Different Worlds // n.h.

chapter twenty-four // love.

Gracey's POV

"I love you." He whispered. The words pierced my heart and took over every thought in my brain. I felt myself completely freeze up and my mind became foggy.

I love you; Three words so complex and beautiful, no one could quite understand them. Three words filled with such meaning behind, no one could comprehend. Three words I never heard much of.

The last three words my mum said to me before she died.

I pulled away and stared into his sparkling blue eyes, searching for any flicker of proof he lied. Did prince Niall love me; a mere servant girl? Niall's soft blue eyes bore into my brown ones as we rested our foreheads together; I was closer to him than I ever had been before. I had never noticed the way his bright blue eyes deepened as the sky got darker, causing it to perfectly resemble the starry night sky. His caring eyes contorted with worry as he stared at me, waiting for my response.

"I . . . me?" I stuttered, unable to utter the words out of my mouth. I was still gasping for breath from the kiss we shared. I didn't know what to say; I was a nanny who came from a poor family, and Niall was a rich, kind Prince who deserved the best. We came from two completely different worlds. "I — I'm sorry. . . ." I shook my head and left Niall's coat on the bench before I dashed inside, leaving him far behind me. I was overwhelmed and drowning in my thoughts. I just needed to be alone.

I felt the tears roll down my cheeks as I ran back into the palace, disregarding Niall calling my name behind me. I was surrounded by warmth when I entered the palace, it was quite a contrast to the icy winter air outside. My shoes clicked against the stone floor beneath me as I kept running, determined to distance myself as far away from anyone as possible.

I found a small indent in the wall of a dark, deserted passage on the first floor. I didn't bother to climb all the steps to make it to my bedroom; I needed a place to think where no one else would find me. I wedged myself into the small space and slid on the floor, hugging my knees and burying my head in my hands.

I tried my hardest not to cry; holding in my tears and biting my bottom lip in hopes I won't make a sound.

I wasn't used to the word love. Victoria often told me I was useless and I wasn't worth loving. At first, I refused to believe it, but eventually, it got to my head; I constantly told myself I wasn't worth it and that no one would ever love me.

Niall had to have been joking; or did one of the boys dare him?

My thoughts became overwhelming: the words of my mum swirling around my brain, me and Niall's outside exchange, and Victoria. I began to feel light-headed and everything I could see swirled around me. I put my head between my knees in hopes it would keep me from passing out.

Soon enough, I allowed my tears to freely flow down my cheeks. My shaking hands reached up to my face in hopes to muffle the sound of my sobs.

All at once, I heard the sound of many feet clicking against the marble floor, echoing throughout the barren hallways. The footsteps got closer and closer. I bit my bottom lip and covered my face in an attempt to quiet my sobs, in hopes no one would find my hiding spot.

I was out of luck, however, as Reeja, Chana, Brooke, and Joy all appeared around the corner, all of them rushing to my side once they saw my tear-stained face. I let out a sigh of relief, glad it was at least them who found me; I would've been embarrassed had it been anyone else.

Joy gasped and gave me a big bear hug, her delicate arms still enough to comfort me at that moment.

"Gracey, can you tell me what's wrong?" Reeja asked softly as she crouched down, putting her arms around me as well. I just shook my head in response, not exactly wanting to go into full detail about my feelings; especially with the other girls around. I haven't told them about my past, nor do I plan to. Reeja seemed to understand and said nothing more, not wanting to push me any further.