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“Are you feeling better now?” Manasseh still holds onto my arm like a doll, feeling my batteries drained.
“Yes,” I burst out, drained of all strength, and let him support me. “I don't understand what you gain from this. Why are you doing this?”
“The answer is simpler than you think. Because I want to. Isn't that enough?” He looks around, already bored.
“No, it doesn't make sense.”
“It doesn't have to make sense to anyone if it does to me.”
“I won't live with you,” I keep disagreeing. “It would be too tiring.”
“You're right. You won't just do that. You will marry me,” he says so casually that it leaves me breathless.
“I’m not crazy.”
“And in a year, you will bear me a child to solidify the marriage, to ward off the gossip.”
“Have you lost your fucking mind? Out of all your whores, you chose me?”
“You are available,” he begins walking towards the apartments.
“Available my ass” I follow him with difficulty, pressing one hand against my stomach.
“The math is simple. You marry me, I inherit the share of wealth that says I have to marry, and then we dispel any suspicions with a child. Everyone is happy.”
“Except for me. I won't do it.”
“I don't think you have a choice.”
“So it's all for money.”
“I'm not so obsessed with money. I believe a person is rich enough when they buy what they want without looking at the price. I am a wealthy man.”
“Does financial counseling come with this engagement deal? Because I could use some. Not for anything else, but I'm tired of living on the brink of starvation.”
“I'll give you private lessons, but if you're with me, you don't need to rack your pretty little head over things like that. I'll take care of it for you.”
“I don't want to rely on you,” I bite my lip nervously.
“You already do.
“It's not like I have a choice, as you said. You've made sure of that.”
“I have no doubt that you'll be reasonable. You know what's best for you, you're a smart girl. I trust that you'll make the right choice.”
Did I just hear the word „trust” come out of Manasseh's mouth? When he speaks about business, he's an entirely different person. Diplomatic, cold, strong, and I must admit, I've always liked men who know what he want from life and know how to get it. Once, Manasseh's audacity inspired me and inevitably influenced me.
Only, I don't like bad boys; I like the nice ones, or at least so I thought. Because I don't know when Manasseh's impudence became so attractive that it makes me spread my legs for him.
I scrutinize him from the side and realize he's right. I'm clinging to his past ghost, forcing myself to see him as if nearly five years hadn't passed, during which time and life experiences have shaped us differently. My perceptions have changed, his have too, but I still don't want to admit it to myself, and I continue to push him away.
I don't want to get to know the present-day Manasseh because there's something telling me he has become an entirely different person from what he shows, and I'm afraid I might actually like it.
Manasseh is the Dark Prince of my story, and the Preacher’s Daughter is destined to marry the Handsome Prince, as in any fairy tale with a happy ending. But when the stories about fairies end, the real fairy tale begins. In reality, the Preacher's Daughter is stolen by the Dark Prince and forced to marry him because the Handsome Prince never shows up, even though she has been waiting for him for a long time.
A hero will sacrifice you to save the world. A villain will set the whole world on fire to save you.
My Handsome Prince will find the girl married to the Dark Prince because he was too foolish and indecisive, and he killed the happy ending the Preacher's Daughter was hoping for.
