Chapter 8

Sleep was nearly impossible. As the night grew later, my worries about my family took over me. I didn't understand what could cause Aiden to become so angry with my father that he has to threaten his life. None of it made sense to me.

After of hours of continuous thinking and questioning, it was finally morning. Although, the storm continued to go on, I still found it odd that it still appeared to be night time. The fact that I would be living here, with this constant type of weather, seemed depressing to me.

Does it ever get any better than this?

My thoughts were cut short by a knock at the door, making my stomach drop. I most definitely wasn't in the mood to see him right now, especially after the night he caused me to go through. I can't sleep because of him, and I feared that it won't be an uncommon problem as our relationship continues. Aiden will cause me many sleepless nights, and I needed to prepare myself for that.

Instead of the person I had expected, an elderly lady appeared at the door, making my sudden worries vanish. She immediately showed her respects to me, bowing her head. "Good morning, Princess." She spoke sweetly. "My name is Ellie, I have been assigned to assist you this morning." I couldn't help but show her a smile. The way she talked was so kind and assuring.

"Good morning, Ellie." I replied, moving my legs over to the edge of the mattress. "What have you been called to assist me with?"

"King Heart intends for you to meet his parents this morning, we're you not aware?" Fear was quick to wash over me from her announcement. I didn't feel ready to meet his parents, I had expected more time with him alone.

"Oh..umm yes, sorry. It simply passed over my head." I fibbed, not wanting to concern her. She nodded her head understandingly and closed the door behind her.

"Well, if you don't mind, why don't we get started..." Ellie said while heading deeper into the room. I watched her enter into another door in the corner and awkwardly stood to my feet, unsure of what she was wanting me to do. "You may come in here!" She called from the door, making me follow her voice.

It lead to a glorious bathroom, it's beauty highlighted with its only light coming from the brightness of the snow from the stained glass above. "This place is beautiful." I said mindlessly. I looked over to see Ellie running a bath.

"Why, yes. The Heart family never fails when it comes to architecture. Hopefully when the weather clears up, the king will show you around the kingdom. I'm sure you'll be quite impressed." She commented while putting soap into the water. "You may undress now, Princess, the water is warm."

After years of being attended to, I have become more than used to other ladies seeing my bare body. I feel that most women would find it to be quite strange and uncomfortable, but after years of it, it became normal. I have no fear of their judgment, because they are simply doing their job, along with the fact that they are also women. It's not like they haven't seen it before.

I carelessly loosened the strings on my nightgown and let it fall to the floor, leaving me naked. Ellie granted me access to get in and I followed through, stepping into the water. Not even realizing how cold I was before, my body melted from the contrasting warmth. "Mmmm" I hummed with a light smile. "This is nice, Ellie, thank you." I said.

Ellie began to soak my hair and lather it with soap "Of course, Princess. We apologize, it can be quite chilly in the mornings."

"Is it always like this? The weather?" I questioned as she continued.

"Do you want me to be honest?" My face immediately fell at her words. I nodded my head, already knowing the answer. "Yes, it is. There may be a day or two where the temperature isn't so bad, but sadly, the weather is quite extreme here year-round."

"When was the last time that you have ever been outdoors?" Ellie thought about it for a moment as she rinsed my hair.

"Princess, I apologize, but I am not able to recall...possibly a few seasons ago." I furrowed my brows at her answer. It saddened me that I would have to move here and hardly ever have the opportunity to be outdoors.

"...A few seasons ago?" I gaped. "How is it possible that you stay inside for so long? Don't you go mad?"

"I grew up outside of the castle in Cornerstone, a village which is just South of here. I lived a pretty normal life, but the awful weather conditions still applied. When you grow up on this land, you become quite used to the feeling of being indoors. After I was assigned by King Heart to work for him in the castle, it became quite hard in my early years, when I was deprived of the opportunities to be outdoors, but I had gotten used to it."

"You were deprived of the opportunity? What do you mean by that?" I questioned as she finished up. Ellie wrapped my hair in a towel and began to drain the water.

