The Prince’s First Love Was Me Chapter 8

The last thing I remembered about Aaron was how he suffered in silence, enduring his pain in secret, until he eventually fell apart in the most heartbreaking way.

That was why I wanted to see him smile as much as possible, even if it was only while I was by his side.

I didn’t care how ridiculous I had to make myself look to make that happen.

“That’s all I want.”

That was truly all there was to it.

Had my sincerity reached him?

Aaron stared at me blankly for a moment before a faint smile spread across his lips.

“I will. Gladly.”

 

 

****

 

 

 

“Why are you spacing out?”

Toby waved his hand right in front of my face. When I didn’t react at all, he pulled up a chair and sat down in front of me.

“What did the royal family say? Are they going to arrest you for lewd conduct or something?”

I weakly shook my head.

‘He wants to date me. None other than Prince Aaron Redmayne himself. Can you believe it?’

Not only had a prince, someone who should have existed only in fairy tales, suddenly popped into my real life, but he’d also become my lover.

I stared at Toby with my eyes wide open.

‘Are you listening to me?’

I tried my absolute best to send him telepathic messages, but apparently, they weren’t getting through.

Toby twitched his eyebrows to match mine, then thumped his chest in frustration.

“Stop glaring at me and say something. I can’t read minds.”

As if I could! My life was on the line with every word I said!

The terrifying situation I’d experienced yesterday came rushing back to me.

It had happened just after I’d finished the contract with Aaron and was about to head home.

The moment I stepped outside, three soldiers who had been waiting right in front of the door suddenly blocked my path. They looked ready to draw their swords at any moment.

“Let him go.”

Only after receiving Aaron’s confirmation did the soldiers finally step aside.

Just imagining what might have happened if I’d tried to escape his office or stubbornly refused to sign the contract made me shudder.

‘He’d thought about the possibility of me running away and put safety measures in place beforehand. What a calculating man.’

But then, that scheming side of him was also so sexy that it drove me crazy.

Phew. Back in the present, I calmed my frustrated feelings and gave Toby a version of the story with all the important details conveniently left out.

“They said they wanted to commend me for my hard work. There were about fifteen other people there, too. We exchanged a few greetings and had a meal at the restaurant. That’s all.”

“Hard work? What kind of hard work did you do?”

“Was it for not being satisfied with my beautiful face and honing my eye-smile to bring joy to married women?”

“Wouldn’t that make the world incredibly unfair if that were really the reason? It would mean my hard work could never be recognized for the rest of my life.”

Toby forcibly pulled down the corners of his already narrow eyes.

Since his eyes were naturally so narrow, when he smiled with them, it was impossible to tell whether they were open or closed.

“You look more handsome when you’re not smiling, hyung.”

“Fine. I’ll settle for being called handsome at all.”

Toby grinned and returned to the counter.

I turned back to the window and stared outside in a daze. So many things had happened all at once that it still didn’t feel real.

Maybe I’d wake up and discover that everything had been a dream.

I’d been thinking that every day since coming to this world, but for some reason, I had a particularly strong feeling today that it might actually happen.

However, I would soon learn firsthand that things didn’t change so easily.

The next day.

I was just returning after finishing my delivery quota when Toby, who had stepped outside to take out the trash, spotted me and threw an arm around my shoulders.

“Hey, you’re back? Good work. Oh, by the way, someone came looking for the chocolate delivery guy a while ago.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. He’s over by the window. It’s unreal. He’s practically glowing like he belongs to another world.”

I walked over with a puzzled expression.

That’s strange. Among the people I know, there’s no one who could possibly be glowing like that…

Oh, wait. There is. There absolutely is.

By the window, where the afternoon sunlight poured in, Aaron had been resting his chin on his hand and gazing outside like a figure in a painting. When he spotted me, he raised a hand in greeting.

“Aaron! What are you doing here?”

My initial surprise quickly gave way to a smile of delight.

I looked around warily, worried someone might recognize him, but everyone seemed to be nothing more than astonished by his looks. No one appeared to know who he actually was.

It seemed that staying out of the public eye for so long was useful in situations like this.

“To show you my face more often.”

I was already deeply moved that he’d come all the way to my workplace. How could he say something so thoughtful on top of that?

Watching me get all emotional, Aaron subtly raised the corners of his mouth.

“We need to get used to each other as soon as possible so people won’t get suspicious.”

“There’s no way anyone would suspect us if they saw the way I look at you, Your Highness. Anyone could tell I’m in love.”

I rested my chin in both hands and beamed at him.

When you thought about it, anyone who looked at Aaron would naturally have that lovestruck look in their eyes.

His beauty was simply that pleasing to behold.

But there was one thing that made me different from everyone else.

Of course, I adored Aaron’s face. But I also loved his impulsiveness, like how he charged ahead without thinking about the consequences, his craziness in insisting on doing things that a prince absolutely shouldn’t do, and his shamelessly smooth way of talking. I loved all those things just as much as his face.

‘In other words, my deeply affectionate gaze isn’t limited to his looks, which makes it all the more genuine.’

Aaron leaned back deeply into his chair and let out a faint chuckle.

