The Prince’s First Love Was Me Chapter 9

I stared into Aaron’s now-cold amber eyes, sensed just how badly this situation had spiraled out of control, and roughly rubbed my face with both hands.

How had I not thought about the possibility of him finding out my real name when he came to the café?

You idiot! You moron!

“Mutual trust is the foundation of a contract. This is a problem.”

“…You’re right. Trust is the foundation of a contract.”

I lowered my head in shame.

“I’m really sorry. But I never intended to deceive you from the beginning. I thought we’d only meet once, so I figured it wouldn’t matter what name I used…”

“Hand.”

Aaron, who had been quietly listening to my excuses, suddenly held out his hand over the table.

Without knowing why, I placed my hand on his palm.

His long, slender fingers gently wrapped around my hand.

‘Why does this man even have such beautiful hands? Even his veins are ridiculously sexy.’

Even in this situation, my hopelessly clueless heart had no idea how serious things were and started pounding wildly.

“I’ll add another clause to the contract.”

While putting on an affectionate display for everyone around us, Aaron began listing some terrifying terms.

I couldn’t tell whether my heart was pounding because of his face or because I was anxious.

“If either party tells a lie so serious that the other party believes it would be difficult to maintain the contract, they must pay five times the agreed compensation.”

“Five times?”

That was a whopping two billion Rockens.

Just imagining that amount made my head spin, and I hurriedly shook my head.

“Could you lower it to twice the amount? You never know what might happen…”

“Oh? Because there’ll be countless more opportunities for you to lie to me in the future?”

“No, it’s not exactly like that…”

“Ten times.”

“O-okay! Five times! Let’s make it five times!”

With nowhere left to retreat, I clenched my fists.

‘No matter what happens, no matter what it takes, I will never let him find out I’m a woman for the duration of this contract!’

Aaron caught my determined expression, let out a long sigh, and tiredly ran a hand through his hair.

“If there’s anything else you need to tell me, say it now. This is your last chance.”

My last chance?

His warning made my resolve waver helplessly.

‘What should I do? Should I keep quiet? But he’ll find out eventually, so wouldn’t it be better to tell him now?’

After hesitating until the very last moment, I finally made up my mind and gestured for Aaron to come closer.

Without hesitation, Aaron leaned toward me.

I stared at his face as he drew near, then confessed the truth into his ear.

“…Actually.”

“Yeah? Actually?”

“My name isn’t Ronnie Nixon. It’s Ronnie Lopez. I’m the eldest son of the Viscount Lopez family.”

Aaron turned to look at me the moment I finished speaking, bringing his face so close to mine that we were practically nose to nose.

For the first time, I saw a slight tremor in Aaron’s eyes. He was rarely caught off guard, after all.

‘He must be shocked. He probably thought he’d already eliminated all the sons of noble families from the candidates.’

If Aaron told me right then and there that he wanted to terminate the contract, I was prepared to accept it humbly.

‘That would mean my connection with Aaron would end here, too.’

I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be disappointed. But I didn’t want to cause him trouble in the future just because I was the child of a viscount.

After all, the reason Aaron had chosen Paul in the original story, and the reason he’d been able to love him without prejudice, was that Paul was a commoner who wasn’t bound by noble titles.

Aaron had wanted to share Paul’s free and unrestricted world.

So I thought it was only natural that Aaron would want to end our contract.

But then…

“Can’t be helped. I’ll take Lopez on board, too.”

His reaction was completely different from what I’d expected.

Unable to believe it, I went back to the point that mattered.

“Is it because of the clause saying you have to pay compensation even if you unilaterally request to terminate the contract?”

“It’s not about the money. It’s because of you, Ronnie. You’re the person I thought about and chose.”

Good grief. How was I supposed to handle it when he suddenly came at me with lines like that?

I was grinning like I’d just heard a sweet confession when Aaron subtly furrowed his brow.

“Besides, you’re the one at fault here. Why would I be obligated to pay you compensation? Don’t you think that’s a little greedy?”

“Ha ha. You’re right.”

He hadn’t even considered paying me, yet there I was, jumping to conclusions and getting ahead of myself.

I laughed awkwardly and rubbed the bridge of my nose. Still, I was happy. This meant I’d get to see Aaron a little longer.

“When do you finish work?”

“I finished my deliveries ages ago. I only stopped by because I heard Aaron was waiting for me.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Where?”

“To the Lopez estate. We need to formally tell the viscount that we’re dating.”

“Wait! Wait a second! We’re going right now?”

If I took Aaron home without any preparation, things were bound to descend into chaos.

My family being shocked was the least of my worries. The biggest problem was the risk of my secret being exposed.

‘Look what just happened. The moment we were together at my workplace, my lie came out almost immediately.’

And now I was supposed to bring Aaron into my own home, where I was on my own turf?

That was practically asking for trouble.

Even if my parents put their heads together and came up with a story on the spot, would it work on someone as perceptive as Aaron?

If he happened to enter my room, he’d find dresses, wigs, and all sorts of things that would make him suspicious.