"You must be granted access to leave the premisses of the castle, Princess. It is a simple rule that was set in place by the king shortly after his father passed his crown." She was speaking about these things as if they were normal or acceptable, even. I frowned in confusion as she helped me out of the bath and handed me a towel.

I tied the towel around my body and looked over to her. "How is one granted access?" Ellie brought her hand to her chest and brought my attention to her necklace.

"This is what grants me access if it was necessary, but only the king and and a few selected guards are the only ones who can grant it. Other members of the castle have their own type of sensor, but this is what was given to me once I started here years ago." I didn't know how to respond to this, especially with how casual she made it sound. I started to wonder what else there was to know about this place and how Aiden controlled it.

Ellie buttoned up the back of my dress, the dress that Aiden had picked for me to wear today. I was beyond nervous to meet his parents. I feared of what they would think of me, or expect of me, considering their traditional beliefs about women in the kingdom. In the Kingdom of Aveline, women are highly mistreated, and are considered to be inferior to men. The women here mainly live for the purpose of men and to be under their wing. I prayed that their toxic ways with women stopped with me, being that I am a higher rank than any other man in this castle, including Aiden. But I wasn't positive with that mindset because although I out-ranked Aiden, he still found his ways to dominate over me.

"You look beautiful, Princess." The Ellie said, stepping back and admiring me. Peering at myself in the mirror, my lips lifted into a smile. I was dressed in a long, wonderful, blue gown. Thankfully, Aiden was considerate enough to give the gown sleeves to keep me warm. It was very beautiful indeed.

"Thank you." I blushed, turning back over to her. I was grateful for Ellie's time with me this morning. She talked to me and gave me real company, and I always appreciated that. After looking at my hair and makeup that she had done, I could see why Aiden has assigned her to me. She did a flawless job. "I look amazing, Ellie. My assistant back home needs to step it up a notch." I joked, resulting in a laugh from her.

"It's an honor, Princess." She said proudly.

"Please, call me Taisa," I said, making her smile. Maroon demands that everyone calls me by my formal name, except for my family, but nobody needs to, in my opinion. I don't want people to think that I am not approachable and an ordinary person like them.

"I believe that you're ready. The King informed me that he would be on the first floor waiting for you."

"All right, thank you again, Ellie." She gave me one last smile before exiting the room to leave me on my own. I looked at the mirror and examined myself again.

Damn she's good.

I decided that it was time for me to go, not wanting to leave them waiting too long. I could only imagine how that would start a chain of events if I were to upset him by making him wait.

I can't mess this up. If I were to say the wrong thing around his parents, or do the slightest thing out of order, they would most definitely not think highly of me. With how things are going with my father, along with my own track record, I will need to do well today. I can't get on Aiden'b bad side, I would only be putting my family and myself in the way of danger.

I found the elevator at the end of the hall and pressed the button that led down to the first floor. Anxiety ran through my blood once the door closed, making my hands shake. I wasn't feeling at the top of my game, but I tried to shake it off in fear of myself failing.

The elevator eventually reached the bottom. I took in and let out a deep breath before the doors opened. And there he was, standing in front of me. He stood there, looking sharp and handsome as usual, with a glimmer of pride in his eyes. I watched timidly as he scanned his eyes down my body and back up to my eyes. By the way he tilted his head to the side and smirked, I could tell that he was satisfied. He signaled for me to come to him, which I followed by stepping out of the elevator. Aiden loosely smiled and trailed his fingers down the fabric on my left arm while also pulling him self closer. "Ellie never fails to impress me." He murmured. "You look incredible, darling."

"Thank you..." I chimed quietly, nerves still coursing through me. I think that Aiden could tell that I was nervous as I followed his eyes to my shaking hands. I quickly hid them by crossing my arms over my chest.

He took wrapped his large hands around my arms and tugged them apart to find my hands. "What's the matter?" He questioned, taking my palms into his grasp.

"Ellie told me that I am meeting your parents." I replied.

"Yes, they are waiting near the ballroom for us." I felt my stomach sink at his words. "Why are you so scared?" I shook my head, hating that I was even feeling like this in the first place.

"Do you think they will like me?" I asked worryingly, desperate to hear an answer that would ease my thoughts. Aiden sighed and brought my hands up to kiss them.

