I'm No Cinderella

Chapter 20

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Someone Like Us

    "I've never been to the capital city before," I murmured as the transport bounced beneath us. I had ridden through it on the way to and from my family home, and witnessed it from behind a tinted window, but it wasn't the same.

    Evelina, who looked as exquisite as always, as if she had stepped forth from an oil painting by some great master, raised a brow, "Never? It's nearly December, you've been living at the castle for close to three months now." She turned to her brother, nose scrunched in disdain, "Seriously, Gian, have you been keeping her locked up in that dingy old castle all this time?" He was sitting beside me, close but purposefully keeping our legs from brushing together.

    He must have noticed by now that I had been fighting my hardest to not give a single scrap more of myself over to the mate bond since our talk a month prior, but he remained nothing if not polite and patient with me. Perhaps he found my resistance to be utterly futile and was only humoring me. Maybe his civil demeanor would last only as long as I remained an amusement to him.

    My life had become an unending series of what-if's since my arrival. It seemed only time would yield the answers.

    The prince looked displeased by Evelina's words, the corners of his full lips pulling down slightly before he schooled the emotion back behind the neutral mask that the royal family and Matteo all seemed to have mastered. I only wished I could learn to hide my feelings better myself. Preferably, before they got me into any more trouble. "I'm taking her to the city now, am I not?"

    She barked a derisive laugh, tossing a perfect curl over her shoulder. The silver bracelets at her wrist clinked together with every movement. "She's tagging along for business, it's hardly the same as showing her around like a proper suitor."

    I sucked in a soft intake of air at her words, halting whatever he had opened his mouth to say. Instead, he let out an aggravated sigh, his hand raising as if he intended to bring it to the back of his neck, before thinking better of it in the close quarters of the transport and setting it back down on his knee. "There will be plenty of time to explore the city after my speech, if that is what Rose wishes to do." His tone, which had been hard at the beginning of the sentence as he spoke to his sister, had grown much lighter as he turned to me in question, brow raised. He's allowing me to choose for myself, I realized.

    I didn't give myself a chance to look at Evelina, or even little Sienna who remained quietly staring at the passing scenery through the window, paying no heed to the conversation of her siblings. "I do wish to do that," I told him, voice soft as a feather compared to the heated tones Evelina and Gianluca had been using with each other. I looked into his eyes, hesitantly.

    All of the tension slipped from his body as our gazes met. His lips pulled into a soft smile, one that caused butterflies to flutter in my stomach from the sheer beauty of it. "Then, it's decided."

~*~

    The capital city was even more beautiful up close than it had appeared from my window, the majority of the buildings still sporting the terra cotta rooftops that the ancient humans of the region had preferred.

    When the transport pulled up in front of City Hall, there was a crowd already gathered, awaiting our arrival. The siblings exited and hurried up the steps without a moment's hesitation, not leaving me nearly enough time to take in the beautiful building. Matteo climbed out of his own transport, signalling me to follow. I scurried after him, unable to stop myself from gaping up at the tall marble columns at the entrance as we passed.