Chapter 24

MILA:

Thankfully I had about twenty minutes before I was supposed to meet Felix so that he could walk me home. Strangers passed me on the sidewalk, clearly wondering what was going on with the crazy American having a public breakdown. I was so miserable and torn up inside I couldn’t even be bothered to worry about what they were thinking.

I managed to gather myself by the time Felix arrived, or at the very least, make myself fairly presentable. I was somewhat able to control my tears, although I knew that my mood was visibly sour. Thankfully, he didn’t push it when he saw me, even though there was clear worry in his eyes.

Felix met me five minutes early, this time bringing a hot chocolate from one of the stalls on the strip. He looked surprised to see my tearstained face, surprised enough to greet me with a warm hug, forgetting we were trying to be discreet in public.

As we walked back to my motel, I took a sip of the hot chocolate. I almost started crying again–thick and rich, it was easily the best hot chocolate I’d ever had. It was nice to remember that chocolate really did solve all problems. Even my day from hell felt less terrible with each sip.

We walked in silence. Or at least I was silent. I was completely consumed by my own troubles. If Felix was talking, I was not able to focus.

“Mila?” Felix’s voice sounded far away, as if underwater.

“Mila? Do you want to talk about it?” Felix asked, finally interrupting my thoughts.

I looked up at him. He was visibly apprehensive.

“Talk about what?” Maybe playing dumb would mean that I wouldn’t have to discuss the humiliation of the day.

“Whatever’s bothering you,” he said. He was attempting to be nonchalant, but his concern was written all over his face.

“Oh, I’m fine,” I lied. “Nothing’s wrong.”

Felix shook his head.

“Something is clearly wrong,” he said emphatically. “Mila, I can always tell what you’re feeling, and I know that something is clearly bothering you. Please, you can talk to me. I want you to talk to me.”

I was surprised by his passionate words. He really did seem interested in hearing about my situation. And if he was my boyfriend or consort or whatever (we had not really had time to have a conversation about labels), then I should be able to talk to him about whatever.

I sighed, and the story of the day spilled out of me. Everything from the weird behavior of my coworkers to Fiona’s cruel words.

I was impressed by my own ability to not cry while relating what I’d gone through that day, even though recalling Samara’s face when she fired me brought back a lump in my throat. She was the only one who had ever treated me like a person, not a zoo animal. I liked her a lot for that.

Felix listened carefully. He waited to speak until after I finished the story.

“I know you loved Samara’s Place, but it’s not the end of the world.” He was choosing his words cautiously, which I appreciated. “There are plenty of other restaurants in Fresia for you to work at. In fact, why don’t I just buy you a restaurant of your own?’

His words took me aback. “Buy me a restaurant? Felix, you can’t be serious.”

He turned to me. “I am serious. That’s what you want, isn’t it? To own your own place? At least, that’s what you told me on the night we met.”

I guess I had told him that. And he had remembered?

“Still,” I said, pushing back. “You buying me a restaurant just proves Fiona right–that I’m just a silly girl relying on you to take care of me. I don’t like relying on other people. I like taking care of myself. I want to make my own way in the world, not just rely on your generosity and power.”

FELIX

It had nearly broken my heart to arrive at Samara’s Place and see Mila in distress. She tried to hide it from me and she did a good job, but she didn’t know I could feel what she felt. Even from a few blocks away, my heart ached along with hers.

Over the past few days, our emotional connection had grown stronger–and so had our magical one. I could feel each subtle shift in her mood from miles away, along with each paper cut, each slight headache, each instinct to not tell me everything that was going on.

I knew that she would have to take her own time to talk to me about what was wrong, but I had half a mind to storm into the restaurant and send whoever had hurt her to the dungeons.

It wasn’t until I offered to buy her her own restaurant that a little bit of that Mila sparkle finally broke through.

I was surprised to see the fire in Mila’s eyes as she rejected my present. This was clearly something she was deeply passionate about. I realized in that moment that I had said the wrong thing.

I supposed I should have known better than to press the issue, judging from how she had reacted when I offered to buy her an apartment. Mila wasn’t the type of girl to want expensive presents, she wanted to earn things for herself.

And while I couldn’t quite relate to making your own way, I certainly respected it.

“You’re right,” I said, “and I apologize for overstepping.”

That seemed to satisfy her. She looked up at me gratefully.

“Thank you for understanding,” she said softly. It melted my heart.

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She seemed to enjoy settling into my chest.

“You’ll find the right fit soon enough, I promise,” I reassured her. “You’re an amazing chef, and you’ve got a royal badge to your name. That should be enough to open plenty of doors for you.”

“A Royal Chef Badge given by you,” she muttered. I laughed in spite of myself.

“A Royal Chef Badge that you earned, Mila,” I said. “Our relationship had nothing to do with it. If anything, I fell for you because of how delicious your cooking is.”

I was definitely laying it on thick trying to impress her. I wasn’t lying, but she clearly needed to hear some words of encouragement. I was pleased when she nodded, considering my words. “They do say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

“And,” I continued, “seeing as you have no job tomorrow night, what are your thoughts on having dinner with my family?”

Mila turned to me, panic in her eyes. I could feel her terror in my own heart. I felt bad for scaring her, but I had my reasons.

I knew that meeting the King and Queen was something that would surely be frightening to her, but I needed my family’s opinion on the match. My mother and father were dying to meet the girl who could potentially save me. Charles was Charles, of course, but he was almost always on his best behavior for guests.

More importantly, I needed the Great Witch to secretly assess Mila and make sure she was my Destined Bride. Once she knew for sure, I would be free to propose.

Although truthfully, I wasn’t sure how Mila would react to our relationship progressing that quickly. She had seemed turned off by the offer of an apartment. A castle, a kingdom, a crown? That was an entirely different story.

“Your family?” Mila asked. “The entire royal family?”