"Play your cards right, and they will." he said, making my mouth part open to speak, but In a matter of a second, the atmosphere changed when he brought his hand to the base of my head and harshly pulled me to me into him, his lips touching my ear. "Taisa, I am going to need you to listen to me." He spoke lowly, pressing his fingers into my scalp. "I expect you to be on your best behavior when you meet them, and I'm not fucking around."

"I won't do anythi-," I tried, but he tightened his grip.

"If you even give me one wrong look..." He threatened, not even needing to finish his words. "These are the people that raised me and gave me the crown I wear on my head today, so I am not going to have them look down upon me because you can't behave. They have been looking forward to this and expect you to be the elegant, well-rounded that the Emperor made you out to be." He said, his tone becoming more intense. "Don't disappoint them." By now, my breath was unsteady and shallow as I began to drown in fear. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." I replied, putting my voice together. With that, he released the pressure on my head, allowing me to soothe my now irritated skin. I flatted down my hair and frowned, hating how he was so aggressive with me. "You don't have to be so rough with me, you know..." I told him.

"It seems to be the only way to get you to listen so far, so I will continue to do so until I see improvement on your side." Aiden replied irritably before taking my hand. "But we don't have time to argue about this. My parents are waiting for us and are probably wondering where we are, so let's go." Aiden pulled me to his side and began to quickly walk, not caring if I was having a hard time keeping up with him. I was confused as to what had made him so angry in such a short time. In fact, I was even trying to be civil with him, but even then, I can't seem to meet his expectations.

"And one more thing..." he announced as we walked. "You are to be affectionate towards me when they are around." He said. "I believe that they would find it odd that my fiancée is reluctant to give me physical attention." I gulped nervously at his request, taking in what he just demanded of me.

We arrived at a set of doors with guards on the outside. They gave their respects to us and opened the doors, exposing the couple standing side by side. They appeared even more intimidating than Aiden himself, and Aiden is the most intimidating man I have ever known. Their heads were proudly lifted high as they noticed us for the first time, and he way they both looked together made Aiden's good looks make perfect sense. I glanced up at Aiden on my side and loosely took ahold of his arm holding my other one. He gave me an expression of approval, and we continued to walk further into the room.

"Princess Rosewater! It is wonderful to meet you finally." His father greeted me while walking up to me. He kissed my hand and pecked my left cheek.

"It's nice to see you, Mr.Heart," I said with a convincing smile.

"Oh no, please, Noah," he referred to himself, "and my wife, Jeanette." His mother, a gorgeous woman, pulled me in for a hug.

"Hi, Jeanette." I hugged back. She released me and looked over my appearnace.

"I never thought I would have the privilege." She gushed. "You did a wonderful job choosing the dress, Son."

"I make sure to pick the best." He said with his classic smirk.

"It really is an honor, Princess," Jeanette said, making me show her a kind smile. Sure she looked intimidating from her level of beauty, but she showed herself to be very passionate. I hoped that she would become a figure that I could look up to one day. I needed more women besides my mother to be around and to seek guidance from.

"There is no need for that, please, call me Taisa." I offered, stepping back over to Aiden's side, and putting my arm around his back.

"I'm pleased about how this all turned out. We are so thankful to have you here with us." Noah commented. I felt overwhelmed by their greetings, mostly because I had expected worse to come out of this. In my mind, I pictured them to be far worse than Aiden, but they appeared sweet and welcoming.

"Thank you, Noah, Jeanette." I said.

"Let's talk over some drinks?" Jeanette asked.

"Yes, that would be perfect," Aiden said, placing his hand on the small of my back. He guided me along the way behind his parents, who made random comments about their castle's newest additions. I did my best to remain engaged, but in all honesty, all I could think about was the millions of things that I could say or do wrong to get into trouble. We all arrived at a bar, scenery that was entirely new to me. Maroon didn't want to risk me being tempted to try alcohol by allowing my castle to be built with a social bar...because god forbid that I taste alcohol.

"All right, Taisa, what would you like to drink?" Jeanette asked while sitting down.

