Mistress of My Mate's Uncle

9. A broken princess

ZARA’S POV :-

“You have no idea how long I waited for you and how painful it was for me. I thought you forgot about me. I suffered alone. Completely alone. You broke your promise..”

“I know and I’m really sorry about it. I got stuck in life.” He releases a deep sigh before bringing the smile back to his face.

“But look at you now. All grown up. You’re so pretty... Just like a princess.”

“Yes. A broken princess." I looked away to hide my threatening tears.

“What happened, Zara? I thought it was your engagement today. But when I went to the courthouse, everything was a chaos. You were nowhere to be seen.” He shrank his eyebrows as he asked me the question I wanted to avoid.

“You... You were there? You know about my engagement?”

“Of course I do. I was away from you, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t keep any track of you. I was here in the city about a year ago and I went to meet you at your home. But your aunt said that you moved out with your mate. I was really happy to find out that you have a royal lycan as your mate who can give you everything you ever need. I didn’t want to bother you or your mate with my sudden appearance, so I left without seeing you.

But when I heard the announcement of the king’s grandson’s engagement a couple of days ago, I couldn’t hold myself back and wanted to surprise you on your big day. I know I got a bit late to attend the party, but I didn’t expect to see that. I didn’t expect to find you here. What were you doing in the playground instead of at the hall?”

I felt a verge of sob coming out of my chest. How am I supposed to say everything that I went through in these couple of days?

“Zara. Don’t just stand there silently. Tell me what’s wrong. You know you can tell me anything, right?” With a deep breath, I began.

“I.. broke up with Caleb. I can’t live my entire life with a guy like him. He.. cheated on me with Emily. He.. he doesn’t love me. He just wanted to use me to impress his grandfather, and he expects me to please his clients in..”

I didn’t have to say the rest as he pulled my head into his chest again. A few drops of tears rolled down my eyes, wetting the nice blue shirt he was wearing.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know he was doing this to you. I thought he was a nice guy because he’s the grandson of the king. But I was wrong. I wish I had dug up more information about him in time. I wish I kept contact with you to know what was going on in your life. I am really sorry, Zara.” He kissed my forehead like my guardian.

“But I am here now. I will not let him hurt you anymore. Come on. Let’s take you home. Your uncle and aunt would be worried about you.” I let out a chuckle as I got out of his arms again.

“That’s the twist. They are in this too. They want me to marry Caleb no matter what he does because he offers them how much money they need. They made a deal of me with my mate.

How lucky I am! Everyone wants to use me as a deal for their profits. So, when I poured water on their dreams, they threw me out of the house. The house I grew up in. The house that was supposed to be mine. I have nothing now. No home, no family, no job. I am all f*cked up.” My voice was choking as I spoke about my family sarcastically, laughing like a mad woman.

“F*ck those bastards. They think they can use you just because you are weak. But you are not weak. Not anymore. I am with you now and I will make sure every single one of them pays for what they did. You don’t have to worry about anything anymore.” He patted my head gently, bringing a real smile to my face.

“Come on. I have an apartment where I’m staying for a few days with my friend. You can stay there with me for now and I will take you with me when I leave the country. You are my responsibility from now on.” Taking my hand in his, he started dragging me towards a parked car. But I stopped him.

“Luca. Just because we made some silly promises in our childhood, it doesn’t mean you really have to take care of me for the rest of your life. I’m a damaged good now. I don’t deserve to be decorated in someone’s perfect life. Leave me alone. I will find my way out somehow. I will survive.” He turned to me and put both of his hands on my cheek gently.

“No one’s life is perfect, Zara. Not yours, not mine. I’m a damaged good just like you. So, I think some broken goods can make an empty house look better too.

I’m not doing this because of the promises I made. I am doing this because I want to. You are what I have left. So, would you like to brighten up my life again by staying in it? Please..” I lost my voice in his care. So, with a real laugh, I nodded my head to him and saw his face brighten up.

“Thank you. I promise you that I’ll give you all the happiness of the world. You will never cry again.”

“I really become a softie in your presence, you know? Cry like a baby and complain..”

“I know. You were always like that. Strong for the world, soft for me. Buckle up.” Sitting on the front, he started the car and we were on our way to wherever his apartment was.

“So, where is this apartment we are going to? Is it your friend’s?”

