Sudden Change

She felt a throbbing pain in her head. She slowly opened her eyes and sat down on the bed.

She had a weird dream last night about Caden. Her mind was full of him lately and was mad at him so she hoped of seeing him in the karaoke bar.

She looked around and was relieved to see that she was in her room.

Yesterday, she had fun with her friends and didn't realize she had already drank more than one shot. The last time she remembered was Ace trying to help go to the bathroom. That's when Caden came. It felt so real, but she knew that was impossible.

She stood up and went to the bathroom to prepare for school. Her parents were quiet in the dining table while Lucas was constantly glancing at her.

She knew what she did was wrong. Her parents were not really strict toward Lucas and her. They were protective, yes. But that was because a lot had happened in their family and put their lives in danger.

One of those was when they went to Flousia when she was six years old. The current King of Flousia was just crowned back then when the Mafia attacked the palace.

Caden's mom, Margaret, got stabbed, and the baby in her tummy died. Caden was a little lost when he found out about it. He blamed himself for not being able to protect his mother and sister. That was one of the reasons he accepted to be the crown prince of Flousia.

He told her he needed the power to protect his family and her. She wanted to be there for him when that time came. She wanted to see him and reach his goal, so they promised that they would get married and protect each other when they got older.

But that was a long time ago. She held on to that promise, but he just disappeared and forgot about her. 

She sighed and glanced at her mother. She looked into her eyes, and she knew she wanted her to apologize to her father.

She turned to her dad, who was busy reading the morning newspaper.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I promise it will not happen again." She whispered.

Luke Matthew Wilson—the chairman of Wilson Group and the head of the wealthiest clan in the city, took a deep breath, then put down the newspaper on the table. He held her hand and smiled.

"Alira, it's okay to drink but make sure you can handle it before taking too much. What if something happened to you?" He said in a worried voice.

She bowed her head feeling so guilty. It was her first time to drink more than she was allowed to. She felt free and happy with her friends, but at the same time, she wanted to rebel. Not with her parents, but with Caden.

She knew a lot of guys like her. She had received many love letters, confessions, and invitations to go out for the past years, but she always tell them that she was already engaged to someone else.

No one knew who the guy was. Her friends only knew that he was a prince. Her family wanted it to be kept a secret, and it was the same with the royal family.

No one knew that Caden was the crown prince of Flousia because they said it was dangerous if the public found out that he was the future king, and it would also put her life in danger.

"I don't want this to happen again, Alira. From now on, you will be having your bodyguards. Lucas will start his training in the company so he can't be with you all the time. You will also use a separate car from your brother and would have your own security team."

She couldn't believe what her dad said. Was she being guarded because she got drunk yesterday? It was one time, for god's sake! She thought inwardly.

"Dad, did anything happen?" She asked instead.

Her father would not act like that for nothing. She knew they were hiding something from her. But her father smiled at her and gently pinched her chin.

"I just want you to be safe. Now, off you go. The car and your guards are outside. If you want to go out, tell them." He answered.

She wasn't satisfied with her dad's response so she decided to ask Lucas when they walked outside.

"Lucas, what's happening? Dad's acting weird." She frowned.

"You'll know about it later." He winked before getting into his car.

She envy Lucas. He had his security team, but still drive his own car. He was just being followed all the time, though. He is the heir to the Wilson Group, while she was the heiress of Hoseki Empire.

Hoseki was the name of her mother's company, the largest jewelry store in different countries. Alira became its heiress while Lucas would inherit their father's.

She wanted to drive her own car like her brother but didn't know how. Her dad wanted her to have a driving lesson but it was her decision not to because she was a bit scared to drive alone.

She pouted when Lucas didn't answer and just went inside the car.

In school, the car she was in was followed by two more. She hated attracting too much attention, but she couldn't do anything about it since the cars were a limited edition of Rolls Royce.

When she got out of the car, her friends were shocked to see her.

"Oh my! What happened? Why do you have bodyguards? And a lot of them." Samantha exclaimed.

"It was dad's idea. Lucas will have to start training, so we have to use separate cars from now on." She answered.

Students and teachers were looking at her. It wasn't the first time she was accompanied by bodyguards, though, so she was confused as to why everyone seemed surprised to see her.

"Guys, thank you for bringing me home yesterday. I owe you." She said sincerely.

The girls glanced at each other and then stared at her.

"We didn't bring you home," Cassy answered.

She frowned. "Was it Ace? I have to thank him later."

Lea and Samantha shook their heads.

"No. It's your fiance, the crown prince, Caden."