" Water," Aiden answered for me as we sat down. "The Emperor doesn't allow her to drink." I turned over to face him, angry at the fact that I couldn't speak for myself, but he didn't seem to care. He shot a glare at me, almost asking him to challenge him. Instead of acting out, I placed my hand onto his that was placed upon the counter, backing down from his test.

"My apologies, we had no idea." She said.

" No, it is alright. Not everyone knows the little rules that he makes for me." I replied calmly.

"What is the most insane rule you think he has set for you?" Aiden asked curiously, leaning his head onto his free hand. I thought about it for a moment, biting the inside of my cheek.

"I would say...the rule where I am not allowed to swim." Aiden laughed at my response, along with his parents.

"Why can't you swim?" Noah asked. "That seems pretty harmless."

"He fears that I might drown or hurt myself in some way." I explained, becoming amused by their stunned reactions.

"My goodness... He is quite protective of you. If you've already had enough of that, good luck with that one." Noah nodded over to Aiden. I turned my bead to see Aiden plaster a smirk on his lips. "He is quite protective when it comes to family and friends. I can only imagine how he is when it comes to you." he chuckled.

"Let's hope he doesn't go overboard," I said backhandedly. Aiden placed his hand onto my thigh, a possible warning to me. I played his sudden reaction off by cupping my hands on top of his with a smile to clear out any dispute that anyone could have suspected and looked over to Aiden, who hinted that he wasn't pleased with me. With a subtle scowl on his face, he leaned down into my ear while his parents laughed at my comment.

"Sit on my lap." He said.

"wha-"

"Sit on my lap," he commanded once more. I gazed into his eyes nervously but followed through to further avoid anything that his parents might notice. I moved off of my chair and allowed Aiden to help me onto his lap. As soon as I sat down onto his thighs, he wrapped an arm around my waist to keep me there. What weirded me out the most was his parents' finding nothing strange about what we were doing. I have never in my life seen couples sit on each other's laps, but maybe this level of affection was normal here.

A server came around and handed everyone their drinks. I pulled my water glass closer to me and swirled the straw around the cup. Aiden took ahold of his glass of what looked liked to be whiskey and brought it to his lips. I watched as he took a sip of the fragrant liquid and swallowed it without a single flinch. "Is there something you need, sweetheart?" He asked, noticing me staring at him.

"No..." I said but kept my stare. Aiden moved me further up his lap and held a tighter grip on my side. I then felt his cold lips touch my ear.

"You want to try it, don't you?" He said lowly with a cocky tone. I paused for a moment, looking down at his glass.

"It doesn't smell like something I'd enjoy," I stated truthfully. Aiden set his glass down onto the counter and picked out an ice cube from his drink.

"Here," he held it in between us. "Try it."

"I don't know, Aiden..." he chuckled softly at my shyness and brought the ice up to my lips and ran it along my bottom lip line. By instinct, I licked my lips and felt a strange warmth in my mouth. The taste was bold and bitter but quickly disappeared since it wasn't much.

"What did it taste like?" He smirked from the scrunched face I made.

"Like medicine." I grabbed my water and took a sip to get rid of the horrible aftertaste. "How in the world do you drink that willingly?

"It's the feeling it gives you, baby." He said, taking another glorious sip of his drink. My stomach tightened at his little pet name for me, but I knew that he wolf only call me that more if I told him that I hated it.

"What does it feel like?" I asked. He scratched his head, looking for a way to describe it.

"It depends on who you are, but for me, it makes me feel relaxed."

"Have you ever been drunk?" I questioned.

"No." He downed the last portion of the whiskey. "That would just make me look vulnerable." I felt relieved by his answer. The only thing that could make this situation worse was for him to be an alcoholic.

"Taisa, we were not expecting you to come so early. You were supposed to fly in today. Why is that?" Jeanette asked. I felt Aiden's grasp on my hip tighten, telling me not to say anything out of order.

"Aiden informed be about the storm that was coming in and was worried that we would have never made it back in time if we left the next day."

"Oh yes that's right, the storm should be starting tonight at any moment. That completely went over our heads." Noah commented. I meekly smiled. "You might be stuck with us for a while, depending on how severe the storm is."

