Born As The Emperor’s Daughter - Chapter 236

A few weeks (or almost a month) has passed ever since that day.

Despite Harrison not being here for weeks, Alexandra didn’t feel lonely at all. Rather she was rather happy and ecstatic every time she recalled that day, their last day together before Harrison leaves and goes on an adventure just to look for the Fountain of Life. She was walking around the garden or most likely, skipping and humming a random catchy and happy tune that she thought of while she admired the flowers and plants that surrounded her.

She was going to have her usual tea party with her friends, Amanda and Maribelle. They are probably in their spot, waiting for her to arrive yet here she is, taking her time to stroll around the garden being carefree and happy.

The sweet, almost sickly, smell the flowers emitted inside her garden cut through the soft scent of the dewy grass. It tickled her nose, making it feels like she was going to sneeze or something. The flowers lay scattered around the place and anywhere she laid her eyes on, she would only see flowers. There were also butterflies in this garden, fluttering their colorful and attractive wings as they went around. The sound of light chirpings coming from the nearby birds was heard.

Alexandra stopped in front of the bushes of roses, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as her hair wasn’t styled or tied today. It was just flowing freely down her shoulders, reaching her waist. It swayed slightly as she walked as well as the hem of her skirt that reached midway her knees.

Her right hand reached up to her neck, looking for the pendant of the necklace that she was wearing. Once she felt her hand graze against the smooth surface of the gem pendant, she held it and fiddled with it as she stared at bushes of roses in front of her.

This was the necklace that Harrison gave her that time before he left. He would be wearing it and hiding it underneath his shirt that’s why she didn’t know that he has that necklace until he told her about it and gave her. Telling her to keep and take care of it as it was an item that was really precious to him. It seems like he trusts her enough to do that.

As she recalled that memory, a smile has made its way to her lips.

— They weren’t laying down the ground anymore, hugging each other but rather, they were now on their feet, facing each other. Alexandra was sitting on top of her bed while he was standing away from her. They were a few steps away from each other but Alexandra felt like they were close to each other. She noticed him fiddling with something at the back of his neck with his two hands. He looked like he was having a hard time doing so.

She stared at him with pure curiosity in her eyes, watching him do that for a few seconds before curiosity overwhelmed her, and she decided to ask him, “What are you doing? What’s that?” Curiosity was lacing her tone of voice and as if on cue, he finished what he was doing earlier before he responded to her, taking the thing that was wrapped around his neck, dangling on the hand that he was using to hold the item.

Alexandra stared at it, her eyebrows knitting and before she could open her mouth to speak and say something, Harrison interrupted and prevented her from doing so.

“I’ll be handing this necklace to you. It’s just like what you did to my golden pocket watch before, I want you to take care of it and keep it close to you. And when I come back, I will take it,” He said as he handed the necklace to her, Alexandra was reluctant and she was hesitating in taking it.

Alexandra remained silent, staring at the necklace in her hand. The necklace has a red gem as a pendant, it was almost the same color as his eyes. Its shape was like a teardrop and it glistened when the light hit it. It was actually pretty and a sense of familiarity rushed and overwhelmed her.

It seems like she already has seen this pendant before.

Images flashed inside her head like flashcards, it was like a few fragments of lost memories and such. It was blurred and not clear. There was an aching pain in her head and she endured it, trying her best not to show that she was in pain.

Then she heard voices, what it seems like a conversation was going on inside her head.

“Why did you buy that one? You could have taken the blue one or the flower one? Why that?” The voice sounded familiar and the aching pain in her head still hasn’t disappeared. She only remained silent, trying to endure the pain.

“That’s because–”

“Alexandra? What’s wrong?” Harrison called out to her name as he noticed that she was just silent, staring at the necklace in her hand.

“—It reminds me of your eyes,” She blurted out, not realizing what she has said until a few seconds later. Harrison’s eyes widened when he heard what Alexandra said, he was surprised and wasn’t somehow expecting that she will say that. She lifted her head to look at him, smiling at him in a gentle and sweet way.

He let out a sigh, a sad smile gracing on his lips. There was a trace of emotion in his emotions that she couldn’t identify or comprehend unlike the smile on his lips, she could tell that it was an upset one. He opened his mouth to speak.

“Yeah, someone also told me that before.”

Alexandra’s mouth shaped into an ‘O’ before she spoke once again, “But why? I mean, this must be something precious to you, right? Why are you handing this to me?” She asked him, trying to change their topic as their atmosphere suddenly became a gloomy one.

“So that we will have proof and guarantee that I will come back and take that.”