“I didn’t realize you were this confident. I was worrying for nothing.”

“Of course! You don’t have to worry about me. All you have to do is your part, Aaron.”

Aaron gazed at me quietly, amusement still lingering in his eyes.

Why was he looking at me like that? He was making me feel embarrassed!

“What is it?”

“You must have practiced a lot. You’re saying my name so naturally.”

“Oh.”

I’d once spammed Aaron’s name all over the comment section, and I’d even had heated discussions about him with a friend who loved BL novels. It was only natural that saying his name out loud felt familiar.

Still, he was a prince. Had I been a little too casual with him?

I sat there in a daze for a moment, then looked up when Aaron tapped his fingers against the table.

“It’s nice to hear.”

As if he’d somehow seen what I was thinking, Aaron added that explanation so I wouldn’t misunderstand him.

My expression immediately brightened, and I flashed him a silly smile. Aaron playfully scrunched up his face and scolded me, saying that my courage was just as small as my body.

‘I’ve heard of people being told they have no fear, but this is the first time anyone’s told me I have no guts.’

I felt a little wronged, but I didn’t argue. The truth was, I really did become smaller than usual whenever I was around Aaron.

“Oh, right. Since you’ve come all this way, let me make you a cup of hot chocolate.”

“It’s fine. I don’t like sweet things.”

“Just try it anyway. Your lover is making it personally. Don’t you think you should at least taste it?”

“Hm.”

Aaron let out a low hum, then subtly raised the corners of his mouth as he spoke.

“If you want me to taste something, why don’t you just kiss me instead?”

“Whaaaaaaaaaat?!”

What on earth had I just heard?

Aaron calmly tapped his lips, looking nothing like someone who’d just said something outrageous.

“The sweet smell is practically overwhelming. I figured we’d probably taste the same.”

Even in the original story, Aaron was famous for flirting with everyone, but there was a huge difference between reading it in a novel and experiencing it firsthand.

I’d thought I could respond smoothly if Aaron ever flirted with me, but instead of flirting back, I was lucky if I could even breathe properly.

Phew. Calm down and breathe! Breathe! Aaron has always been like this! Please, don’t act like some country bumpkin!

“I-it’s coming from my clothes, not my mouth! I’ll bring you some anyway, so drink it or don’t. Do whatever you want!”

I hid my burning face and hurriedly retreated to the kitchen.

I thought I heard Aaron chuckle softly behind me.

I brought out the kettle and, as usual, poured the hot chocolate into a teacup with one hand behind my back, moving with polite, graceful precision.

With Aaron watching my every move, my hands trembled much more than usual. Still, I managed to finish without incident, living up to my title as the café’s specialty drink maker.

‘All right! Time for the finishing touch!’

I quickly grabbed a handful of marshmallows that I always carried with me and flung them toward the cup.

It was my own little performance, meant to add some excitement to an otherwise ordinary process.

But perhaps I was trying a little too hard to impress him.

More than half the marshmallows failed to land in the hot chocolate and instead scattered across the table like snowflakes.

“You’re certainly generous here.”

“Ahahaha.”

I laughed awkwardly and quickly swept up the marshmallows scattered across the table.

“Please, give it a try.”

Aaron took a sip of the hot chocolate with a doubtful expression and let out a low hum.

“It’s sweet.”

“It’s chocolate. Of course it’s sweet.”

Aaron frowned as if that wasn’t what he meant.

“It’s so sweet my tongue is tingling.”

I’d used a milk chocolate base and piled on the marshmallows, so I supposed it had turned out much sweeter than expected.

Maybe switching to dark chocolate would help? I should suggest it to Toby.

“Ronnie!”

Just as I was thinking up a recipe that might satisfy Aaron, Toby called out urgently from the kitchen.

“Coming! Aaron, just a moment. Go ahead and drink it while you wait.”

For some reason, I couldn’t stop thinking about how stiff Aaron’s expression had been the last time I saw him.

I helped Toby by serving desserts to the customers whose orders had piled up, then returned to my seat.

But something must have happened while I was gone, because the air around Aaron was now practically dripping with hostility.

I approached him hesitantly. Aaron had his arms crossed and was staring at me with a cold expression.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Ronnie!”

“That guy, seriously…”

At Toby’s call, I apologized to Aaron once more and stormed into the kitchen, fuming.

Toby was washing dishes and gestured toward his wrist with his chin.

“Roll up my sleeves. They’re about to get wet.”

“Phew. I don’t care if they get wet or if you have to do laundry! Stop calling me over for every little thing!”

Even as I raised my voice, my hands were already rolling up Toby’s sleeves.

Toby chuckled at how my actions contradicted my words, then went back to washing dishes.

I glared at him for a moment before hurrying back to Aaron.

“I’m sorry. Even though this is a small café, there’s always so much to do.”

Aaron let out a long sigh, pulled his back away from the chair, and leaned forward.

“Ronnie.”

“Yes?”

I instinctively answered his low voice. But when I saw Aaron give a hollow laugh, looking utterly incredulous, I finally realized something had gone wrong.

“Ah, Your Highness. This is—”

“You deceived me.”