Kiss Me Not

There was only silence in response to her enthusiasm which made her wonder what was inside Cedric\'s head. She moved closer and whispered in his ear, "Your Highness… Did you hear me? Don\'t tell me you were sleeping while I was talking?"

"Call me that again and see how I will correct you. The next time you call me so distantly I will kiss you as punishment," Cedric warned with a smug face.

Brione instinctively covered her mouth with her palm. Cedric opened his eyes and stared into Brione\'s blue eyes. He loved her eyes. It made him want to stare at them forever. The sapphire gem-like eyes looked good on her beautiful and angelic face.

"I have warned you sweetheart. So be careful next time because I always keep my words," Cedric added, maintaining a blank face.

Brione\'s face crumpled as she mumbled, "Alright I\'ll call you Cedric! It\'s better than darling. So cringey! Urghh!"

Cedric, with a slight chuckle, commented, "Then just think of it as one of your drama characters. I watched that latest drama of yours. You called the lead actor hon… I would love it if you call me darling in public so I think it\'s better if you start practicing while we are alone and get used to it. I told you that doing this will make our relationship more convincing sweetheart…"

"Also, aren\'t you curious about the birthmarks? If you are obedient then you might get an answer soon." Cedric added with a sly smile.

\'This sly wolf!\' Brione complained silently. She did not dare irritate the sly wolf since she still had a lot of unanswered questions and Cedric was the best person to help her find those answers.

"Okay deal. How about going to the spa? The masseuse can look at it for you," Brione suddenly suggested.

"Hmm, I don\'t want strangers looking at my naked body Bri. Can you please stop bringing up Gavin whenever I\'m with you? It\'s very uncomfortable for me. I have already told you that we will investigate this matter together so I would really appreciate it if you would start treating me like my own person and not as someone I resemble.

Don\'t you think it\'s really unfair for me especially since you\'ve not proven your claim yet?"

Cedric\'s last words sounded like a plea making Brione feel guilty and embarrassed at the same time.

"I\'m sorry… I will try my best not to do it again but I want to make it clear that I only agree with this setup because I want to know the truth. I don\'t believe Gavin is dead and you promised that you will help me find the missing pieces..." she said.

She once again felt Cedric\'s hand clasping hers followed by a gentle squeeze as he murmured, "Don\'t worry. I will keep that promise Bri. But for now, I really hope that you see me as who I am."

Brione nodded and waited for Cedric to let go of her hand but instead of letting go, he interlocked their fingers, clasping them tightly together.

"Tell me if you\'re feeling uncomfortable. You can always remove your hand if you don\'t like it. It\'s just that I really like the feeling of holding your hand," he said softly, after which she did not comment nor pull her hand back.

Meanwhile, at Perdu Castle, just as Brione had predicted, the staff who saw her with Cedric immediately ran to Mitch\'s room. Berry was also in the same room, so the two of them planned to go down together for breakfast.

"What happened?" Mitch asked the staff who entered her room.

"I-I saw Gavin…" the man said, stuttering.

"What?!" Berry, who heard it, shouted.

"Gavin. He is alive… With Brione…" the staff added, still in a daze.

"Is this some kind of a prank? Brione said that she will tour around the island. Are you saying that Gavin\'s ghost is also with her?" Berry scoffed and felt goosebumps all over her arms because she hated ghosts!

"But it\'s true…" the staff insisted so Mitch grabbed her mobile phone to call and check on Just as she was about to dial her number, it suddenly rang.

"Hello, Manager Ruth? Alright, I understand. Yes, we will be there shortly. Alright. Thanks…"

Mitch looked at Berry and the staff in front of her before instructing, "Gather everyone to function hall B now. Manager Ruth has prepared breakfast for our team there and she also has something important to discuss with us. She said it was regarding Brione and the man she left with in the morning."

Almost immediately, Berry rushed out to inform the others while Mitch called Brione\'s number but unfortunately Brione was not picking her mobile phone.

"What is going on?" Mitch whispered to nobody. She was getting worried even though Brione assured her that she was fine in her messages. Who was the man she left with and why did Manager Ruth know him? Was it true that he was Gavin just like one of the staff insisted?

She went out to her room while still dialing Brione\'s number repeatedly. She was dying of curiosity so she hurriedly walked to function hall B as instructed by Manager Ruth.

She was the first to arrive and soon others followed. The hall was filled with the staff members on their team. One of the staff under Manager Ruth handed a document to each of them.

"What is this?" she asked.

Manager Ruth smiled and said, "This is a non-disclosure agreement for your team. Please read the clauses and if you agree with the terms, we kindly request you to sign it and seal it.

"Huh? Wait… What?! Am I seeing this right?!!" Berry exclaimed, seeing the reward that she would receive as soon as she agreed to it. There were a lot of zeros.

"A million dollars??" she gasped loudly, suddenly feeling dizzy.

"Yes, please read the documents carefully. Because it involves His Highness\' safety, we want absolute confidentiality on this matter. We heard that some of your staff saw His Highness a while ago with Miss Brione and we learned that our Prince has a great resemblance to a well-known figure in your country. We would like you to not disclose such important matters pertaining to His Highness\' privacy." Manager Ruth explained.

She too was very shocked to know about it when Will briefed her about the matter and instructed her to take the necessary actions as commanded by the Prince.