Felix stood still despite the desperate plea of the woman who was once the best friend of his ex-lover. He appeared to be unfazed but he was disgusted by Gina. Still, he tried his best to stay calm. He was a royal and this woman was also one of his subjects.

"You've crossed the line, My Lady." He forced the woman hands off from his arm and turned his back at her.

​​

But the future Duchess was a very wilful one. She hugged the Prince from the back, hoping to stop him from walking away from her.

She was one of the top candidates to become the next Queen of Edeladon, all thanks to her noble background. But all her hopes shattered when she heard that the Prince had found his new love.

"Why can't it be me? Even 4 years ago, I was better than Cara. Your current lover might have a great background but she is only a foreigner. Think about your people. They won't accept -"

"Don't test my patience." The Crown Prince's voice doesn't contain any hint of sympathy. Once again, he took her hands off his body but this time, he turned around to look at her.

"After all these years, don't you still know me well, Lady Gina? What would happen if I ever lose my patience?" His words hinted a cruel threat. His sharp eyes landed on the woman who stood before him nervously. He saw fear in her eyes but it doesn't even make him blink an eye.

She brought it upon herself. It was her fault for waking up his dark side.

Was this the same Prince who was all gentle and caring to his lover? Not a hint of resemblance was there!

Gina Larson took a step back, feeling discouraged by the Crown Prince's cold and heart-piercing gaze. Her eyes were glued to the floor, not even daring to look at him.

He was right. She knew him too well. She had witnessed how heartless this man could be, even when it comes to her late best friend. He loved her friend but at times, he could completely turn his back on her and become a heartless monster!

Cara was his lover at that time but he could still turn a blind eye to her.

So, it would be nothing for him to torment a woman like her whom he never deemed important! Besides he was a very powerful man.

Despite the constitutional monarchy being established years ago, the royal family still holds many powers. With his intelligent brain and the powers in his hand, destroying her and even her family will be nothing for the Prince.

"Why are you standing there?" Yelena's calm voice came as a saviour for Gina as the Crown Prince had finally shifted his merciless gaze away from her. She inwardly sighed out of relief.

"Why did you come out?" The Prince's icy demeanor was completely melted by his lover's voice. He looked at her and approached her with a pleasant smile. The scary and heartless man just seconds ago was nowhere to be found.

"Did my problematic cousin troubled you?" He wrapped his arm around her waist and narrowed his eyes at her. He was in love and it was written all over his face.

Yelena scanned Gina who seemed to be very nervous and it made her recalled the warning she received before. But when she raised her head to look at Felix, she saw him staring at her with tender eyes and a smile. She can't help but smile back at him. "No. I wonder what take you so long."

"Sorry." Felix's eyes trailed to Gina who was standing feet away from them. "Lady Gina had something to say to me, so I was held back for a while."

"It's not a big deal. I was only greeting him and asked him how he was doing. It has been a while since we last met." Gina said with a slight smile.

The woman's undeniably nervous face made Yelena uncomfortable. Besides, Gina seemed to be trying hard to act normal. But she decided to play dumb for now. "Really? We should meet up again so that you would have more time to chat. After all, you're a close acquaintance." She formally said to act courteous.

"It's fine. We met today and that's more than enough." The Prince's formal yet cold deny comes very fast. When he noticed the confused look on Yelena's face, he said, "You should not go out often. Do you forget that you're still a patient?"

"Can you save the scolding for later? You are just like my mother. You nag me whenever you have the chance." Yelena quickly replied him with an annoyed face which earned her a chuckle from the Prince.

He looked at her with an amusing smile. "Okay. Okay. Let get inside. Alonzo will be bored."

With that said, the couple and Gina went inside where Prince Alonzo started whining at them for all leaving him behind.

"Hey! Where did you all go? How can you leave me all alone here?!" Alonzo exclaimed with a little pout.

"There you go again. Zo, I always tell you not to behave like a kid. You never listened to me." Felix said as he helped Yelena to have a seat. Then he takes a seat and Gina did the same.

"Don't always scold me, Flix," Alonzo said with a glare but when he shifted his gaze to Yelena, his face turned very pleasant again. "My future sister-in-law, why wouldn't you stay for the night in our apartment? I think it's very late to return to the countryside now." He asked with an appealing smile.

"I'm afraid not. My mother won't be happy to hear that. She keeps on telling me to recover faster." Yelena replied with a light laughter.

"Oh!" Alonzo bent forward and scanned her keenly. "I almost forgot that you are still recovering from the gunshot wound!" He exclaimed. "You know, I have never experience being shot by a gun. Does it really hurt as they said? From the scale of 1 to 10, how much -"

"Zo." Felix deliberately cleared his throat to warn his cousin. "It's rude to ask such questions."

Alonzo glanced at his cousin for a split second and looked at Yelena again. "Really? Then I'm sorry, sister-in-law." He said with a low voice and a downcast eyes.

"It's fine. It doesn't hurt that much." Yelena said with a smile which lifted the mood of the childish Prince again. He sat straight and with a wide beam, he started eating the desserts which were just brought in by the waitress.

Gina repeatedly glanced at the couple opposite to her. What bothered her the most was... the Crown Prince who was behaving like a lovestruck fool!

Once in a while, he would shift his gaze to his girlfriend and flashed a warm and amusing smile and even helped her in every little thing.

It made Gina wondered when did the cold man change to this extent. He was never like that. Even when he was dating her late best friend, he was never warm to her. Instead, the late lover was always the one to succumbed to his every whim!

The Crown Prince would get upset at her for even a very small thing and at such times, Cara Laria would always try her best to make up with him. He was never this good to her but the latter loved him so much. It was why she put up with all his actions.

But why did it feels different this time? It seemed to be the other way round and even a fool would be able to notice the drastic change in the behaviour of the once cold and domineering man!

* * *

When the couple reached the countryside villa after having the joint dinner, it was already 1 in the morning.

Yelena had many things to discuss with Felix but when she saw his tired face due to a busy day and hours of driving, she decided to save the talk and wait until he had a good rest.....