★★★

18. So far away

Vincent's POV

It's been 5 years since I've last seen her...

Standing there with Elegance, pride, coldness, authority, her eyes became empty, face that is so beautiful even without any emotion seen on it

Natasha became a person that is so near yet so far from me, out of my reach.

I can't blame her though, losing a mother and her only brother, I remember when she showed me her herb garden, Studying all those things just for her brother and yet she didn't get too...

It pains my heart seeing her like this, at such a young age, she already felt the pain of losing someone you love

"Nice to see you again, Vincent-sama" before I knew it, my feet began walking toward her, and the next thing I knew, I was already in front of her

Greeting me, I smiled at her, I thought she already forgot about me

"Nice to see you again, Natasha" after saying that I saw sadness in her eyes as she started spacing out, not good!

"Natasha are you alright?" I waved my hand in front of her face and asked in a worried tone, she just nodded and her face instantly became ice cold again

After talking with her, She turned her heels and said farewell at the same time, talking to her was a very pleasant moment, my lips curled upward before I knew it

My little goddess is like a star, you can just admire it from afar and never touching it, so near yet so far!

I wonder when will I see her smile again? I wonder if she will find happiness?

Natasha/iris's POV

Natasha

It's been awhile since I heard someone addressing me by that name, only Alex and mom called me that, and since then I never allowed anyone to call me by that name

It's weird I'm usually very angry when someone call me natasha, but hearing Vincent calling me that.....I feel.... surprisingly fine actually

I don't mind Vincent calling me that, the music started to play, Vincent held his right hand to me and smiled

"Care for a dance, Natasha" I just accepted his hand, as he guided me to the dance floor

Vincent and I agreed to just one song, while dancing or waltzing through the floor, he and I talked about various things

Vincent kneeled down and kissed the top of my hand indicating that the dance had ended

And the now the crowd parted parted way for the prince, it's the last song meaning it's the prince turn to dance and pick a maiden within the crowd to dance with, not wanting to be seen, I stepped back and hid behind the crowd, while Charlotte took a step forward making herself visible to the prince as soon as possible, I just rolled my eyes, Turning to leave a hand held my right wrist and gently pulled me to him, looking up

"Mind if you dance with me, lady Natasha?" Hearing my second name again from a person that only met today--or so I thought, I didn't felt angry at all, I feel fine when Vincent and the prince called me that

Declining a royalties invitation is very rude and it will give you troublesome problems, hiding my annoyance, I bowed and let him guide me to the dance floor, and let him guide me to dance, I just looked at his red ruby eyes that I can't take my eyes off

"I wonder if lady Natasha still remembers me" raising my eyebrow at him, he chuckled that distorted his cold and aloof character, who knew the famous wooden block crown prince can produce such a heart warming chuckled and a beautiful radiating smile

"I believe this is our first time meeting, your highness" he shook his head with a gentle smile plastered on his face, he looked at me

"I clearly remember meeting lady natasha at the forest, sitting on the snow while thinking a way to get the Morrison flower" instead of being shock, My memories instead shown me the time when I stay up all night studying, learning, testing, searching for a cure to Alex but never did

My grip tightened on the prince hand, feeling my tight squeeze at his hand he called out to me that snapped me back

"I never had a chance to fully thanks his highness for sharing me such a convenient information about the Morrison flower" I said in a grateful tone of voice, but I didn't smiled neither my eyes shown any joy, he just flashed a faint smile at me that tricked my curiosity, why did he made such a face?

And finally the dance ended

★★★

19. Rejected marriage!!

Natasha's POV

"Everyone thank you for coming to this joyous occasion on celebrating the Queen's 38th birthday" the queens is 38 years old? It's quite hard to believe since she look so young as if she's just in her mid 20's

"And now the moment you have all been waiting for, I Especially invited many young ladies here in hope of my son--then crown prince took on a liking to someone among all of you, and thankfully my son did took on a liking to one certain maiden" I just rolled my eyes at the king's words, all young ladies in the room checked their dresses and faces again, turning around--preparing to leave, when something stopped me

"The crown prince requested for duchess---Iris Natasha Everhart's hand in marriage" the crowd gasp in suprise, I turned and looked at the king whom is also looking at me

Clenching my fist, I walked closed to the throne and bowed in respect

"Lady Everhart, my son does not wish to force you in marriage, you can accept or reject" hiding my anger, opening my mouth to speak when my idiotic father stepped out of the crowd and happily said

"Of course, she accept your majesty!" I can no longer hide my annoyance, anger not to the royal family but to my idiotic father and myself

"Your majesty I.........I.......I reject!" I firmly said, the crowd released another gasp by my words

No one's POV

"What are you saying you insolence child!, Such ungratefulness! I raised you better than this! I have been there from the moment you were born!" Duke Azalea shouted at iris, the crowd were in shock by it, thinking that they have misunderstood the Duke, if what he said was true then the real evil person Is the former duchess for ignoring the Duke, Iris clench her fist,

how dare he to smudge my mother's name!!

