The Unexpected Princess (Completed)

Chapter 25

Naledi lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling in her room. Light from the streetlights outside drew shadows on the white surface. They played around changing shapes as tree limbs were moved by the wind. She stared not really making sense of anything. Her heart felt heavy in her chest. She couldn’t bring back the joy she had felt that morning, before she left for her interview and she thought she saw him… the prince, through the hotel window.

Her mind was on a loop – she kept thinking of that moment in the royal house’s kitchen when he'd been standing so close to her, asking for her hand in marriage. It had been a momentous moment she hadn’t thought will linger through the passing of time.

His kiss had been…unforgettable.

His very presence overwhelming and exciting at the same time. Naledi could easily see him leaning over her, his masculine scent and sensual heat surrounding her.

She never knew rejecting him would haunt her so.

She couldn’t change who she was. She was a maid, and he was something way above her. The treatment she’d received from the people in the village had cemented that reality in her mind.

He was beyond her reach.

Naledi closed her eyes and sighed.

She knew she needed to move on from him. Move on from this delusion she had allowed herself to be caught in.

She had to live her life. And dare to fall in love with someone else out there.

She turned to her side knowing that to be a futile exercise. She couldn’t choose who to love, and it seemed her mind was set on one man…the prince.

Naledi sniffed finally facing the truth.

It seemed she couldn’t deny it any longer. Thinking she saw him today had done a number on her. The dam has been broken. And the emotions she had buried where she couldn’t feel them were flooding heart.

Soon she’ll go back home. Ahead lay heartbreak and desolation.

Naledi shook her head as the reality of her situation hit her.

What was she going to do? It was a matter of time before he married someone else.

“Why are you sitting in the dark?” Dineo interrupted her thoughts as she walked into her room. Naledi turned to her and said nothing. Dineo moved closer to her, and touched her hand.

“What happened?”

Naledi shook her head indicating that nothing happened.

“Well, you don’t look like nothing happened.” Dineo sat on the bed with a sigh. She sounded like she was tired and worn out. She knew that Dineo fought to sell her bead work in the city where people didn’t necessarily appreciate her handmade work. She needed to be more supportive, give her friend a moment to unload her troubles. But… her mind was just in turmoil.

Naledi sat up and stared at her friend. She wondered what she would say if she told her about her feelings for the prince.

Her heart hammered in her chest feeling the need to let it all out. Maybe if she talked about her feelings she would feel better.

“I’ve travelled the world but still I can’t…” Naledi begun, but bit her lip as the words refused to come. She didn’t know how to say it. How to take herself and her friend back there, when she thought she had left all her burdens behind.

No. She couldn’t. She couldn’t tell her.

“Did something happen at the hotel? You’re scaring me.” Dineo sat on the edge of the bed next to her. There was nothing her friend wouldn’t do for her. And she didn’t want to disappoint her by…Naledi closed her eyes. She uprooted her whole life to get her away from the soul sucking abyss she had been determined to fall into. To give her a life, yet she was…pining for a man who turned her life upside down. Where was her hate for him? Where was her disdain, her anger?

Naledi didn’t know. Maybe she was crazy.

“I’m just nervous.” Naledi told her a half truth. She gave her a weak smile. “They said they’ll call us after a week or so. But there was like ten of us, and they were all good. I’m not sure how it went.” Naledi said keeping her confusing thoughts and pining to herself.

She just needed time to let it go and forget.

Eventually Anthony Tloung will be a distant memory.

In truth Sello had been right, Anthony wasn’t like any other man. He was something like a dream to her, almost unreal in his allure and formidable nature that pulled her in. It will definitely take time for her to forget.

She just needed time, Naledi thought to herself, feeling better.

“You’ll get it, you’ll see,” Dineo pulled her to her feet. And started to dance around. “And we’re going to that club I saw on the way home, The Glitz. We’re going to celebrate.”

“After I get the job.” Naledi followed the steps. She found herself agreeing to the outing, even though it was not her scene because she really wanted the job. She didn’t want to jinx it by refusing.

“Of course. Now, come and cook me some of your delicious food.” Dineo said dancing towards the kitchen. She bounced around pulling out pots and whatever she thought Naledi might need to cook them a meal.

Naledi smiled looking at her. She moved to the island and sat down.

“You look like you have whatever you want to eat in mind. Why don’t you cook for us?” Naledi said folding her arms to her chest.

Dineo smiled at her a glint in her eyes. Naledi knew that look so well, she could always tell when Dineo was up to something. And she definitely was up to something in the moment.

Oh, not again, Naledi internally groaned.

“You’re suddenly excited. Did something happen today?” Naledi asked cautiously. She hoped this meant that Dineo’s retail problems were solved. There were only two things that excited Dineo like this: her bead work and the opportunity to meddle in someone else’s life. And Naledi usually pulled the shot straw. She was the guinea pig. And Naledi didn’t feel like going through another life experience at the hands of Dineo.

“Yes! I almost forgot,” Dineo sat down on the breakfast bar stool with a beaming smile. “I met a guy who thinks my beads can be a great fit for a flea market that’s run in town.”

“Okay, that’s great, right?” Naledi got up and opened the fridge to look for anything she could whip up for their dinner just to keep busy. She couldn’t take the gleeful look in Dineo’s eyes.

“Yes, but that’s not it.”

Naledi clenched her teeth afraid to hear what it was. The cooling air from the fridge wafted over her suddenly hot face.

“You never did tell me what you thought of Dr Maatle,” Dineo said casually as if she was asking her about the weather. “I mean before all the chaos erupted and everything. We didn’t talk about it.”

“Uh…” Naledi took a deep breath and closed the fridge because it started to beep. She turned around to find Dineo staring at her with expectation in her eyes. “I don’t know. I didn’t get a chance to look at him properly, before you know…”

“I figured.” Dineo said her eyes not wavering on her, “Would he be someone you…I don’t, consider dating?”

Naledi stared at Dineo not saying anything.

“It’s been a year, and don’t see you…”

“I don’t see you with anyone either,” Naledi returned.

“I’m seeing someone as a matter of fact. He’s back home.” Dineo said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Naledi couldn’t believe it. She stared at her horror in her eyes, “What?”

She deflated, there was no way! “You’re really something you know that.”

“Naledi?”

“No. You never told me you had someone. And you left him behind for me!” Naledi shook her head. “How do you think that makes me feel?”

With an anguished sound Naledi turned away from her and left the kitchen. Dineo stared after her not sure what had happened. She had her reasons for not telling her.

Complicated didn’t even begin to explain her relationship. And she didn’t think he would appreciate her talking about it.

Dineo sighed. Naledi didn’t even give her a chance to tell her about Dr Maatle. By chance she’d meet the doctor that very afternoon. He had been so shocked to see her. And when she’d told him about Naledi being with her, his eyes had lit up.

Dineo suspected if the prince hadn’t chosen Naledi at the dance, she and Dr Maatle might have hit it off.

“I guess we will never know,” Dineo said to the empty kitchen. She moved to the stove and got to cooking.