Chapter 25 - My Woman

"So I am going to treat you like a woman from now on… my woman." Then Theodore moved a little away from Adeline so that his hot breath was not hitting her face anymore. "And of course, I won't do anything more without your permission first."

Adeline wanted to be angry at Theodore for behaving so harshly with her. But at the same time, her heart was telling her something else. Honestly, she liked it when he referred to her as 'my woman'. The Princess obviously had not heard it from any other men because she never really went outside of the Palace where she could have met other men.

Adeline's life had revolved around her training and the men she had met were her father, her brothers, and her teachers. She did meet Theodore when she was a child, but this was her first time meeting him after she grew up.

If it was any other Kingdom, then by now, several suitors would have already approached the Princess. And most probably she would have already been married off to a Prince or a King.

But Wyverndale Kingdom's tradition had always been different from other Kingdoms. All Princesses would also get an equal chance of ruling the Kingdom, if they successfully pass the test of worthiness. And because of this reason, none of the Princesses would see any suitors and none were married till now.

Of course, if the Princesses desired to get married like some of their brothers, then they could. But the only catch was that their husband would have to move inside the Wyverndale Palace until everyone took the test to decide the future ruler.

And if they failed the test, they could choose to keep staying at the Palace or move to their husband's place. However, because none of the other Kingdoms were this progressive, it was difficult to find a suitable groom for the Princesses.

Adeline's heart was pumping very loudly after Theodore had claimed her as his woman. She had never thought that someone claiming her as his own would have such effect on her body and mind. She could feel her cheeks and ears getting hotter. She was starting to breathe heavily even when she was not in her training, playing with her swords or fighting with her brother.

The Princess was closely examining Theodore's face. Even when she was a child she had thought that she had never met another beautiful man as him. And now, with her youthful eyes, she could not help but think that he must be God's perfect creation.

Even when Theodore was disclosing his blood red eyes to her and was trying to scare her, Adeline still thought that his look was very enticing.

Adeline would have loved to stare at the handsome face of the Devil for some more time but her hands were starting to go numb because of how hard Theodore was holding her down. Adeline whispered softly to Theodore so as not to provoke him anymore, "Theodore, you are forgetting that you are stronger than me. Get off… please!"

Theodore's eye colors finally changed back to its golden form. He was cheerful again with the change in demeanor of his little human. He gave a playful smile and said, "I will get off on two conditions, one that you will not give me your silent treatment anymore, and two that you will not push me away to the edge and unleash the Devil."

Adeline stared at Theodore's eyes and asked, "Will you leave my hands first?"

Theodore narrowed his gaze at Adeline who was being stubborn again, "Who said you could bargain?

Adeline felt like she would lose to Theodore if she just submitted to him. After all, she was also a Princess and she did not like losing. She turned her gaze towards the door and said, "I will just wait for my maids to arrive then."

Theodore leaned down closer to Adeline and almost touched her ear with his lips. Then he whispered, "I can get rid of them permanently as well. If you don't want that then I suggest you take my offer. And let me tell you this, I am not bluffing. They call me a Devil Prince for a reason."

Adeline felt a chill in her heart and it spread all over her body when Theodore threatened to get rid of her maids. "Was he always like this? Or was I too little to notice anything evil about him?" She had horror in her eyes as she thought to herself quietly.

The Princess's heart was now split between liking him and hating him. One moment she would feel like running into his arms and the next she would feel like running away from him as far as possible.

But she had no choice right now when he was coercing her into agreeing with his one sided offer. So Adeline agreed to him without even looking at him. "Fine, I agree to both of your conditions."

"Look at me while you say that. And say it like you mean it." Theodore was enjoying the whole thing now that he had upper hand on Adeline, both literally and figuratively.

Adeline sighed and looked into his hypnotizing eyes. Then she tried to speak as softly as possible, "I agree to your conditions Theodore. Please let my hands breathe now, will you? I can't feel them anymore."

After Adeline said those words, Theodore immediately left his grip and then lay down on her side. He had a whimsical grin on his face and said, "That was all I needed to hear. I forgive you for not talking to me for half of the day."

Adeline swiftly turned her head to face Theodore and scoffed, "You forgave me for not talking to you for half of the day?" Then she shouted at Theodore, "I thought I was the one who was angry with you for not talking to me for a DECADE."

Adeline sat up on her bed and she yelled at Theodore furiously, "You were this agitated with me when I ignored you for half a day. Try to think what I must have gone through when you ignored me for so many years." The rims of her blue eyes were now filled with tears, ready to roll down her cheeks.

This time Theodore was the one to feel something in his heart. Was he feeling her pain? Or was it his own pain seeing his little human in this state? He got up as well and subconsciously gave Adeline a warm hug.

He had wanted to do this before as well, when he used to see her crying in her room alone. Adeline used to stare at the drawing that she had made of them, and which had handwriting of Theodore. And she would cry, sometimes all night long, longing to meet him.

This time Adeline did not protest or resist the warm embrace from Theodore. The rims of her sapphire eyes were glistening with tears and they eventually fell down like a waterfall. And she whispered softly, "I missed you Theodore. Why didn't you show yourself sooner?"

Theodore smiled and ran his fingers through Adeline's silver hair. He rubbed her back to console her and replied in his husky voice, "I missed you too, my little human."

Adeline was now crying even loudly, unable to hide her feelings towards Theodore any longer. Her shoulders were shaking up and down as she cried, resting her head on Theodore's chest.

Theodore ran his hand from Adeline's head down to her waist and pulled her closer to him and hugged her even tightly. Then he planted a soft kiss on her head full of gorgeous silver hair.

Adeline ran her hands upward to Theodore's broad back and she also hugged Theodore back very tightly. After years and years of waiting, her Prince was finally with her.

"I am sorry Adeline. I will never hurt you again or leave you waiting like that." Theodore sincerely asked for forgiveness from the Princess.

"I am ready to forever stay by your side if your ask me to. But please don't cry like this." Theodore added again, hoping to calm her little human. Though he did not appear in front of the Princess for her own sake, he was angry at himself for hurting her little angel.

After some time of crying, Adeline seemed to have calmed down a bit because she stopped shaking. Then she broke off from the tight hug and was now feeling shy that she had shamelessly cried on the chest of the Prince. She noticed that there were even wet marks from her tears on his cloth. "I'm sorry I ruined your cloth." Adeline shyly said to Theodore.

But Theodore did not mind that at all. He raised both of his hands and wiped the residue tears from Adeline's cheeks. He glanced at Adeline and when their eyes met he said, "I hate to see tears on those beautiful eyes. And I hate it even more that I was the reason behind those tears."

Adeline was now happy to have finally cried her heart out and to be with the person that she had been waiting for. It felt like a very beautiful dream to her. She lifted her hand and touched Theodore's chiseled cheek to check if he was real.

Theodore smiled at this gesture of the Princess and he pressed her hand on his cheek with his own hand.

Adeline smiled brightly, showing her dimples, and asked Theodore, "Didn't you hate being touched? I remember you being skeptical or nervous whenever I held your hand or hugged you. But you don't seem to be bothered by physical touch any longer. What changed?"

Theodore gave a devilish smirk and replied, "I guess you grew up to be a fine woman whom I could not resist touching."