Iris shouted in her mind, she then turned and looked at the Duke with coldness, anger, sorrow all emotions that doesn't show happiness

"You have been there from the moment I and my brother was born" Iris said not asking, the Duke smugly smirked and said yes

"Well then Duke azalea let's have a game, you said you have been there from the moment me and my brother was born, then if you answer all my questions then I will marry the prince" the Duke panicked a little, but thinking the iris is still young and naive he calmed down and looked at her as if she's a joke

"Ask a way" he confidently said

"What is the full name of young lady Azalea?"

"Charlotte Evelyn azalea"

"When is her birthday?"

"March 3 xxxx"

"What season was she born on?"

"Spring"

"You seem pretty confident Duke azalea" what is her purpose asking a this? All the crowd thought, while Duke azalea just smugly smiled, if all the questions is about his golden child--charlotte then he can easily answer it all

"How about this, in the next questions I will ask you can either answer them all or you can just answer one" the Duke's smiled deepened more, assuming that since all the past questions were about Charlotte then he's sure that these questions are also about, but he guessed it wrong

"What's my brother's full name?"

"Um......a...." The Duke started to stutter and sweat, thinking a way to remember the name

"Which one of us is the eldest, me or my brother?"

"How many minutes were we apart?"

"What was the season when we were born?"

"Do you even know the date when my brother died!"

As more questions she asked the more her voice sounded angry, hurt her
Voice started to crack, she stepped forward with heavy steps towards the stutter Duke who doesn't know how to answer

At that everyone understands, the Duke knew everything about the bastard child but never knew his true children, the true disgusting, Shameless, evil person is the azalea family not the Everhart's

"His name.....is......a..Alex---" the Duke Said in a stutter, he heard rose(iris mother) and iris calling the boy Alex so that must be his name, the Duke thought, iris cutted him off, with a heavy voice

"Wrong! It's kaito Alexander Everhart!" With that she turned her heels and looked straight into the king's eyes

"Your majesty, I reject!" SHe firmly said, the king looked at her in amusement

"You know rejecting a royals marriage request is a high treason that can execute your whole family" the king said, the crowd then agreed looking at iris with sympathetic looks

She just darkly laughed that send shiver to the crowd's spine and skin

"Your majesty there is no one to execute since my whole Everhart family already passed away, I'm the only living member of the family, the only reason that I did not follow them is because I want to continue my mother's legacy, I don't want to throw away the title my mother worked for, so if I die today, at least I die with pride" the whole Everhart family is already dead that fact that everyone forgot, the only living member of the Everhart's residence and family is her..

"Very well then, I'm sure the prince fancy someone else then the young duchess" the king turned his gaze to his son, Victor shook his head and said

"That's right, how about my daughter Charlotte your highness" the Duke shamelessly said, the azalea family have always desired to be part of the royal family's history, everyone in the room knew that

"No, I refuse to marry anyone but lady natasha" the prince said not glancing at anyone, with that word it was like a slap on the face for Charlotte

"Suite yourself" I turned my heels to leave, the two guards opened the door  for me as I exited the hall with heavy and domineering aura

No one's POV

After Natasha left

Everyone at the hall fell silence after the duchess left, The respect and admiration for the duchess increased more

Not long before that, everyone else turned to leave as the banquet ended

At the carriage of Duke azalea, Charlotte was throwing a tantrum

"Daddy, I want to be the crown princess! I want the prince! His mine!" The shy, quite and cute character she put on immediately fell because of her anger

"Shhhh.. princess, Don't worry, you'll get what you want" the Duke comfortable his daughter

Why does that bitch always get what I want!! She's the prodigy one! If I could have know how to talk and walk when I was a baby, I could have been a prodigy too! I could have been the kingdoms most talented and beautifuliest lady!! And now even the royal family likes her more than me!! I give a miserable death one day!!
Charlotte cursed in her mind

"If the prince marry her as his princess consort then it's over for us, we can never have the Everhart family's fortune!" Seirra Said clenching her fist, the bitch took after her mother! From the very start she never liked the former duchess---rose
Now that she's dead she thought that she could finally have the fortune that bitch have! And her daughter will be the queen! No one can mock her or call her as a lowly maid!

"But what if...she marry someone that we can easily control, I mean as the husband his the one handling the money, and then a year after duchess iris natasha Everhart died because of an illness and left the whole residence to her husband" Charlotte said while eyeing her mother and father