Between 2 Hearts – Episode 49

Naomi walked along the corridor, lost in deep thought. 

“Why did I let this happen?” she berated herself. “We’re not compatible, and he’s engaged to be married soon. I shouldn’t have let him kiss me. Why didn’t I push him away? This is going to get me into trouble.”

Just as she was drowning in her thoughts, the king’s voice called out from behind her, startling her.

 “Are you okay?” he asked. Naomi turned around, composing herself.

 “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I’m fine,” she replied.

 “You look lost. What’s troubling you?”

“Nothing, Your Highness.”

 “Where were you going?”

“To get my things ready, Your Majesty,” she replied, her face bowed.

“Okay. When you’re done, come join us for dinner,” the king said.

 “Huh?” Her face snapped up, surprised.

“You heard me,” he replied with a slight smile. “Alex will be joining us too.”

With that, he walked away, leaving Naomi staring after him, still reeling from his words.

   

    Minutes later, everyone gathered at the dining table. Naomi sat among them, feeling uneasy as she kept her face down, avoiding the piercing gazes from the queen and Diva. Just then, Alex joined them, apologizing for the delay.

 “Sorry I kept you guys waiting,” he said, taking his seat.

“Now that everyone is here, let’s eat,” King Luke announced. 

 “Why is she dining with us, Dad?”Diva asked.

“Because I asked her to,” King Luke replied calmly. “It’s just to show appreciation for taking care of Alex.”

 “Does she need to be appreciated? She’s the reason Alex was in that condition in the first place.” Queen Lala said harshly.

 “Mom, can you just stop? There’s nothing wrong with her dining with us. It’s Dad’s order, let it be.” Alex said calmly.

 “If you two aren’t okay with it, you can excuse yourselves. The maids will serve you in your rooms.”king Luke said.The room fell silent, and eventually. “It’s settled, let’s eat.”

 Everyone began eating, except Naomi, who kept her face down.

Alex called out to her, their eyes meeting briefly. “Naomi, you’re not eating.”

 “Go on, eat.”King Luke encouraged her.

Naomi hesitated before taking a spoon to start eating. However, just as she was about to take a bite, she groaned slightly in pain. Diva had intentionally stepped on her foot, causing her to drop her meal.

 “What? Are you okay?”Alex’s concern was immediate.

  “Is everything okay, dear?”King Luke asked,

Naomi nodded, forcing a smile, while Diva smirked.

Naomi nodded again, her smile still forced. The meal continued, but Naomi struggled to eat, wincing in pain with every movement. Alex kept stealing glances at her, noticing her tense look

   After what felt like an hour, King Luke spoke again.

 “Naomi,” he called, and she turned to him. “You’ll resume working for the company on Monday.” His words caught everyone off guard.

“This time, I’m employing you as my worker, not my son’s. I’ll decide when you can leave or not,” King Luke said, his tone firm. Alex smiled to himself, clearly pleased.

 “Dad!” Diva exclaimed.

King Luke ignored Diva’s protest and continued, “What position were you handling before?”

 “Assistant manager.”she sputtered  nervously 

“Good. Resume your position this Monday. No exemptions,” King Luke said, his decision final.

 Queen Lala and Diva exchanged angry glances, wondering why the king was showing Naomi so much favor.

Naomi was speechless, unsure how to respond. Alex, on the other hand, was overwhelmed by his father’s decision.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Naomi stood up.

 “Um, Your Majesty, I’ll take my leave now,” she said, having barely touched her meal.

 “You haven’t finished your food.”King Luke looked at her plate.

“I’m full already. I should be heading home before it gets dark,” Naomi replied.

  “I’ll drop you off.”Alex offered.

“No, son, you can’t!” Queen Lala declined.

 “You don’t have to. I can find my way.”Naomi waved off Alex’s offer.

“I insist,” he said, turning to his father. “Dad.”

 “Sure, let him take you. It’s part of the arrangement.” He said and His wife stared at him, her look disapproving.

“See you guys later,” Alex said, leading the way for Naomi to follow. They left the dining room.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Queen Lala spoke up. 

“What do you think you’re doing? You’re giving that girl too much space in this palace.”

King Luke ignored her and continued eating. 

