The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

35~ DELIRIOUS I-LOVE-YOU: PART II

"Wait. Did you say... stitches?" My jaws dropped open in shock as I looked up at him. 

I almost couldn't believe my ears. 

Stitches? I repeated the word inside my head. 

I knew my wound was serious, given how blood kept dripping to the ground. Still, I'd never thought it required stitches. Didn't that mean I would have to live with those ugly scars on my back forever? My once smooth and pearly white skin was history. From now on, what I saw when I looked at the mirrors were messy lines. And what I felt underneath my fingers when I ran my hand on my back were lumps and bumps. 

How terrible was that? 

"Lae?" Edward's voice was calling me, but my head was too occupied with the horrible image flashing before my eyes. 

"It can't be," I murmured to myself. Tears pricked my eyes whenever I thought of the scars on my back. I couldn't see how big it was. But judging from the pain that made me unable to move my body, I knew it wasn't small. 

"Lae," said Edward. His voice was louder than before, yet it still had gentleness within it. "Look at me." 

"No." I meant only to shake my head, but my voice also came out trembling. "It can't be. I… I…" I knew beauty shouldn't be the main concern since I had dedicated myself to becoming a capable warrior to avenge my family. 

Still, what women in the world didn't want to be beautiful? 

Tears fell from my eyes and ran down the bridge of my nose. They came down one after another before I could control them. I thought I wouldn't be able to stop it from soaking the bedsheet under my face. However, Edward lent me a hand on this matter. 

"Don't." His warm hand wiped the next tear right after it rolled down my eyes. "These crystal droplets are beautiful. Still, it pained my heart to see them rolling on your cheeks." 

I directed my eyes toward him to see he looked at me with a heartbroken gaze. 

"I failed my job as your bodyguard. I let you get hurt. It was my fault. You can hate me. You can hit me. Just do anything you want with me. I won't resist. But allow me to ask for one thing." His eyes fixated on mine without blinking. "I know I don't have the right to do it. Still, please. Just this one."

"What is it?" I cleared my throat and asked, finding myself getting sucked into those pairs of deep-set black eyes. 

"Please don't cry," he said. 

I gulped, swallowing the lump in my throat. He asked me not to cry. Still, his low, mellifluous voice made me want to cry even harder. I took time adjusting my voice and blinked back the remaining unshed tears. Then I said with a smile. "I'll try my best." 

He smiled back, though it looked somewhat sad. Or rather, guilty. "Thank you," he said in a low voice. 

"But can I ask for one thing, too?" 

"Sure," he answered with no hesitation. "You can ask for more than one." 

"It's okay. For now, I only need one." I lifted my hand and placed it on top of his hand that was still on my face. "Don't blame yourself for what happened to me." 

He widened his eyes in disbelief. It was as if these were the last things he expected to hear from me. But I really meant it. I meant every word I had said. 

"Lae, I…" he trailed off, leaving his sentence unfinished. He even averted his eyes to the mattress. 

"Edward. Look at me." I waited until his eyes were back on mine. "It wasn't your fault that I ended up like this. Didn't you remember?" I smiled, hoping it would ease the tension in the air. "You told me to come back to my room and rest. But I didn't listen. You even carried me on your shoulder like I was a sack of grain. Still, I defied you. If only I had listened to you back then, none of this had happened. So, it was my own fault that this happened to me. If you really need someone to take the blame, then put it on me. Not on yourself."

"No." He shook his head. His facial expression changed to anger. It was so scary that I almost forgot to breathe. "The blame was on those three. They were the ones who did this to you. I'll make sure they won't have the chance to do dirty tricks like this again. I couldn't believe they were this evil." 

I looked at his free hand to see it was balling into a fist. "Edward?" I called his name, hoping to snap him out of whatever thoughts he was thinking. 

Fortunately, it worked. 

The moment I finished calling his name, he loosened his hand and looked at me with a soft gaze. "But again, I wasn't completely innocent. I didn't do my job well as your bodyguard. If I did, no matter what tricks they had, I wouldn't be able to stop them. I could also protect you from getting hurt." He sighed. "After we dealt with this matter, I'll go to seek punishment from King Valdemir." 

"No." I squeezed his hand—the one I was still holding. "Don't do that. I already told you. I won't blame you for this." 

"I still blame myself." He shook his head. "For an entire week, Lae." 

"Huh?" 

"You've been out for a week. Every day when I looked at you lying lifelessly and fought for your life at death's door, I wanted to kill myself for my stupid mistake. If I could swap places with you, I'd gladly do it. I'd be happy to take all these wounds and pains in my body. I'm willing to suffer for you." His voice shook. 

No. It wasn't only his voice. His entire body was shaking. I could tell from the hand I was holding. 

"Then it's enough," I said. 

His brows furrowed as he looked at me. It was as he was confused. 

"What?" 

"I told you that I didn't hold you responsible. But if you still insist on taking the blame, so be it. If you're really seeking punishment, then I'll give you one. Do you dare to accept it?" 

"What do you want me to do?" 

I gathered all the strength I had and gave him the broadest smile I could manage. "Don't get yourself hurt. Stay alive and be at my side. Protect me forever. I'll give you another chance to fulfill your role as a bodyguard."

"Lae."

"Answer the question. Do you dare to accept the punishment?"  

He remained silent for a short while. I held my breath, waiting for his reply, which seemed to go on forever. Just when I was about to ask again, he said in a firm voice. "I do. I'll never leave your side again from now on. Even if you dismiss me, I won't go away easily."

"Good. I'm looking forward to it. Make sure to do our job well, Mr. Bodyguard." I maintained the smile on my face, wanting to show him how enthusiastic I was to hear his words. 

Nevertheless, my smile was short-lived. 

The corner of my lips dropped when my vision of his face got closer. Edward lowered his body and leaned his face down toward mine. Instead of looking away, my eyes fixated on those pairs of full lips. What was worst was that my lips automatically part as if they were waiting to come into contact.

Or rather...to be kissed.  

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©️StellaKMary | The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

A/N: Because of the time constriction (my writing time), there'll be part III for this chapter. Thanks for reading.