A new day was beginning and Rosalia had not managed to fall asleep.
She spent the entire night tossing and turning in bed, thinking about what she should do.
"(Clearly this is not the novel I had read… or well, it is, but the plot points have changed too much. The best thing will be to stay away from the Prince, since it seems he will not notice me; if he is already in love with Valeria… Valeria… that is another question. I have to find out if she is also another reincarnated soul and, if so, even though I once wanted to eliminate her, I must ask for her forgiveness and leave the path clear for her with the Prince. From what I could overhear yesterday, she does not want to accept Diego's feelings for fear of what might happen when I appear.)"
These were Rosalia's thoughts. She was not a bad person; she simply believed that the story had to unfold as it did in the book. When she pushed Valeria into the lake, she did it out of self-protection; in the novel, the true Valeria made her suffer the worst humiliations, and Rosalia was only trying to prevent it. The Valeria of the novel was not kind, so she thought that if she were out of the way, everyone would benefit: no one, except her family, would miss her.
She spent the entire morning devising a plan: she would approach her cousin Amanda and try to integrate herself into Valeria's group. The moment they were alone, she would ask to speak with her.
With the plan in mind, Rosalia left her room heading for the dining hall in search of her cousin.
Valeria, for her part, was looking for a table for breakfast. Finding an empty one, she sat down and began to prepare her meal. Suddenly, the murmurs and comments of the other young women began to flood the hall.
"Did you see him yet?"
"Yes, that is the Crown Prince of Ruby."
"Oh, my God! He is beautiful."
"They say he is wicked and that he does not like to socialize."
(Valeria's POV)
The girl behind me would not stop talking. Out of curiosity, I turned toward where everyone was looking… and, indeed, he was beautiful: wavy reddish hair, broad and sturdy shoulders, a perfect face. In my world, he would be a model or even a stripper.
I noticed that he also fixed his gaze on me and gave a crooked smile. I closed my mouth, trying to recover my composure, and attempted to focus on my breakfast.
Suddenly, his deep voice resonated behind me:
"Excuse me, Miss… do you mind if I sit down?"
"Not at all." (God, what a deep voice… calm down, Valeria, calm down. I do not even understand why I am nervous).
"Oh, in that case, allow me to introduce myself: Abel Folk, Crown Prince of Ruby."
"A pleasure, Highness. My name is Valeria Delacroix."
Upon hearing my name, the young man bowed slightly, acknowledging who I was.
"Oh… you are the Crown Princess of the Empire of the Rose, are you not?"
"(Shi**… I forgot that detail)." Before I could respond, I felt someone take me by the waist, pressing me against his body.
"That is correct… greetings, Prince." Turning my face, I saw Diego beside me, with a serious expression and a defiant gaze I had never seen before.
"(When did he get here?)"
"Greetings, Prince Diego. I see the rumors are true."
"I do not understand, Prince Abel… what rumors are you referring to?"
"To those of your fiancée. They say her beauty can only be compared to that of a goddess."
"(I could feel Diego tightening his grip on me, marking his territory and making it clear that I belonged to him. The situation was beginning to make me uncomfortable)."
"Allow me to congratulate you, Highness. Truly, you are fortunate to have such a beautiful fiancée."
"Thank you, Prince Abel… and it is true, I am truly fortunate. But excuse us, we have matters to attend to."
"(I did not understand what was wrong with Diego, but before I knew it, the war of glances began. Diego took my hand and squeezed it lightly, indicating that I should follow him)."
"Yes… true. A pleasure, Prince Abel. With your permission."
Diego practically dragged me out of the hall and, upon reaching a lonely corridor, stopped abruptly and spoke to me firmly.
Omniscient Narrator
"I do not want you to go near him."
"But what is wrong with you, Highness? I did not approach him; it was he who did so. I do not understand… what is this about?"
Without warning, Diego hugged her and said:
"I do not want you to move away from me."
"Highness… please…"
"Diego, Valeria, we agreed you would call me by my name."
"All right… Diego. We will get to know each other, but I will not accept anything with you yet until you prove to me that I can trust you."
"Seriously? You will not regret it."
Taking advantage of the proximity, Diego shortened the distance and kissed her. She was surprised but reciprocated immediately. The kiss lasted several minutes until she finally decided to pull away.
"Enough, Diego… we have to go to class."
"Yes… it is just that I am so happy."
"All right, let's go."
Valeria was not entirely convinced of what she was doing, but she could not deny that she liked Diego. In this short time together, she had discovered that she felt something for him. The night before, after much thinking, she decided to give herself a chance. If Rosalia arrived and Diego decided to shift his affection to her, Valeria would step aside, keeping her head held high. In the meantime, she wanted to enjoy the moment without being left with the doubt of what could have been.