31 Charlotte

The sun's harsh rays seeped in through the curtain and settled on Reign's face. She opened her eyes slowly then stared at Ares with confusion written all over her face. Why was his face so close to hers?

Her cheeks instantly grew red when it dawned on her at how close they were. She tried to move away but his arm was holding her in place. She couldn't help but stare at his handsome face as her eyes fell down to his pink lips and her cheeks grew hotter when she remembered how they kissed last night.

"I'm handsome, aren't I?" She gasped when she heard his Deep husky voice that was still filled with sleep.

He opened his eyes slowly and he smiled at her.

"Goodmorning" She couldn't help but smile back. His eyes were so beautiful.

"Good morning" She tried to pull away but he tightened his arm around her body.

"Let's stay like this for a while, I'm not ready to get up"

"But I really need to pee and I'm pretty sure I stink, I haven't had my bath in like two days now" Ares scrunched up his nose playfully.

"Yeah, you do smell a little bit" Reign gasped and tried to push him away as he laughed.

"Do you want me to bathe with you?" Reign's eyes widened.

"That's preposterous!" Ares playfully pouted at her.

"You're no fun" He removed his arms from around and sat up slowly.

"I guess I better go get ready for the day. See you soon, Reign" He smiled at her before climbing out of the bed and leaving the room. She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding before getting out of bed.

She immediately ran herself a bath then wore a gown with no corset because of her back injuries.

As soon as she was done, a knock sounded at the door then Anna and Jess walked in with a tray filled with food.

"You've barely eaten anything these past few days so we brought something for you" Reign smiled as she rushed up to them.

"Thank you. I was so hungry" She sat down by the table and didn't wait to dig into the food.

"I heard Madam Linda and Sir Jacob have lost almost all their assets" Reign stopped eating as soon as she heard what Jess said.

"Really?" Jess nodded.

"His highness made sure of that and guess what, Ma'am Hilda resigned and has moved back to her village" Reign's eyes widened. She guessed Hilda was tired of Madam Linda's ways.

"Good for them, I guess" Reign muttered then continued eating her food. Jess glanced at Anna then back at Reign.

"You don't seem to care that much" Reign turned to her.

"Should I?" Anna shook her head with a smile.

"No, you shouldn't. They were never good to you anyways, to any of us actually. I pray they become poor" Reign and Jess shook their heads as they all giggled.

"Oh and I forgot to tell you, His highness is requesting for your presence" Reign turned to her with wide eyes.

"Really? Where?"

"At the patio" Reign nodded then ate as fast as she could so she wouldn't keep him waiting for long. Anna and Jess just watched her with an amused smile on their faces.

•

Reign smiled as soon as she saw Ares standing beside the little lake. He looked to be in a lot of thought.

She walked up to him then tapped his shoulder lightly.

"Hey" Ares turned to her with a soft smile.

"Did you miss me so much that you had to rush here?" Reign scoffed.

"Why are you such a Narcissist, Your highness?" He chuckled then grabbed her hand and led her towards the table he had set up.

"Sit down with me" He said as he pulled out a chair for her. She stared at him with a raised eyebrow as she sat down on the chair he had pulled out.

"Can I ask why you're trying to be a gentleman?" Ares chuckled as he sat down.

"Who told you I haven't always been a gentleman? Why do you think all the women in the castle fawn over me?" He asked with an amused smile on his face.

"I'll believe you this once, '' Reign uttered with a smile. He smiled back and this was actually the first time Reign noticed he had a dimple on each cheek. He looked both cute and Handsome at the same time.

"Why did you want me to meet you out here?" Reign questioned after a while. Ares shrugged.

"I just wanted to grace you with my presence, you're welcome" Reign rolled her eyes but said nothing on that matter because she did enjoy his company.

"May I ask you something, Ares?" He turned to her with a nod.

"Of course"

"Why were you at the market that day all covered up?" She questioned.

"Oh that? I usually take walks round the city just to see what's going on and at that time, there was a rumor that I was hideous and I just wanted to remain mysterious so I covered my face but a girl decided to fall on me and see my face for the first time" Reign blushed out of embarrassment.

"Well it wasn't my fault you were standing directly behind me" Ares tilted his head.

"Okay let's say it's both our fault" Reign nodded.

"You seem to really care about the people of this Kingdom then why don't you become King? I know you have your reason why you don't want to be King but I just think you're a much better candidate than James" Ares stared at her for a while and was about to say something when he saw The King and Diana walking towards them. He saw the Smirk on Diana's face and knew instantly that something wrong was about to happen.

"Ares, I would like to speak with you in private" The King said as soon as he got closer to them. Reign bowed her head at them and was about to walk away when Ares grabbed her hand.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of Reign" The King glanced at Reign then back at Ares.

"Very well then. Charlotte, come" Ares stilled as soon as he heard that name. His eyes widened as soon as he noticed the girl behind Diana. Why…. Why was she here and how had he not noticed she was here?

"This is Charlotte, your new betrothed" Ares' And Reign's eyes widened instantly. Reign glanced at Ares but he wasn't even staring at her but his eyes were solely on Charlotte.

"Hi Ares, it's good to see you again" Reign's heart dropped as Ares let go of her hand….