"The storm hasn't started yet?" I inquired with confusion, looking outside at the snow that continued to pile on the ground. Noah chuckled at my reaction and shook his head.

"No, we have lots more coming our way in the next few hours." He replied. "Based on where your kingdom resides, I understand that you don't experience snow, correct?"

"The cities within the North and East are the ones that see the snow, but not in the area my castle is located in." I explained.

Jeanette expressed her confusion by tilting her head. "You have never seen those parts of your kingdom before?" She asked. I suddenly became shy, realizing how strange I sounded, but I answered honestly.

"...no, actually. My father won't allow me to travel with him." I said. "I guess that I just never questioned him about it." I watched as their faces turned to almost be unreadable, maybe nervous. Jeanette hummed in response and turned her attention towards her husband, making Aiden turn his attention back over to me, lightly squeezing my arm. Their strange reason was starting to make me to worry if I was making a fool out of myself or not.

Aiden lowered his head to my ear. "Are you doing alright, dear?" He asked softly. I bit at my lip exhaled through my nose.

"Do I sound silly?" I asked him. "I feel like I'm being silly."

Aiden chuckled lightly and kissed the side of my head. "No, Princess." He assured me. "You're doing fine."

"You're lying." I jokingly accused him, trying to lift my own spirits. I looked over to see Aiden's playful expression written all over his face.

"I don't lie." He claimed. "What would make you feel like you're being silly?"

"I don't know...I feel like when I explain the conditions that I have to live under with the rules of the Emperor or my parents, It makes me sound like I'm a child. It's embarrassing." Aiden let out a little sigh from my answer and tapped his fingers on my hip in thought.

"I can assure you that my parents don't view you as a child. They respect you immensely, as they should. I'm sure that everyone could agree with you that the little rules that they have enforced are ridiculous. No one could ever blame you for that. You're not the one who made them." Surprisingly, Aiden's words left me feeling slightly encouraged, especially with the fact that he agreed with me on the stupidity of the rules that I have to follow.

"You think that they are ridiculous?" I questioned him, hopefulness in my voice. With that, he gave me a nod.

"Of course I do." He said. "Who wouldn't find those rules ridiculous?" I didn't know why, but hearing that from him was so comforting, it made me feel somewhat understood. Without even realizing, I smiled at him. Aiden mirrored my small expression and readjusted his hold on me, pulling my hips farther up his thighs.

"So, Taisa," Noah started. "Tell us what it's like being in your position, or just talk more about yourself in general." He said. "I'm sure there are things that the press doesn't know." I fumbled with my hands, becoming tense from the question.

"I um...what would you like to know?" I asked, struggling to find my words.

"What was it like growing up as the Princess? I understand that your relationship with the Emperor has always been strong, yes?" I traced my finger around the rim of my glass as I thought of my answer.

"Yes, I could consider the Emperor to be a grandfather of mine. We have been very close since before I can even remember. Whenever my father was away with my mother, the Emperor was always glad to watch over me, for weeks or months at a time, in fact. I did most of my primary school with him." I explained.

Noah scratched his beard, intrigued. "That man taught you math?" He expressed, causing me to laugh.

"I could not imagine learning how to multiply with him over my shoulder." Aiden commented. "He'd surly kill me if I got one wrong." With knowing how the Emperor is, I found Aiden's words quite humorous. The Emperor would probably give anyone else a hard time if he were to teach them, especially if he taught Aiden at a young age. I could easily guess how troublesome he must have been, knowing the person he is now.

"I would answer a math question with the word blue and he would still give me candy." I grinned, shaking my head. "None the less, he was a great teacher."

"Oh you pretty thing," Aiden scoffed, slightly narrowing his eyes at me. "I bet you don't even know your times tables."

"Hit me." I said. Aiden stared me down mischievously.

"Seven times four." He tested.

"Twenty-eight."

"Nine times eight."

"Seventy-two." With my second successful answer, he narrowed his eyes.

"Sixteen times times seven."

"one hundred and twelve."

"Forty-two divided by five ."

