Chapter 34

MILA

When I awoke in Felix’s bed the next morning, a tiny part of me wondered if we were moving too fast. Our relationship felt natural and easy, but it was still in that tentative beginning stage where anything could happen.

When Felix woke up and pulled me under the covers again, I decided it didn’t matter.

I couldn’t decide what felt better–his lips caressing the soft skin just beneath my ear, or his hands tracing circles just beneath my breasts. Maybe I should just let him keep at it until I finally came to a decision…

Felix had once described himself to me as a morning person. If this was any indication, he certainly had a lot of energy when he first woke up. Not that I was complaining.

After several long and steamy minutes, I finally pushed Felix off me. He looked at me, clearly disappointed.

“I’m sorry,” I told him. “But I need to get to the restaurant. I have renovations to do! Kitchens to clean! Menus to plan!”

“Don’t go,” Felix mumbled, burying his head in the hollow between my shoulder and neck. “Stay in bed with me all day. You can plan menus from here.”

His breath on my neck made me shudder. Was the restaurant really that important? Was it more important than just staying here all day?

His hands made my brain foggy. If I didn’t leave now, I never would.

“I can’t,” I said. “I have to go to my job. And you do, too. In case you forgot, you are the prince of a whole country.”

“You’re much prettier than the silly cabinet heads,” Felix said, stroking my stomach. “And much better in bed.” I laughed.

“Yes, but the cabinet heads will be quite angry with you if you blow off your princely duties again so you can hang out with your girlfriend,” I said. “I want the people of Fresonia to like me, you know, not see me as some foreigner who practically kidnapped their beloved prince.”

“I am pretty beloved,” Felix admitted. I playfully smacked him on the chest before climbing out of bed.

Renovations were starting today on my new restaurant, and I had to be at the space bright and early to meet with the contractors.

Felix begged me again to let him go with me, insisting I could use another set of hands to help clean up the kitchen area. He had looked so sweet between the sheets that I almost agreed, but my sensible side got the better of me–for once.

After I got dressed for the day, I wandered back into Felix’s bedroom. He had gotten out of bed, but had yet to put on pants. The sight of him in his underwear, silhouetted by the sunlight streaming through the curtains, was enough to make my knees go weak.

But I squared my shoulders and stayed strong. I had to get to work.

I gave Felix a quick kiss goodbye.

“Pick me up at 8?” I asked him. “We can have dinner together.”

“I’d love nothing more,” he said, pulling me back in for another kiss.

It took twenty minutes, but I was finally able to tear myself away and start the commute to work.

ISABELLA

I hated Mila. I really did.

It was an incredibly difficult pill to swallow that Felix didn’t want to be with me. The fact that his stupid Destined Bride was a simpering slut from America made it all so much worse.

I had never cared much for Charles, but he was the only person willing to help me with my problems right now. And besides, if everything with Felix fell apart, Charles was poised to become King.

There were worse people to partner with, certainly.

Unfortunately, my plan to sabotage Mila and Felix’s relationship relied on my ability to see them. They had been nowhere near the castle ever since that first dinner. I assumed they were staying in the city at Felix’s apartment, but I had no way of getting in.

I had seen the paparazzi pictures of the two of them furniture shopping and had almost thrown up in jealousy.

Nothing had ever happened between me and Felix, although not from lack of trying on my part. My father was part of the Dragon Knight line, and controlled a noble house in the north of the kingdom. Before we knew about Felix’s curse, we all assumed I would be the natural choice for a bride. After all, I came from a great noble line, I was beautiful and graceful, and my family had been in Fresonia dating back centuries.

Esmeralda had ruled me out as Felix’s Destined Bride within two seconds of meeting me.

I was sitting in my rooms in the castle when Charles paid me a visit.

“Well?” I asked.

“I paid off a few drunk goons to mug her a few nights ago,” Charles said. “Imagine my surprise when she emerged totally unharmed and moved in with Felix that night.”

He spat his brother’s name like it was a dirty word.

“I do have useful information for you, though,” Charles said. “She purchased a restaurant space on Grand Avenue. Sounds like she’s going through cleaning and renovations now.”

I wrinkled my nose. “She bought a restaurant space? With what money?”

Charles shrugged. “I assume Felix’s. He’s spoiling her. That’s why they went shopping, so he could shower her with gifts.”

“You know,” I said, “if she really loved him, she wouldn’t need expensive presents to stay with him.”

I certainly wouldn’t.

“He’s putting the moves on her to make sure they can have a quick marriage,” Charles affirmed. “He clearly doesn’t love her at all. It’s actually kind of pathetic.”

“So what am I supposed to do to Mila’s restaurant?” I asked. “Burn it down?”

“We don’t need to resort to arson yet. We need to make Mila a nuisance, not a martyr,” Charles said, a tinge of anger in his voice. “I don’t know. That’s your job. You’re a creative woman, use that wonderful brain of yours,.”

I blushed at the complement. Charles gave me a wink as he turned on his heel.

He left my rooms. I sighed and got to work.

Mila had hired a local cleaning company, Fresian Cleaners, to assist with her kitchen preparations. It only took a few minutes on their website to figure out what their pricing was.

Unfortunately for Mila, my pockets ran much deeper than hers. All I needed to do was place a call, offer double her payment, and boom! The cleaning company was prepared to delay and destroy as much as possible.

With Mila distracted by her disaster of a restaurant, that freed up Felix’s schedule. Just in time for me to worm my way in there and rot their so-called relationship from the inside out.

I knew Felix only had a few weeks left until his 30th birthday. I didn’t have a lot of time to make him see that Mila was a waste of space, and that I was the far better option.

Mila might have been his Destined Bride, but I was his soulmate. He’d see that soon enough, even if it took every last breath in my body.