 “This isn’t fair, Dad.”Diva frowned.

   Meanwhile, Alex and Naomi got into the car. Alex wore his seatbelt while Naomi struggled with hers because it was stuck. Alex leaned in to help her, and she flinched, turning her face away quickly. He smiled and helped her with the seatbelt before starting the car engine and driving off.

As they drove, Naomi gazed out the window, her thoughts elsewhere. Alex kept stealing glances at her. After some minutes, Alex drove her home. She quickly took off her seatbelt and rushed out before Alex could say anything.

“Naomi,” he called, quickly getting out of the car and following her

Naomi entered the house, where Mia and Mr. Daniels were having dinner. She didn’t look in their direction, rushing instead to her room and locking herself inside.

Mia and Mr. Daniels exchanged a curious glance, wondering what was wrong. Then, Alex entered, calling out for Naomi, and their surprise deepened.

“Your Highness,” Mr. Daniels greeted, standing up.

“Good day, Uncle,” Alex replied politely, his eyes fixed on the direction Naomi had gone.

“What do you think is going on?” Mr. Daniels asked Mia, but she just shrugged.

Naomi sat down on the floor, her back resting against the door. Alex knocked on the door.

 “Naomi, please open up. Please,” he begged, his voice soft and insistent.

   “Please, Alex, leave me alone, please,” Naomi said from inside the room, her voice muffled but urgent.

“Just talk to me, please,” Alex replied, his voice soft but laced with desperation.

Just then, Mia and Mr. Daniels approached.

“Your Highness, is everything okay?” Mr. Daniels asked, and Alex turned to him, looking pale.

“I just want to talk to Naomi, but she won’t let me,” Alex explained.

“Maybe she needs to be alone. Don’t worry, we’ll talk to her. You can head back to the palace now; it’s getting late.”

“No, I’m not leaving until Naomi comes out and talks to me.” He continued to knock softly on the door. “Please, just talk to me,” he said, resting his head against the door.

Mia and her father exchanged a pitying glance, and after a few moments, Mr. Daniels gently coaxed Alex into leaving. Once Alex was gone, Mia knocked on the door to let Naomi know.

When Naomi opened the door, Mia entered while their father headed to his room. The two girls sat on the bed, Naomi sniffling softly.

“Did something happen between you two? Why are you running away from him?” Mia asked gently.

“I made a terrible mistake.”

 “What mistake? Did you break something expensive in the palace?”

 “Worse than that.she stood up and walked to the window, “I shouldn’t have allowed it to happen. I should have pushed him away.”

Mia followed her, observing her sister’s distress. 

“Did something forbidden happen between you two?” she asked softly.

“We…” She sighed before admitting “we kissed.”

 “What?” She gasped 

 “I should have avoided it, but I couldn’t. This is what I’ve been trying to avoid. I don’t want to get involved with him; it’s going to cost me my life. What do I do, Mia?” She said regretfully and Mia pulled her into a warm hug.

 “It’s okay. You just need to calm down, and we’ll find a way to solve this.”

   At the pub, Alex met Nathan at the bar, both nursing their drinks in a somber mood.

 “Is your wound healed yet?” Nathan asked, but Alex remained silent, lost in thought. “Well, I guess that’s a yes,” he said, taking a sip of his drink.

“I kissed her.” He said and Nathan smirk not fully surprise.

 “It took you long enough to do that. I was hoping you’d do it the very first day she was assigned to you by your father.” He took another sip of his drink, his eyes sparkling with knowing. “So, did you feel the real kiss with her?” he asked, and Alex gulped his drink.

Nathan smirked, clearly aware that Alex had felt something deep. “Welcome to the real world, man,” he said with a chuckle.

“I just can’t get it off my mind. I want her badly. Why is it so hard?” He sighed frustratedly.

 “That’s because they’re scared of getting into trouble with our family. I mean, you’re royalty and betrothed to be married soon, and she’s not from the family everyone wanted you to marry. And me? I’m the governor’s son in a fake engagement with your sister, making everyone think it’s real. She’s scared of getting involved with me because of her background and what people might say. You see, we’re stuck between two worlds, two hearts.”

Both men sighed, lost in their thoughts, dwelling in their sad moment.

TBC