“You just promised me earlier that you will surely come back. What do you mean by that?” Alexandra asked him, crossing her arms as her stern gaze bore in his direction. He blinked multiple times, his lips pursed into a thin line before a chuckle escaped past his lips. He went forward and flicked Alexandra’s forehead, it wasn’t enough to make her complain about the pain but it was enough to make her lightly tilt her head back as she closed her eyes in the process.

“Just one simple promise won’t do. Let’s just say that this necklace is like a contract between the two of us or something like that. And also, this will be your reminder of me in case you miss me or something. So just keep it and take care of it as it is also something precious to me.”

“Princess.”

She was snapped out of her daze when somebody called out to her, grabbing her attention and pulling her back to the reality that she was in. She let go of the pendant, letting it fall back and dangle around her neck once again before she turned her head and looked at the direction of where the voice came from. There she saw, Carlos who was standing not far away from her. The look on his face was gentle yet there was a hint of curiosity as he stared at him. Alexandra hummed before she responded, “What is it?” She asked him in a gentle voice before she returned her gaze to the roses in front of her.

“I understand that you like to stroll around the garden and admire the flowers especially that you’re in a happy mood nowadays. However, if we take too long, Miss Maribelle and Miss Amanda would become impatient and worried. It would be bad if we make them wait for too long,” Carlos said as he smiled at her. The realization hit her like a bolt of lightning when she heard what he said.

I almost forgot about that, she thought to herself and just smiled at Carlos as she let out an embarrassed chuckle.

“Right, let’s go,” She said before she turned around and started walking once again.

—

“I apologize, I just arrived,” Alexandra said as soon as she arrived at the spot where she usually has her tea parties with her friends. They were sitting on each of their chairs and they were looking at her, their expressions’ brightened when they saw her and Amanda smiled at her brightly.

“Princess, you’re finally here!”

“Was I taking too long?”

“Not really,” Maribelle responded and Alexandra just hummed as a response before she climbed up her chair and sat on it. Amanda looked rather happy and cheerful for the past weeks, a week after Harrison rejected her face-to-face and after he left.

“You look rather happy today,” Alexandra said as she noticed the grin on her face which was wider and brighter than usual. Alexandra senses that Amanda would probably go on and on about why and what happened. She looked rather vibrant but Alexandra doesn’t mind that. It’ much better than her being gloomy and sad to the point that she would only sigh and rarely participate in their conversations.

“You know, my fiancée, he took me out on a date yesterday and he even accompanied me on the way here. He even gave me a kiss on the cheeks before I got down,” Amanda said, sinking into her desires and happiness. She looked like a teenager in love, to be honest. As if it wasn’t just weeks ago when she got rejected by Harrison, it looked like her fiancée was looking for ways to make her forget about the feelings that she held on Harrison and made her fall in love with him.

Well, her fiancée sounds like a good person. A son of a duke while Amanda was a daughter of a marquis. Amanda also comes from a powerful family and she was one of the uncommon females whose amount of mana was higher than average. Her fiancée also comes from a powerful family and was known for its businesses.

Two powerful families combined into one.

“I still can’t get over the fact that you were in love with Harrison for 2 years and was just heartbroken weeks ago, now you’re catching feelings with another person and that is your fiancée,” Maribelle said. A maid arrived along with a butler, carrying a tray with plates of sweets along with a teapot and teacups. They placed it down the table they surrounded and Alexandra just watched them.

Recently, they acquired two new maids and one of those was the ones serving them their sweets and drinks. Her gaze met the new maid and Alexandra smiled at her to which the maid returned. She was actually quite gentle and sweet though Alexandra still hasn’t interacted with her that much, they only exchanged smiles.

“What’s bad with that? Would you rather me grieve for my broken heart and cry for months then?” Amanda said, grabbing her attention. She turned her head to look at them again. Maribelle just scoffed and didn’t say anything afterward.

“Then what about you, princess? You always have this vibrant look for the past few weeks, did something good happen?”

Alexandra blinked multiple times, staring at her with her eyes wide with pure wonder. The maid and butler finished serving their food and bowed at them before they turned around and left.

“W-Why are you asking that?” Alexandra stuttered. Amanda’s cheerful grin turned into a mischievous smirk before she spoke once again, “You also notice it, right? Mari?” Amanda asked Maribelle who was drinking her cup of tea, her lips parted with the rim of the cup before she spoke, “I noticed I before you did, I just remained silent about it.”

Of course, Alexandra didn’t tell them about the confession that happened between the two of them. Even though Harrison didn’t tell her to not tell anyone about it, she knew that she shouldn’t. She just couldn’t go and reveal it easily even to her friends. Imagine how her friends and family would react to that especially her elder brother and father.

They were more than close friends, almost like lovers but not more than that. However, they are suited to one another as if they were each other’s missing puzzle piece in their life.

Soulmates, perhaps.