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Adara's parents clammer to get different papers and my father along with Flora, help them. Different voices shout within the throne room as they attempt to get everything together.

"Where's the file which says Justina was faking her pregnancy?" Her father, Bruno, asks.

Adara's mother, Freya, thinks about it for a moment then she goes through the pile of papers in her hand and on the table. She hands him the correct paper and he flips through it until he finds the correct one.

"Do you need help with anything?" I ask.

Freya looks at me and smiles. I can see where Adara got her softness from. "No, your highness, you've done a lot already. You got all this proof for us, thank you. All that's left to do is to organize it, write a formal letter, and let the king read it. Then he'll take the proper course of action."

"And that is?" I ask, looking at my father.

The rigidness in his posture would make me think that he's against me but I don't miss that small smile. "Arrest and roll up that organization along with imprisonment or a fine for Justina. Whichever one you choose." He says.

I raise my brows. I get to choose whether Justina goes to jail or pays a fine. Why would he give me that power unless he trusts me once more?

"Imprisonment," I say.

A short laugh comes from his lips, "I figured. Based on her crimes, I say two years with parole."

I cross my arms, "Three years with parole. I do not like her."

"You can't give prison time based on how much you hate or don't hate her. Two years with parole." My father says and I know I can't debate.

I turn around to walk out of the throne room when he stops me. "Where are you headed?"

"Adara's," I say and her parents stop what they're doing to look at me.

My father creases his brows, "Why? You no longer have to keep up the charade of this fake engagement."

Both Bruno and Freya's eyes grow wide and their mouths hang open. "What?" They ask at the same time.

I take a step toward my father, "You knew?"

He smiles, "I think I'd know if my son was in love or not. Although, even though it was fake, I do see fascination for her in your eyes. Maybe it became real?"

My eyes meet the floor as a smile crosses my lips. "Maybe."

I glance at Adara's parents and they gape at me. Instead of addressing their confusion, I walk out of the throne room. I'm sure they're gonna have plenty of questions for Adara tonight. I must clear up any confusion within her head before her parents get to her. They still don't know what happened two days ago.

I rush to her home and I knock on the door. Climbing through her bedroom window was partly me trying to annoy her but also a way to avoid her parents. Don't get me wrong, they're great people but I'm not interested in answering thirty questions when I need to tell Adara one simple thing.

Also, they're not here right now.

The door opens and Adara wipes at her tears. She sees me and I give her a sympathetic smile. "Do you want to vent to me, darling?"

She shakes her head, "I'm not sad, Nick. I'm happy he's gone." She smiles then she lets me in.

I close the door behind me then we make our way to her room. She closes the door behind her when we walk in. "Did you re-decorate or something?" I ask, looking at the black curtains and matching black bed set. It looks as if she walked into my room and then decided to adopt it.

"I did, the bright colors weren't doing it for me. Besides, I sleep better when the room's drenched in darkness." She says, taking up her stuffed rainbow-colored shark.

I walk to her, opening my arms and she falls in them. "I love your hugs," she snuggles her head into my chest.

"Me too," I say.

She looks up at me, "What's gonna happen now?"

I sigh, then I sniff her hair. Smells so good. Like lavender and earth, so good. "We wait for your parents to go through the paperwork and give it to the king. After that, everything'll be wrapped up."

She smiles and her eyes glisten in happiness. She blows out a heavy breath, "Oh, it's over," she chuckles, "I'm so happy, it felt like it wasn't going to. I mean, when Parker told me to meet him or he'd kill you, I thought, 'this is it I'm going to die'. But I didn't."

I crease my brows and I pull away from her. "You chose to meet with him? I thought he forced you."

She looks at me as if she doesn't understand why I'm puzzled, "No, why do you seem upset by my choice?"

"I am upset. You chose to meet with your abusive ex-boyfriend. He hurt you so many times, Adara. Why would you do that? And for me, why?"