"eight point four." By then, I think he knew to stop quizzing me. I knew that I had some academic intelligence, but I never thought that it would have ever mattered. Seemingly, everyone was impressed.

"Holy shit, you're a smart one." Aiden said, totally taken back at all of my correct answers. "You can do that all in that little head of yours?"

"What made you think that I couldn't?" I asked, confidence building in me.

"Taisa, I hope you know that normal people cant divide like that in their heads without even thinking about it. You didn't even blink before you answered." I just shrugged my shoulders.

"It looks like you need to open your textbooks back open, son." Noah kidded, making Aiden roll his eyes. "When did you stop your education?" He asked me.

"I stopped my official schooling last spring, but I still enjoy reading whenever I can. I just happened to excel in the math and sciences." I explained, trying my best to be humble. However, the feeling of being better than Aiden at something was way to good to simply ignore.

"It appears that the Emperor did a wonderful job. You're a smart, young lady." Noah praised, but although I was thankful for his kind words, I wished that he could acknowledge that it was I who put in the endless nights of studying and the constant practice. Maroon was just there to help. Not wanting to get too upset over nothing, I flashed a thankful smile at him.

We talked for hours at the bar, enjoying each other's time. As the clock ticked by and we made more conversation, I noticed my nerves fade away. It felt good to know that I could become comfortable with his parents after fearing them greatly, and I was getting the feeling that they enjoyed talking with me. They were both so interested in what I had to say about myself and were so warm with their words.

I found myself giggling at something Jeanette had said, becoming tired and delusional. From my previous sleepless night and with how late it was getting, I was having a hard time keeping myself together.

Aiden put his hand on the back of my arm and pulled me back so that I was laying against his chest, waking me up slightly. I was still overwhelmed and surprised at the amount of affection I was expected to give to him today. He was the first man I have ever given affection to, and I never knew how to respond. He softly played with the hair that laid over my right shoulder, causing my eyes to grow heavy.

"So, was meeting her parents, Son?" Noah started. I waited for his response, curious about what he would say to this one.

"It was fine, and it was too bad that I wasn't able to stay for very long. Jeremy sends his greetings to you." Aiden replied blandly.

"Oh is that so, how interesting." Noah's response made my confusion about the situation even more severe, making me react my narrowing my eyes. I glanced up at Aiden as he kept firm eye contact with his father, stopping his hand motions. The tension in the room was high, confirming that something was going on, and that they were hiding it from me.

"Taisa, Darling, why don't you get ready for bed. It's quite late." Aiden said, loosening his grip on me.

"Why can't I stay for a while longer?" I asked, peeling my eyes back open after they had fallen shut again. Aiden leaned down so that the conversation was only between us.

"You're hardly awake, dear. You should go before you fall asleep on my lap." Although I was more than exhausted, I wanted to stay to figure this out. Surly they didn't think that I don't suspect anything odd here...

"Aiden, please-" he stopped me there by pinching the base of my neck and bringing his lips closer to meet my ear.

"I asked you to do something, and I expect you to do it without hesitation." He whispered harshly. "Go." I cleared my throat, stunned by his sudden anger, but I didn't want to make that obvious. I sent a smile towards his parents and climbed off Aiden's lap.

"Goodnight, Jeanette, Noah," I said while walking over to them. They both gave me a small kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Dear, sleep well," Noah said. I said my last few words before beginning to walk away. I just about passed Aiden before I was stopped my Jeanette's voice.

"Aren't you going to give your lady a kiss goodnight, Aiden?" I closed my eyes, disappointed that I didn't get away with it.

"Of course, I am, Mother," Aiden said, grabbing my hand and pulling me closer. I felt my heart pounding in my chest as I looked into his eyes, the eyes that meant everything yet nothing to me at the same time. "You'll just have to kill me later." He smirked before bringing his face close to mine. My breath hitched, the smell of him becoming intoxicating beyond reason.

His lips touch with my own, drowning my body in a feeling of warmth and unfamiliarity. My anger and worries seemed to vanish in that moment, his kiss erasing all of it. He was gentle as he lingered the kiss for a moment longer, making sure to get every second that he could. Aiden then pulled away from me, looking like the proudest man to ever live. "I will come say goodnight soon." He said while caressing my now rosy cheeks.