No matter how I looked at it, there was no way out.

I had to stop him!

At the very least, I had to stop him from going today.

I hurriedly pushed both hands against Aaron’s chest to stop him from leaving.

“Just a moment!”

But unlike what I’d expected, Aaron didn’t budge at all. As a result, my hands ended up resting against his chest.

I could feel the firm muscles beneath my fingertips slowly rising and falling. Even without looking, I could picture their shape. I blushed and let out a quiet sigh of admiration.

What is this living, breathing boulder?

I already knew God had carefully sculpted Aaron’s face, but who would’ve thought He’d put just as much effort into building his body?

Wait a second. This wasn’t the time for that!

I’d momentarily forgotten reality and gotten lost in bliss, but I hurriedly came to my senses and pulled my hands back.

“How about coming tomorrow instead? If we suddenly show up at my house like this, my parents will be incredibly flustered. You’re not just anyone, after all. You’re a prince! We don’t even have anything prepared to serve you! I’ll go home today and let them know in advance. So…”

“It’s your punishment for lying to me.”

Aaron cut off my long-winded rambling.

“I can’t trust you today. Who knows what you’ll scheme up if I let you go home like this? So this time, things will go my way. It’s only fair.”

Aaron flashed me a smile with just his eyes, then walked past me.

It was painfully obvious that he had no intention of changing his mind.

I let out a deep groan, pulled a miserable face, and followed him.

Chris, who had apparently been waiting by the carriage for some time, spotted us and bowed slightly.

I also lowered my head a little behind Aaron.

“Chris. Go back to the residence and bring some Rivaide wine.”

“It’s just a formal visit. Is there really a need to bring wine that’s supplied to the royal family?”

Chris naturally found Aaron’s behavior puzzling, since he thought we were visiting the home of Liam, an ordinary commoner.

He probably believed there was no point in giving such an expensive gift if the recipient wouldn’t even understand its value.

Come to think of it, Chris must have already known Aaron planned to visit my house today.

‘What the heck? Whether I lied to you or not, you were going to force this through anyway! And now you’re going on about trust and poking at my conscience.’

I glanced at Aaron and pouted.

Why was even his domineering side so attractive?

Aaron strode forward, then placed a hand on Chris’s shoulder, who still looked thoroughly confused.

“Liam wasn’t his real name.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s Ronnie. Ronnie Lopez.”

“Excuse me?”

“His real name is Ronnie, not Liam. And he’s not a commoner. He’s the eldest son of Viscount Lopez.”

Chris had been repeating his questions with a dazed expression, but eventually let out a sigh and glared at me over his glasses.

‘Yikes. What a fierce look. Fine, I messed up your plans. I’m fully aware of that, okay?’

“Go prepare the wine. I’ll come get you once we’re done.”

Chris turned away with a troubled expression, climbed into the carriage, and disappeared from sight.

After that, Aaron led me by the hand. I carried a bouquet of flowers and a basket of fruit for my parents as we climbed into a public carriage.

The carriage stopped at Aaron’s private residence along the way to pick up Chris, then continued toward the viscount’s estate.

I can’t even begin to describe how chaotic my thoughts were during the ride.

I prayed that an accident would happen, then immediately begged for it not to happen because Aaron might get hurt. I considered jumping straight out of the carriage, only to stop myself because I was afraid Aaron’s trust in me would hit rock bottom.

As I went back and forth like that, the carriage finally arrived at the estate.

Becky happened to be outside watering the flowerbeds. When she spotted me, she happily opened her mouth.

“Young mas—”

At that very moment, I shook my head wildly as if I’d been electrocuted.

Becky sensed something was wrong and drew out the end of her word. Then she belatedly noticed the two men who had arrived with me and suddenly screamed toward somewhere beyond the garden.

“My lady! My laaaady!”

With a horrified expression, Becky let out a desperate cry and vanished somewhere beyond the garden.

Was it just my imagination, or did her retreating figure look especially pitiful today?

“What happened?”

Chris asked in a serious voice.

Aaron didn’t say anything, but his gaze suggested he was suspicious, too.

‘I’m sorry, Becky. Please run away a little harder.’

“My nanny sometimes sees things that aren’t there! Don’t worry about it. It happens all the time.”

I waved my hand dismissively and led the way.

My head was already throbbing from the dangerous situations unfolding before we’d even entered the estate.

“Welcome home, young master.”

The maids glanced back and forth between my appearance and the unfamiliar guests, then tactfully addressed me as “young master.”

The servants already knew the circumstances at the viscount’s estate, including why I had to disguise myself as a man. So when strangers were around, we were practically all in on the same act.

Usually, we were close enough to joke around with one another, but right now, everyone was holding their tongues, afraid of making even the smallest mistake.

I took the arm of the maid standing closest to me and spoke gently.

“Please call everyone here. And make sure to tell them I have someone I’d like to introduce.”

As I finished speaking, I blinked twice to give her a subtle signal.

The maid, now entrusted with a crucial mission, nodded with an expression of utmost determination before disappearing from sight.