I did my absolute best to complete my performance successfully. After that dramatic performance, I was startled to see a standing ovation from the audience. I'm overcome with emotion, perhaps because this was the first time anyone acknowledged me; this time, they praised only me and no one else.
The smile on my face didn’t leave me as well as Lincoln, who was on the side of the stage the whole time smiling ear to ear as he applauded me proudly. But that applause stopped when the prince's arrival was announced. "Ehem!” The host cleared his throat, which was louder than the noise of the crowd. "Let's all welcome the next ruler, Prince Augustus!" The applause that used to be for me is now for the prince walking down the aisle of the theater with the one everyone is waiting for, Felicity. The crowd started to bow their heads, not me, who was looking at him. I was on the stage, which is why our eyes met. But it didn't take long, I can't bear to look at him. I caused him pain, and to this day, I feel guilty for what I did. I turned my gaze to Felicity, clinging to the prince's arm.
No matter how much I want to be with you instead of Felicity, that won't happen. I was never a princess. I was the stranger you should never have known existed. And you are the prince who was meant to chase the princess. Like in Disney's stories. I held my violin tightly as I walked down the stage, where Lincoln's hand was waiting.
"Take my hand," Lincoln said. I reached out my hand to Lincoln while we met Prince Augustus and Felicity on the stage. We both bowed our heads in respect.
And when my feet stepped away, a familiar hand that had not touched me for a long time felt my arm again. Felicity and Lincoln did not expect what the prince did. He stopped me from leaving. I glanced up to look at his face, his eyes were pleading with me again. "This time, don't go," his mouth uttered. Like our hands, our eyes never let go of each other. I can't let go of his hand on me because, for the first time again, I feel his touch. I want to go away with him.
We both didn't mind the crowd looking straight at us, curious about what was going on. But Felicity and Lincoln were worried about it, especially for the prince. "Stop, don't make a scene here. They're all here watching." Felicity said.
“Don’t ruin your image, Augustus,” Lincoln added.
“Who cares about my image?” Prince replied. “You have nothing to do with this, so mind your fuckin’ business. I’ve always known you liked Gemma. But I didn’t know you would take this advantage to betray me.”
“You surely don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lincoln touched my hand that was touched by the prince.
“Can we just continue your argument after this? We are the center of attention now.” Felicity said, her tone starting to be angry. Like Lincoln, she touched the prince's arm, asking him to let go.
Together, they removed our hands from each other. Lincoln pulled me away when our hands were separated, but before we could walk away, the prince said some last words that I couldn't take anymore. "If you go, I swear I'll hate you forever, I will regret that I was even kind to you."
“The fuck!” Lincoln turned around and was about to go back to the prince. “How could you say that to her?” Little did we know that it was a small trick of the prince to take me away from everyone, including Felicity and Lincoln.
It was too late when they realized I had been dragged along by the prince. I couldn’t stop, no, it was the opposite. I don’t want to stop him. I still remember being dragged by him many times, like it happened just yesterday.
I keep looking at his hand dragging me somewhere, not worrying about the guards chasing us. Not far away, we saw his car parked, and he quickly got me in the car aggressively. Guards were getting closer and closer to us. The prince managed to drive the car before the guards chased us.
He pulled over to the side of the road. Neither I nor the prince started a conversation. I tried to control myself not to do anything that I'd surely regret, so my eyes were drawn not to him but outside the window. My eyes may not be on him, but I can feel his eyes on me. His hand starts touching my neck up to my head, and as he does that repeatedly, my eyes automatically shut. Every touch of his is felt by my whole body. “This is not what I want. It was supposed to be you, not Felicity.” I can feel his heavy breath on the back of my neck.
“This is your faith,” the thought in my mind replied.
“How come I am experiencing the same faith my parents had? Can’t I just choose my faith? I don’t want Raeanna or Felicity. I only want you," he said, his arms slowly wrapping me. “I’ll forgive you for leaving me in the middle of Grandpa’s place, setting me up, and exchanging me for your father’s freedom... You know, I already sense that you are leaving me behind."
What he said left me flabbergasted.
“I had this devil plan in my head 'cause, you know, maybe because at that time I was so desperate to not let you go.” His breath as he was talking became heavier when his tears started falling on me. "What if I lock her up in the room, chain her, or disconnect her from her usual world? But those are all in my head. I dare not do those horrible things because I would rather not see you than hurt you.
It was like some thorns pierced my heart to hear those words from him.
"I was thinking about running away with you since the day we left the city—yeah, it did happen, but you ran away by yourself, leaving me in this hopeless faith that I didn't want, anyway," he said, and then those arms gradually let go of my body.
In the side mirror, I saw Walden’s reflection walking directly into the car where we were parked. At that moment, I turned my gaze toward him. “Let’s… let’s not see each other, Gemma.”
Hearing those words come out of his mouth makes all the fear I had before returned. Making all of the symptoms of anxiety come out of my body, causing me to shake uncontrollably because of the thought that he is now letting me go and ready to chase me off.