Chapter 191: Nothing was Planned

Elara:

Esme didn’t speak for several minutes, and I eventually stopped trying to guess what was going on inside his head. Instead, I watched the city lights pass beyond the passenger window, letting the quiet hum of the engine fill the silence between us.

It wasn’t until he turned off the main road and pulled over beside a deserted stretch of pavement that I finally looked at him.

Beyond the windshield, a breathtaking view unfolded before us. Snow-covered mountains rose beneath the dark night sky, their peaks illuminated by the moon, while the Royal Palace stood majestically at the summit with its countless glowing windows making the castle appear almost unreal.

For a moment, I forgot about the conversation we were supposed to have. It was beautiful, peaceful, and far removed from the glittering ballroom I had escaped not long ago.

I glanced at the rearview mirror and noticed three cars pulling over at a safe distance behind us. Jasper and the security team had followed exactly as promised.

Almost immediately, my phone buzzed inside my coat pocket. I pulled it out to find a message from Jasper asking why we had stopped. I quickly typed a reply explaining that Esme and I were having an important conversation, then watched as his response arrived a few seconds later.

Okay.

There were no further questions, no demands for an explanation, and no attempt to interrupt us. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and turned toward the window again, waiting for Esme to finally begin.

"You misunderstood the conversation you overheard between my mother and me that day," he said at last.

I turned to look at him, but made no attempt to defend myself or explain why I had drawn the conclusions I had. I had already heard his opening statement once before, and this time, I intended to let him finish before deciding what I thought about it.

Taking my silence as permission to continue, Esme drew a slow breath and rested his hands on the steering wheel. "Not a single encounter between us was planned, Elara. Not the day we met in the greenhouse, not the times we spoke afterward, not when I helped you in the dreams, and not even the moments when I went out of my way to find you because I wanted to see you. I never approached you because of your title, and I never had some political plan to make you favor House Ashbourne."

His green eyes met mine briefly before returning to the road ahead, as though he needed somewhere else to look while admitting the truth.

"I approached you because I found you interesting. You were stubborn, unpredictable, and completely unimpressed by things that most people would have considered important. You didn’t treat me like I was someone you needed to impress, and you didn’t seem particularly interested in what my family and name could offer you. I wanted to understand you. Then, the more I got to know you, the more I found myself looking forward to seeing you again. Eventually, I stopped needing a reason to approach you. I simply wanted to."

I remained quiet, allowing his words to settle while he continued. "My mother, however, had entirely different ideas. She wanted me to establish a good relationship with you before you took the Crown, and she kept reminding me that a positive impression of House Ashbourne could be valuable in the future. She was convinced that I should make myself useful to you, gain your trust, and ensure that our House would have your favor when the time came."

His mouth tightened slightly, and a faintly exasperated expression crossed his face. "I kept telling her that I could handle my own relationships, but she wouldn’t let it go. Eventually, I started telling her what she wanted to hear. I let her believe I was following her advice because I thought it would stop her from interfering or deciding to approach you herself. I already had a good relationship with you, so I assumed that telling her I was doing exactly what she wanted would keep her satisfied without changing anything between us."

He paused, and the regret in his expression deepened.

"I never imagined you would overhear that conversation. I never imagined you would think everything between us had been calculated from the beginning. But I also know that I gave you every reason to believe it when I played along with her instead of making it clear that my intentions had nothing to do with politics."

He finally turned in his seat to face me fully, and when he spoke again, his voice had softened even further.

"I’m sorry, Elara. Even if I never planned our friendship, I was still wrong to let my mother believe she could direct it. I should have made it clear that you were someone I wanted to know for myself, not someone I was trying to win over on behalf of my House. I should have trusted you enough to explain the situation instead of assuming I could handle everything without it affecting you."

He paused, searching my face for a reaction.

"I can’t undo what you heard, and I can’t blame you for believing it. But I need you to know that the moments we shared were real to me. Every conversation, every time I went looking for you, every time I stayed because I wanted to spend a little longer with you... it was all because I wanted to be there. There was no strategy behind it. There was just you."

A soft sigh escaped me as I looked down at my hands. I had spent so much time replaying that conversation in my head, searching for the hidden motive behind his kindness, that I had never considered how much of the misunderstanding might have come from the things he had failed to explain.

But it didn’t mean my hurt had been unreasonable. Hearing someone discuss gaining my favor for political reasons, particularly when I had already spent so much of the past several months surrounded by people who wanted something from me, had been enough to make me question everything.

But now, sitting beside him and listening to the regret in his voice, I could understand how the truth might have been less complicated than I had imagined.

"Thank you for explaining everything," I said quietly, lifting my gaze to his. "I believe you, Esme. And I accept your apology."

His shoulders relaxed slightly, but before he could respond, I added, "I’m sorry, too. I should have given you the chance to explain before deciding what your intentions were. I was hurt, and I thought I had finally understood what was happening, but I should have listened to you before drawing my conclusions."

He immediately shook his head. "Don’t apologize for protecting yourself, Elara. If I were in your position and overheard someone talking about gaining my favor for political reasons, I would have questioned everything, too. You had every reason to be suspicious. I was the one who handled the situation badly, and I can’t expect you to trust me simply because I have finally explained myself."

His expression grew more serious as he studied me, and for a moment, I thought our conversation had reached its natural end. Then he took a breath, and something in his eyes changed. The careful composure he had maintained throughout his explanation gave way to a vulnerability that made me straighten slightly in my seat.

"There was never a secret motive behind my approaching you," he said, his voice quiet but certain. "Unless you count the fact that, somewhere along the way, I developed feelings for you. Feelings I never intended to have, but couldn’t seem to stop growing the more time I spent with you."

I stared at him, my heart giving an unexpected flutter as his confession settled between us.