“It’s not exactly my friend’s because we both invested in it. And it’s just a few minutes ride from here. You’ll see.”

“And this car is yours?”

“Yep.”

“That means you have a good job. What do you do now?”

“Umm... The friend I just talked about, I met him in Bleson and we both had a plan to work with. So, we created a software development company of our own and named it NimbleX Org. With our hard work, we succeeded in making our appearance in the business world and earned a decent amount. But now our target is to make a deal with the biggest company in our line which will give us a huge profit. That’s why we are in the city right now. We have been trying to make the deal for quite some time now and still no good news.”

“You will make. I just know it. But what happened to your mission? You went abroad to find your dad. So.. Did you find him?” He became silent at that question.

“Luca?”

“Uhh.. It’s complicated. We’ll discuss it later sometime.”

“Okay. Umm.. Any girlfriend?

“Yes.”

“Really? Who?”

“You?”

“Since when did I become your girlfriend?”

“Since forever. I never broke my promise..” That shut me up.

Soon we reached his apartment which is huge compared to what I expected. It was on the 13th floor and had three bedrooms with attached bathrooms on each, along with a huge kitchen, living room and a little balcony with a view of the city. And all of it was well decorated with every necessity.

“How long have you been here? It looks like you’ve been staying here for a long time.”

“I just came today. It’s my friend who’s been living here for a couple of months now to try to fix a meeting with the guy we want to make the deal with.”

“If your friend lives here, won’t he be bothered that I’m going to stay here with you two?”

“No... He’s a good guy. My pal. He knows everything about you and he will be glad to see you. I think he will be back any minute now.”

“Really? But I’m a mess. Look at my hair. I think there is a bird in it.” He laughed out loud to hear that.

“Why don’t you go and get cleaned up by then? I think there’s a few women’s clothes in that store room. From his so-called girlfriends. I think you’ll find something suitable there. You can take this room here and this one here is mine. So, if you need anything, just give me a call..” I gave him a nod and went into the room he showed me. My own personal room.

Cleaning myself up, I put on the knee-length robe I found in the storeroom. It was a bit seductive because it was red and made out of a thin silk fabric, but it was the only thing I found suitable to sleep into, along with a very few decent clothes. The rest was too revealing to wear in a house of two young boys.

After I was done, I went to check out the kitchen to find any food. My stomach was gurgling with hunger. I found a few apples in the fridge and started eating one without asking for anyone’s permission.

“Well, well.. Look what we have here. I knew my buddy wouldn’t just abandon me to enjoy his night. He arranged a good time for me too. Ugh... I needed this so much. Come here..”

I just took a big bite of the apple when I heard a voice behind me. Looking back I found a guy around Luca’s age, who is probably the friend he talked about. But what is he talking about?

“Okay... You want to do it on the kitchen counter? That’s hot.”

With three long jumps, he was inside the kitchen area, and standing right in front of me. And not only just stand, but he started taking off his shirt in front of me.

The piece of apple I just bit, almost got stuck in my throat, choking me and making me unable to talk. Even when he hovered over me with both of his hands beside my body, caging me against the counter, I couldn’t say anything except just stare at him with wide eyes.

“What? Are you so shocked to see a handsome alpha like me that you forgot how to speak? Don’t worry. You don’t have to talk. Just use that mouth to make me happy.” His face was coming closer to mine as I bent myself backwards as far as I could.

“Hey! Hand’s off of her. She’s not for you, pal.” Thankfully, Luca came out of his room in time and stopped his friend.

“What? Oh, man! I thought you booked her for me, you selfish jerk. I thought you went to your girlfriend’s engagement. Why are you here with her then?”

“She’s the one you are talking about.” For a couple of seconds, he became silent and looked back and forth at him and me quite a few times.

“You mean... She’s Zara? Your childhood sweetheart? You’re Zara?” He asked it to me, and I nodded my head in slow motion, still with that piece of apple in my mouth.

“F*ck. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. You’re really pretty, and when I saw you like this, I thought he hired you for... What the hell am I saying? I’m really sorry. Please forgive me.”

I looked down at myself to realize why he made that mistake. I was wearing a sexy dress that a woman wears to seduce someone. And with the half-wet hair and fresh look, I do look a lot like an escort.