The Princess's Dangerous Vampire Mate-Chapter 50: Heavy words - II

The prince’s words had left a heavy impact on me. So much so, that I had been following them a few steps behind thinking about what he had said.

His words had continued to roam and were being repeated again and again in my mind. Was I not enough? Had my education lacked somewhere so much that I could not differentiate between affections for a man to the suspicions I should have had for him?

But Tristan was someone who genuinely cared about the little children, barely at the age of marriage, being abducted and who, when found, did not want to return to their families.

But if I looked at it from the Prince’s point of view, yes, he had information which should be with the authority’s concerned, with the royal court but at least he was making an effort more than any of them did. Did that not count?

Tristan stopped when he saw the people of the village and turned around, frowned immediately when he did not see me with the prince who was glaring at him. Instead, he saw me standing far behind and walked towards me with a hard expression on his face.

"What is wrong with you? How can you be so careless?" I stared at him without entering a single word as I wondered did my education feel me in front of him well? A mere merchant who did not know anything of the world as compared to me.

I bit my lip and tried to hide my tears but he had seen them already and his expressions changed to something softer.

"My dear lady," he said gently and that made me smile slightly. "You know that the conditions prevailing nowadays are not safe for anyone to travel alone, so why were you walking far behind Glenn and not with him? hm?" He chided softly like a loving partner. "You should know that it is difficult to abduct two persons than one which is why you should be walking with him or somewhere in between where we can hear you if you need help."

His gentle voice-only laid my emotions to overflow and I sniffed before a sob escaped me. I covered my mouth and I sniffed, tearing to reign them back in. I was already deemed uneducated and now I did not want to be deemed as a hysterical woman who had no control over her emotions.

"Layla, what is wrong?" I felt his hand on my arm and he tapped it, mindful enough. "Do you feel uncomfortable or are you in any kind of pain? Tell me so that I can help you."

I shake my head and sniff. "I . . Do you really need my input?" I placed my question in front of him. I was a princess, someone who was truly not qualified enough for this.

"What?" he spat, his anger slightly;y sparkling.

"Yes," I nodded, "Do you need my help in the investigation that you are carrying around on your own?"

He stared at me before he sighed and closed his eyes for a few moments and then shook his head. "I find you to be a lovely, wonderful and attractive woman who is highly witty and intelligent." I blushed, "But now I find you to be questioning your capabilities which is something I hate."

Then I could no longer hold his stare.

"Layla," he called and I felt my chin being lifted by his fingers. "A person on which becomes more attractive than they are when they have confidence. That confidence can help you achieve great heights that you never imagined you could, which is a wine I want you to always feel confident about yourself and your abilities." He patted my cheek lightly, "because I know for a fact that you are capable of achieving heights."

"You find me to be lovely and attractive," I teased, "Was it wonderful too, I heard?"

He laughed silently and I felt trapped by it. There was nothing more beautiful than hearing his laughter which was full of joy.

He nodded, his eyes twinkled. "Yes, I find you with all those qualities that I said earlier. The only fact that I did not like was you doubting yourself."

"I would not dare to now," I whispered only for his ears. "I would never doubt myself again."

He smiled. "Thank you, Layla. There is nothing more attractive than a woman with confidence."

I nodded and nudge him forward. The prince was staring at us with narrowed eyes and Merilyn was smiling like an idiot at us. "Let’s go," I said to him with a smile and he nodded turning around and making sure that I followed.

I had often heard the space and rumours of how men had indirectly made a woman feel insecure about herself just as the Prince done with me and how repeatedly they were thrown down the ladder. Tristan however had proved it all to be wrong and had stood up and swallowed his pride enough to tell me that I was a beautiful and attractive woman who was intelligent and you should have had more confidence in herself.

This was something not even my governess or any scholar had told me. And this only made me realise how much of a gem this man truly was.

The gem I wanted, but the very one which was out of my reach. Every time he said something sweet and compassionate to me I only felt myself being swallowed into the lake of affections that I had made for him. The lake in which affections for only him were found and the lake which was only meant for me.

The lake should not exist.

"What are thinking about?" I hear him say and I looked at him with a soft smile.

"Nothing." It was nothing. It was a future that was never going to come true which is why it had no importance and in the end, was nothing. "Are we there yet?"

He did not answer me immediately but stared at me. I knew he was trying to find out if I was lying or not. He nodded. "Yes, we stand two houses away from it."

Two houses away, was what would confirm our suspicions and theories.