"Alright," I whispered weakly, lost for words at the fact of just having my first kiss. I stumbled away from him in utter shock before I scurried to my room and shut the door behind me.

I spent almost an hour sitting on the bed, thinking about what had happened between Aiden and I. All of it was so unexpected and sudden...I tried to take my mind off of it by showering and getting ready for bed, but it clouded over me.

Was I supposed to feel that way? Was it a bad feeling? Did I want it to be a bad feeling?

What am I doing?

A knock sounded at the door, making me shut out my annoying questions. The was followed by Aiden coming into view, he seemed...calm. We both stared at each other, not knowing what to say, but unlike me, he was happy about it. Aiden walked over to me and sat next to me on the bed. "You did good tonight." He spoke. I stayed silent as he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. "What do you think?"

"We kissed, Aiden," I said.

"Yes, we did." He simply replied. "I plan on doing it again. Taisa, you're my fiancée, I'm going to kiss you. You do realize at some point; I will make love to you." I slapped my forehead, not wanting to think about that.

"Aiden-"

"You're going to be affectionate to me, and I am going to be affectionate to you. We are in a relationship, if you didn't know." He told me, making me glare. "When we are married, we must have children, so of course, I am going to make love to you at some point. Physical attention is what is going to come with this relationship."

"There is no way on earth that you of all people are the one to tell me what does and doesn't come with a relationship." I sneered at him, completely offended by his forceful comments. "If you are going to play it that way...you know what else is going to come with this relationship? Honesty. And don't even try to act like you don't know what I'm referring to. I saw the way you and your parents looked at each other once my father was mentioned. You're hiding something from me." I said. Aiden turned to face me more and pressed his lips into a thin line, knowing that I had caught on.

"I wish that I could tell you Taisa-"

"No, don't even bother telling me that you wish you could , because you can. And I want to know whats going on right now." I exclaimed, anger fueling my emotions. The way he beat around the bush when it came to the topic of my father drove me mad...I just wanted to be in the know of things, but apparently that is too much to ask for. A smirk played onto the corner his lip before he ran his tongue along his bottom line, as if he was entertained by this. Aiden then leaned forward, locking our eyes so that I couldn't look away, but I didn't want to. I need to stop being so scared of him, but the way his expression faded caused me to feel otherwise. His eyes darkened, along with his playful smirk fading away once he spoke.

"Retract the claws, sweetheart." He said lowly. "You don't demand anything from me, and neither will you raise your voice when you speak to me like that." Aiden moved his body so that I now trapped onto the bed and that I had to way to move. He snaked his arm around my side and pressed his hand between my shoulder blades, holding me in place. "I am in a good mood from your compliance today. Don't mess it up because you're upset over something as small as this." To me this wasn't small in the slightest, but even if I fought it with all my power, I knew that I would never win. Aiden was only pissed because I caught on to him, but I decided to chose my battles lose this one.

I wasn't in the mood to deal with it.

I didn't say a thing more, telling him that I was done arguing, but I wanted nothing more than to yell and scream to him. Aiden flickered his eyes down and back up to me, thankfully now calmer than before. I was taken by surprise when he rested his forehead onto mine and let out a small laugh. "You're such a stubborn one." He said lightly. I stayed quiet, unsure of what to say with him so close. "I hate that about you...but it's also what makes this so fun."

"Fun?" I questioned.

"Yeah," Aiden lifted his head and peered down at me. "Never in my life have I ever met a lady as stubborn as you." In a way, I took that as a compliment. I was probably the only person brave enough to defy him, but maybe that was because I was protected under my crown, but it sure gave me an upper-hand sometimes. "I like a challenge."

"Did you expect this to be easy?" I asked him. "Did you expect me to be so easy?"

"I figured that you would be, considering that the Emperor raised you, but I was wrong." He said. "Though before we had met, He did mentioned your wild spirit, so maybe I should have seen this coming my way."

"And what is that exactly?"

"How troublesome you would be...but like I said, it makes this fun." I scoffed at his words.

