Lady Illea (Lady Illea #1)

Chapter Forty Eight

"What are you doing here?"

    Will shut the door behind him and walked into the room.

"I was in Paris away on buisness for quite sometime" he said. "I was walking down its streets and when I saw this in a shoppe window I thought of you"

      The thought of Will thinking of me away on buisness on the other side of the planet made something inside my chest stir. But I was still angry with him. There still so many things cramped into my mind that made no sense, I was still so confused but yet all it took was seeing him again and I felt a bit more at ease. Will needed a hair cut, I noticed. His dark hair, turned a bit blonde from the summer sun, was starting to curl at the ends. 

     Will looked tired but was doing his best to hide it.

Not knowing what to say I held the music box again. "I don't..."

Will immediately held up a hand. "There will be no, "I don't know what to say" or "I didn't do anything to desrve this" and most certainly will you not dare tell me "I cannot accept this from you""

I smiled a bit.

"It's a gift. You're supposed to recieve gifts graciously"

"Did you get anything else for the other girls?" I asked.

   Smiling slyly he held a finger to his lips clearly showing it was a secret. It just made the must box all the more exciting. I smiled eagerly despite my best efforts to try and look as annoyed with him as I felt.

"How do you open it?"

Will kneeled down beside me and held up a little box. "Don't flatter yourself I'm not proposing"

I made a face at him.

With a lovely twinkle in his eyes and a grin he open the box and pulled out a ring. It was a beautiful ring but the pendant was oddly shaped and I realized that in shape it resembled the crest on the music box. Will took my hand and every place our skin made contact it was that same electric feeling that sent shivers down my spine.

"Watch" he slid the ring on my middle finger.

    Maneuvering my hand he pressed the pendant on my ring into the crest on the jewelry box and delicately twisted my hand. A tiny gasp flew from my lips when the music box opened. My eyes widened in awe as I watched two elegant figures rise. One was a girl in a yellow dress with long brown hair and a rose in her hand. The other was of a man in a suit holding her free hand and they kind of just....twirled to the sound of the music box.

    I watched for some time and I realized that Will was chuckling.

"What's so funny?" I demanded.

Will thoughtfully took a strand of my hair and tucked it behind my ear.

"Don't do that" I said, the heat rising to my cheeks.

"Don't do what?"

I pulled back, leaning away from him. "That. Don't do that. No" I shook my head. "I'm angry with you!"

Will just laughed and held my hand in both of his. "Apprently you're always angry with me" he kissed each of my fingers and it was a challenge to keep my concentration.

"I'm serious!" I insisted.

  Will kissed a path with delicate lips from my fingers to my shoulder blade. "I'm currently no longer listening to your nonsense, Alessa" he mumbled into the crook of my neck.

   I was ready to pull a very scandolous movie move and push him then smack him. But oh, there's this very bad part of you that really doesn't want to despite how angry you are with a person. Even though I can't remember why I was angry. Why was I angry?!?!

    I was starting to get a pounding headache. They were these soft, delicate, intoxicating kisses like the petal of a rose against my skin. They went across my shoulder blade, and up my neck, and across my jaw. Will held my face in his hand and trailed kiss across my cheek. Each one longer and firmer than the last until he reached the corner of my lips...

    He was beaming radiance and I? I was ready to melt right off my seat.

"I don't...." I placed my hand on his chest and with everything I had I pushed him away. "I don't think you should..."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

Will took both of my hands and held them to my heart. "Why won't you let me in?" he demanded. "What are you so afraid of?"

   I bit my lip, afraid I might cry. Was this what Thomas meant? Was he right when he said I shut everyone out? Did he truly try all that time and the person that was wrong was me?

I swallowed. "I'm not afraid of anything." I pulled back, holding my hands together before I faced the vanity. "Please just....just go."

"No! Not until you talk to me. What's wrong?"

"Just go! Ok!" I said. "Just go I don't...I don't want you here!"

"I think you've made that clear and I think I made it clear I'm not leaving!" he insisted.

     Frustrated I couldn't hold back any tears I stormed out of my bedroom. There was something wrong with me. Something so incredibly wrong with me, something that needed fixing. I needed a good therapist, tissues, love songs, and a few tubs of chocolate ice cream to patch me up. I stomped down the palace halls probably looking like a crzed brat but I didn't care. I wanted soemthing to go right for once! When did everything go wrong?

"Alessa!" Will spun me around. "Stop"

"Will, let me go!" I cried. "Let me go!"

   I pounded his chest and withered around in his grip until he realized he had an iron grip and wouldn't let go. Finally I felt my knees collapse and turn to rubber and the entire world just seemed to crumble in my hands. I never thought I could cry so hard before. I feel as though these were all the tears I've kept bottled up and now they were coming out. Will kept me from hitting the ground and held me close. I wanted to shake him off and hide somewhere but it was no use.

"Let me go!" I yelled. "Look at me! I'm a disaster! I'm a disaster a huge mess!"

Will shook his head wiping away my tears. "That's not true"

"Yes it is! I'm having an emotional seat and congratulations you get a front row seat to my insanity!" I twisted my wrists trying to break free. "Why don't you just send me home already? Make the elite and you'll never have to see me again!"

Instantly Will dropped my wrists. "Are you serious?"

I sniffled.

"You're right, you are crazy. You're crazy if you think I'm sending you home"

Feeling defeated and drained I opened the first door I saw hoping I"d fall into oblivion. "Just give up."