Chapter 133- Perfect

Arabella:

"Hey." I was scrolling through my phone when Lucien peeked into the room.

"Lucien." I immediately put my phone aside and pushed myself up, spreading my arms toward him. "Where were you? Why did you leave me?"

Surprise flashed across his face. Maybe it was the desperation in my voice, or simply the fact that I was openly asking for him. I was never this expressive with anyone, least of all Lucien. But right now, I didn’t care.

He was still in the white shirt he had worn beneath his suit, with his jacket draped over one arm. He tossed the jacket over the back of a nearby chair, then came straight to me and leaned down to wrap his arms around me.

I hugged him back just as tightly, burying my face against his chest. The familiar warmth of his body settled something restless inside me, and for a few moments, neither of us spoke.

"I had something urgent to take care of," he finally murmured, his hand moving slowly over my back. "I didn’t think you’d wake up before I came back."

"Well, I did."

"I can see that." There was a hint of amusement in his voice as he pulled back enough to look at me. "Bradley informed me that you escaped your room after waking up. And pulled out your IV to walk out in this hospital gown."

I frowned. "That sounds much worse when you say it like that... but I promise no one saw my naked ass."

He brushed my hair away from my face before cupping my cheek. "Did you eat anything?"

My face immediately fell. "They brought me soup, and I don’t want to eat that boring stuff."

Lucien gave me a look that made it clear he wasn’t going to entertain my complaints. "Your stomach needs something light right now. Soup is the best choice."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "And what are you going to do while I suffer? Eat a hamburger in front of me?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "No. I’ll have the soup with you."

I studied his face suspiciously. "Really? The same boring soup?"

"The exact same boring soup."

Great. That meant I wouldn’t be suffering alone.

I wrapped my arms around him again and pressed my cheek against his chest. He smelled good... warm, clean, and so familiar that I found myself breathing him in without even realizing it.

Lucien didn’t seem to mind. His arms came around me again, and he held me there until someone finally arrived with our food.

True to his word, there were two bowls of the same vegetable soup.

Lucien sat on the edge of my bed and started eating from his own bowl, but apparently, I wasn’t trusted with mine. He picked up my spoon, blew gently over each spoonful, and fed me himself.

Normally, I would have argued that I was perfectly capable of feeding myself. This time, I didn’t. I simply let him do it while he continued drinking his own soup between feeding me.

After a few spoons, I frowned at my bowl. "I think I’ve eaten enough."

Lucien looked into the bowl. "You’ve barely touched it, princess." Before I could protest, he laughed and leaned forward to kiss my forehead. Unfortunately, that was the exact moment the door opened.

"I’m sorry I slept longer, but I..." Maya stopped abruptly. Lucien was just moving back from my forehead when she walked in, with Toby right behind her.

Her eyes went from Lucien to me and then back to Lucien. "Um." She immediately took a step backward. "I’m... I’m sorry."

Toby, who had almost walked into her back, looked past her and seemed to understand the situation just as quickly. I could feel my face turning red.

"Hey. Come back," I called before they could disappear. "I’d been asking about you."

Maya gave me a look that clearly said, he kissed you, bitch, but thankfully, she kept her mouth shut. She and Toby stepped inside and quickly curtsied to Lucien.

Lucien, on the other hand, didn’t seem even slightly bothered by their presence. He simply picked up another spoon of soup, blew over it, and held it toward my mouth.

I stared at him, trying to remind him silently that we were not alone anymore. He raised an eyebrow. "Open up!" He commanded silkily, making me swallow hard.

Open up? The way he said it sounded more like he was talking about my legs than my mouth.

Maya immediately grabbed Toby’s hand. "You know what? We’ll come back in a few minutes. Until then, you two can... um... open up." My eyes widened, but she was already dragging Toby toward the door.

I watched them leave without daring to look at Lucien. Goddess knew what expression he had on his face, and I had absolutely no intention of finding out. The spoon appeared in front of my mouth again. When his phone started ringing, I knew it had to be something official. He would soon leave again.

I silently took the soup, refusing to give him the satisfaction of reacting. But then I couldn’t keep up with it and reached out to hold his wrist instead. "Promise me, Lucien... you won’t be gone for long."

Lucien’s eyes dropped to my hand. His expression softened before he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my fingers.

"I’m only leaving because you need some time alone with your friends. I’ll be back. Okay?"

"Yeah, but you must have meetings and other things to deal with."

He shook his head. "Nothing is more important than you, Arabella. Not those meetings, not this palace, not anything else waiting for me outside this room."

For a moment, I could only look at him. He gently turned his hand in mine and laced our fingers together. "So, stop worrying about whether I’ll come back." His thumb moved gently over mine. "You’re the one place I’ll always come back to."

My heart skipped a beat. The way he was looking at me, I wanted to jump into his arms and never let him go.

And then the Moon Goddess provided me with the perfect opportunity. The door slammed open, and a familiar figure stormed inside.

"Lucien. Mother wants to meet you." Then her gaze landed on me. "Arabella?"

"Hey, Amy!" I waved before lifting Lucien’s hand and pressing a kiss to it. "Don’t worry. Lucien will come soon to meet Her Highness." I didn’t miss the shock on her face.

And right then, I knew Jasmine wouldn’t stay at that conference for long. Not when her best friend had just caught Lucien sitting beside my hospital bed, while I kissed his hand.

There was no way Amy was keeping this little scene to herself.

Perfect.

Come back, Jasmine.

I am waiting for you.