The Pure-Hearted Princess and the Kiss of Darkness
Chapter 87

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KATALEYA-~

I hurry through the halls, trying to replace where he went. But the powerful magic, the auras and the number of people everywhere mess with my sense of smell, yet I still manage to pick it up once I'm out in the hall and follow it down the hallway to a bathroom. I knock on the door, calling out to him. He doesn't reply and I try again.

"Enrique?" Panic is beginning to rise within me as I try to hear something, but the walls and door are too thick. I can feel it, something is wrong.

I hear the guards talking amongst themselves. "Something shifted. A breach of security? Check east, top floor... round the back..."

"Secure." Someone murmurs.

"False alarm."

"Just stay alert."

"Enrique!" I call for the tenth time. "Enrique, answer me or I will break this door down, I swear it!" I try to keep my voice down, but it is difficult.

The door suddenly opens to reveal Enrique, and he almost knocks into me. His buttons are pulled open and his hair and face are wet. He braces both hands on the door frame as if blocking my advance. He looks... pale and flushed at the same time. Is he sick?

"Enrique..." I ask, concerned, as I step closer, only for him to look away.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, his voice harsh.

I still inch closer, not caring that he's avoiding me. "I was worried," I whisper, cupping his face. He tenses, his heart beating like a galloping horse.

"You should leave," he murmurs quietly. I see a shadow behind him, my eyes blazing and instinctively pull him from the door frame, my heart thudding as my aura swirls around me. I shift to defence mode, but for a split second what I had thought was a crawler is a

woman.

A beautiful woman with auburn reddish hair that reminds me of fire, large orangey brown eyes, red lips and a body with large breasts and curves in all the perfect places. A body that is Enrique's type.

I look between them as she smiles at Enrique before she turns to me.

"Shall I wait outside for you?" she asks Enrique as she saunters over to us. Her voice is melodic and sensual, with a hint of something else. She places a hand on Enrique's chest before she lightly rakes her nails down his chest.

My gaze snaps up to him, but he does nothing to stop her as he stares ahead and I step back, feeling a cutting pain inside of me.

What did they do in there?

No... Enrique wouldn't.

Why aren't you speaking Kiké?

It hadn't even been ten minutes. What is going on?

"Yeah, I won't be long," Enrique answers her.

I wait for her to leave and she takes her time to do so. Her hips sway sensually as she walks. She stops at the end of the hallway and gives me a smile. I frown ever so slightly, but wait until she's gone before I look up at Enrique. "Who is she?" I ask quietly.

He glances down the hall before he takes my wrist, tugging me down the opposite side of the hall.

I don't say anything else as his footsteps quicken, we round a few bends until he leads me outside to what appears to be an inner courtyard or something; the area is surrounded by the walls of the grand mansion and above we can see the night sky. Through one side of the pillared surroundings, there's a path that leads out to the main garden. I recognise the sound of the fountains coming from there.

"Enrique, what is going on? Are you alright?" I whisper, cupping his face. This place is darker, lit only by a few dim lights.

He's still as he looks down at me, as if pondering over what he should say, but each passing moment of silence is scaring me. "The amount of times I told you to leave, I lost count," he says in Spanish.

My eyes widen as I look at him, shaking my head. "I don't understand." He knows I like it when he speaks Spanish. Why is he speaking in Spanish now?

The sound of the melancholic music playing from inside reaches out here too, and I feel overwhelmingly sad.

I think I will need to have a word with Royce about his choice of music. This is making my heart hurt, or is it the look in the eyes of the man who stands before me?

"I kept pushing you away..."

"Enrique, you're scaring me," I whisper back in Spanish.

"Did I ever tell you, your accent is beautiful?" he whispers huskily, making my breath hitch and I shake my head slightly.

"N-no... you didn't. I think you mocked it." I chuckle weakly. My breasts heave as I try to calm my raging nerves. Something is wrong but I don't know what.

Why is he saying this now?

"Don't you know, boys mock girls they like?" he whispers, brushing his fingers through my hair before he cups my face, making the magic of his touch send tingles dancing through me.

I tilt my head trying not to let the tears come.

He's calm, still, as he simply gazes down at me, a faint smile crossing his handsome face.

What is this?

"I think I've heard that..." I reply softly, slowly placing my hand over his that rests against my cheek.

He nods. "Then, Mi Amor... you now should know I found that girl locked up in my house cute also."

I blush as I stare into his hazel eyes that are glittering. Is it the lamps? Or is there an unshed tear or two? The lights really are playing tricks on me.

"I knew that, you could have said it sooner though," I pout teasingly before I smile. Visit Jo b n i b.com to read the complete chapters for free. If you are not reading this novel on Job ni b .c om, some sentences are incomplete. "But truth be told, no I didn't; but that boy became my life. He saved me. He was my knight, my light in the darkest of nights."

I mean it. I know I've told him, but I want him to remember that, to know that.

His faint smile fades as he now cups my face with both of his hands, inching closer, until my breasts are touching him.

"You give me far more credit than I deserved... and even when I pushed you away, you did not give up on me. I needn't have worried that the Moon Goddess has not forgotten about me, for there was another goddess who never forgot me..." "Enrique..."

"Shh... let me finish..." he murmurs softly. "You have shown me what living means, what it means to be loved. You have shown me that there's a part of me that feels. That can feel. And powerfully..." "You're scaring me, my love..." I whisper.

His gaze dips to my lips as he touches his forehead to mine, making my eyes flutter shut for a moment.

"Lo siento... for all I have done... for all I will do... lo siento..." his voice is hoarse, and I wrap my hands around his wrists, never wanting to let him go. I open my eyes, gazing into his glowing liquid gold ones.

"Don't apologise. We'll get through this together. Whatever this is. I promise." I smile bravely, despite the fear that this feels like a goodbye.

He can't leave me. I refuse to let him.

Our paths crossed for a reason, and our lives intertwined for a reason.

He's silent, but his eyes are a trove of emotions as he caresses my cheeks with his thumbs.

"I know this won't matter, that you won't remember... but I want you to know that I wish every happiness for you, I wish the world always gives you the best, for you are too good for it... I pray that your life is full of abundant blessings. I would forsake it all for you to be happy and content ... to keep you safe... to protect you.... I realise now I would truly do anything for you."

He sucks in a sharp breath and moves back slightly, his words leaving me speechless. He rises to his full height before he presses his lips to my forehead. "I know I'm late... too late... but you won. You won since the first time I saw you."

He gazes back into my eyes and I smile, feeling a glimmer of relief. I'm being paranoid. He isn't leaving me, he's confessing. The very thought makes me giddy.

"I hope you mean that I win by having you happily agree to let me return to Puerto Rico with you?" I ask.

"If my life wasn't so cursed... I'd take you home, I'd treat you like a queen, cherish you like an angel, kiss you like it's a prayer, worship you as if you are my salvation and make you mine... because I am already yours..."

I gasp as I stare at him, our eyes meeting, pink against gold... Butterflies swarm my stomach and I feel lightheaded as each beautiful word he speaks sinks. "Enrique, you..."

"I love you, Princesa Kataleya Tamia Rossi, with everything I have, I love you. I didn't fall in love with you, f**k I crashed and barrelled right into it without realising what these feelings are."

He loves me.

My vision blurs as I take a shaky breath.

My Enrique loves me.

My world acknowledges me.