful when I felt dark inside. How unfair.

"DaeHyun?" I sat up quick when my name was called. "DaeHyun, where are you?" I clawed myself to my feet and ran out of the small woods, immediately plowing into dad and pa. Each wrapped their arms around me. "Li Jie called us," dad said, running his fingers through my hair, an action he hadn't done since I was small. "Oh pumpkin..."

"It hurts dad," I croaked, burying my face in his shoulder and screwing my eyes shut. "It hurts so bad." I felt his hold on me tighten ever so slightly. "I was stupid and reckless and I blew it dad. I blew my chances clearcout of the water. He's never going to love me now."

"Don't say that," pa scolded. "You don't know that for certain. Don't beat yourself up over it you hear." I could only nod, and pa's tone soften after that. "I'm so sorry Dae. We know all too well rejection feels."