"Its fun because I tend to say things you don't like and then you get mad?" I rose my eyebrows in confusion.

"No..." he brought his hand to me and caressed my cheek. "Its how you react to me." Aiden gracefully moved his hand to the side of my neck and moved himself so that he was even closer to me. "How your body freezes up when I touch you... how you cave into me when you're scared.." he went on. My breath hitched once he suddenly gripped my chin, causing me to gaze up at him. "And my favorite...whenever you can't seem to look me in the eyes when I speak you."

I nearly punched myself, realizing that I was doing exactly what he described. It was not like he was unpleasant to look at, that would simply be a lie. Although I did it subconsciously, I guessed that my reason was because of how much hatred filled inside of me whenever I looked at his face. It only reminds me of the future that I dread and the nightmares that will come with it.

"Why do you have to be this way..." I whispered, not having the energy to pull away from him. His thumb brushed over my lips as he stared down at me, another smirk growing on his face.

"I just can't help it, kitten." He said softly. My eyes blinked slowly, disappointed by his answer. "You look like you need some rest. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes I'm feeling fine." I fibbed, crossing my arms over my chest as I slouched. By the look on his face, and the way he tightened his grip on my chin, I knew that he didn't believe me.

"I don't care for your lies, darling." He said. "I'm going to ask you once more. Are you feeling alright?" Annoyance and rage was beginning to swarm in me from how pushy and demanding he was being. I just wanted to be alone, but he can't make anything I desire possible.

"I'm just tired, Aiden. Jet lag is not treating me so well." I explained, not entirely lying to him, but it seemed to do the trick. Aiden released my chin and sighed, a small smile to his lips.

"Alright, I'll let you go to sleep." He announced before standing to his feet and turning to me, but I had a slight feeling that he wasn't leaving right this moment. "You were so good today, Princess." I swallowed nervously by the way he came across it, but I nodded.

"...I just wanted to make a good impression." I told him, confused as to why we were talking about it. Aiden gave me a subtle smile and took one step closer to the bed, right before leaning his body down to my level.

"You did good." He said, admiring me. "They absolutely adore you and are excited to have you be apart of the family." In all honesty, it did feel good to know that his parents enjoyed their time with me, but this man wasn't letting me sleep. "Sleep well, darling." He spoke, leaning down further and catching me off guard. His warm lips pressed up against my own, his hand holding my head in place. Kissing and physical touch was still foreign to me, so I had no idea what I was supposed to do, but Aiden took offense to my stillness. "Kiss me back." He commanded against my lips, but I turned my head away.

"I-Im sorry I don't- I don't know how." I admitted nervously, trying my best to get out of it but also to be honest. He couldn't expect so much of me after our first kiss, thinking that I would be some expert.

Aiden brought his hand away from the back of my head and slid it to my cheek, gently holding the side of my face. "You are overthinking, kitten. I promise that it will come naturally if you just relax."

"Aiden, I-" he cut my off by placing his finger on my lips to hush me.

"Just try." He said, leaving me with no choice. I understood that he wasn't going to leave this room unless I kissed him. With my silence, he leaned down again, making my heart skip a beat. His lips touched mine gracefully, not giving me the right to think anymore. I have learned by now that his intimate touch made my mind turn to slush, and that it caused me to forget everything I knew in that moment.

I still couldn't gather myself enough to feel confident, but I didn't have time to hesitate. I focused on the way his lips felt, and not the person who possessed them. I focused on the way his hands were holding me, making me want to mimic him to feel more comfortable. I pressed my hand against his chest before I decided to do ask he asked. I moved my lips against his, not having a clue of what I was doing, but he immediately reacted by pressing his lips harder onto mine, telling me to do it once more. I now felt hot and my brain felt clustered with confusion, but I followed through and kissed him one more time.

Aiden slowly parted from me, a proud grin on his face. "That was perfect, Angel." He told me, still moving his thumb in aimlessly along my cheek. I couldn't fully understand how I let myself be in this position, allowing him to kiss me like this, but my head didn't feel clear. I didn't know what I was doing in the slightest. "Get some rest now." Aiden said before placing a kiss on my forehead. "Sleep well, Princess."