She looks at the ground and shakes her head, "I don't know if I'm to be honest. I-I—"

I take two steps to get to her then I put my hand on her waist, bringing her closer. I kiss her so hard yet so passionately. Her eyes widen in shock but they close soon after. Her hands go into my hair and push herself closer to me.

I part from her, "You're so stupid." I kiss her again.

"But thank you." This time, I take my time kissing her. I allow myself to explore her. My hands travel down to her hip but I don't go any further. I pull her closer even when there's no more space between us.

Everything disappears around me and it's only me and her. At first, I came to her with this contract but the truth is ever since I met her for the first time last year, I was drawn to her. I'm unable to explain it but I was drawn to her. I kept denying it until I couldn't anymore.

We part from the kiss and she blushes. One would think that due to her brown skin you wouldn't tell she's blushing but with her smiling as wide as possible, it's obvious. She's adorable.

"W-what is this?" She asks.

Ah, that question. "The truth is, I'm still trying to figure that out, love."

Her brows crease, "So, what does this mean now?"

I sigh, running my hand through my hair to take it out of my face, "Not sure, but I know that I like you. I wanna see where this goes."

She steps away from me, "I don't want to play games with you, Nick."

I smile, "Good thing I'm not playing games."

—♡︎—

Adara lays on her bed reading a book while I fill out her project. She did the majority of it, all I have to do is fill in the blanks that she left. Things such as my birthday—which I don't remember—best friend, family members, special recognition(s), profession, marital status, and hobbies.

"I'm done." I say as I close down her computer.

She looks up from her book, "Great, thank you. I'll send it in after I finish this book."

"When is it due?" I ask as I sit on her bed beside her.

"In two weeks."

I smile, "That's you alright."

She peeks at me, "Would you rather I turn it in last minute?"

"No, I love it."

I get up and walk around her room. "Love, I know you don't wish to talk about everything that happened between you and Parker but you need a therapist. Someone you can talk to and give great advice."

She sighs, putting down the book. "I have you."

"You do, and you always will, but I can't give you great advice. I haven't exactly dealt with feelings in the best way." I say, remembering all the people I've killed.

She places her bookmark in her book and then closes it, "Yet you want me to date you? I don't understand your logic."

I shrug, "I'm selfish."

She nods, "Yes, I believe you. I also remember you telling me that you're not the hero of my story. Have you changed that idiotic ideology yet?"

I smirk, and my eyes twinkle. "No, I know you may think differently but you haven't seen all of me yet. Give it a few months then you won't want to be with me anymore."

She scoffs, "Alright, you wanna bet?"

Is she trying to make a bet with me? This girl continues to surprise me. I cross my arms, "Yeah, I'll bet. If I lose, I'll take you wherever you want in the world."

She smiles, "Oo, okay, and if I lose—which I won't—I'll embarrass myself in front of a person of your choosing."

"Oh, you're ballsy. Alright, you're on."

We shake hands then my phone buzzes in my pocket. I take it out then I put it at my ear. "Hello?"

"Your highness, congratulations, I see you succeeded in winning the case. The king just announced it." Queen Minerva's voice greets my ears.

Even though her words are plauditory, her tone is condescending. As if she didn't want me to win. "Why do you sound like that?" I ask.

"Because when I gave you that information I didn't anticipate you coming after me. You think you're so smart to have me stripped of many of my privileges and have my allies turn against me. You're not, you've just made yourself a powerful enemy. Mark my words, Nikolai, you will regret this. I will get what I want from your fiancée." She says then she hangs up.

I put my phone in my pocket and Adara cocks her head as she looks at me. "Who was that?"

"Minerva."

At her name, Adara tenses. The last time I talked about Minerva with her, it was about her blood. "I just made myself a very powerful enemy and I'm not sure what to think of it." I say.

She walks to me and places both her hands around my waist. Resting her head on my chest, she looks at me. "Well don't worry about it right now. You just won this entire thing, celebrate."

I nod, "You're right, I should. We should celebrate. What do you wanna do?"

She thinks about it for a moment, "I don't know, maybe we could go somewhere? Me, you, Zeke, Via and Landon. We could do something fun."

"Alright."