The Grace of a Thousand Stars (PREQUEL)

Chapter 15- First Dates

--Alaric POV--

As soon as I spoke the words I did to Malachi, I took Ines back to my penthouse where I lay her down in my bed, and opened the blinds enough so that she could see the moon if she were to wake up and look for it like last time.

And after washing up and getting into my sweatpants, I got into bed beside her, making sure she was covered by the blankets before going on my iPad where I opened the latest article about her that Maxwell had been talking about in the car.

Talking about Maxwell, he refused a ride from me, saying that he'd stay at that mansion today, and I willingly listened, hoping that he'd be alive tomorrow.

As my eyes scanned over all the malicious comments, I spent a few hours screenshotting all of them for the future where I planned to sue them for defamation, emotional abuse, and anything else I could think of, I'd have to ask my lawyer how far I could go, but with how bad these comments were, I'm guessing I could do quite a lot of damage.

Once I was done with that, I released a statement saying that I was dating Ines, and not wanting to think too much about how much backlash I might suffer from these unthought actions, I put the device away before getting comfortable in bed.

Looking at her serene sleeping face, a sense of calmness overcame me, and I knew that no matter how bad the results could end up being, I wouldn't regret it.

"Don't hate me too much." I whispered, my thumb stroking over her cheek as I pecked her forehead, pulling her close to me as I myself slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

And it was only a few hours later, with the sun rays blinding me in the late hours of the morning, and the shuffling of a surprised woman in my bed that woke me up. As I peeked my eyes open, a lopsided grin crawled onto my tired face as I stared at her questioning self. 

If only she could see herself right now; For a moment, I thought I had died and she was the Angel welcoming me into Heaven, but then I realised that I probably didn't deserve Heaven and snapped back to reality.

"Good morning." I cheerily greeted.

"What am I doing here?" She asked, the sunlight trickling in through the gaps of the blinds, perfectly casting themselves down onto her alluring self; Was she filming a perfume advert right now that I wasn't aware of? But as she continued to look straight at me, it answered my question; No.

And so, we caught up to all the events at hand as I explained everything to her, making a short note in my head to buy her a phone since Malachi clearly couldn't, and after stating that we'd be going on a date today, I jumped out of bed with an aim in mind.

But I couldn't go far as she called out to me, and I turned to see her leaning forward on the bed as she spoke to me, desperate for a clearer answer.

"A date? Like the fruit? Or the thing couples go on?" She really was too adorable for this world.

"Well..." I started, pretending to think about it as I sat back on the edge of the bed, leaning in closer to her baffled state, not being able to help myself from laughing at the cute expression on her face as I poked her nose.

"If we're dating then what do you think would be more likely?"

"But we're not dating... You just said that, and I can't figure out why you did that? What if people start hating you as they do me? You'll start hating me too eventually, and then I'll-"

"-Ines." I called gently, cutting her off before she could fall further into a panicked state.

"...Yes?" She eventually breathed, calming down as I smiled softly, going to hold her hands in mine as I picked them up to pepper a few kisses along her knuckles, my eyes refusing to leave hers as I did, and the action seemed to help in calming her down as she slowly nodded at me as if to tell me that she was okay now.