Chapter 25 Little Angel
Alexander.
"This is your room, mine is two doors away" I said, watching relief flood across Dandelion's face when she realized we weren't going to share the same room.
I scoffed, "Did you actually think I'd bring you to my bedroom?"
It was almost laughable, "Remember rule three of the contract, Dandelion," I reminded her in a hard voice. "Or did you forget?"
Her cheeks flushed red. "Of course I didn't forget. I just thought--"
"I planned ahead." I said cutting her off, while I opened the door. "I pretended that we would share the same room, to avoid Noona getting suspicious, But we're not actually sharing. Like I said before this room is yours, it's two doors down from mine, close enough to be convincing but far enough to maintain proper boundaries."
She stared at me for a moment, probably surprised that I had everything planned out, "Walter is around, let him know if you need anything" I said and she nodded.
Then I turned around and walked back to my own room, my mind already drifting into deep thoughts.
The door clicked shut behind me, and I finally let myself breathe.
My room was exactly as I had left it, dark minimalist and obsessively organized.
I loosened my tie, yanked it off, and tossed it over a chair.
Then I stood in front of the mirror pressing my palms against the dresser and stared at my reflection like it belonged to someone else.
Angel.
I hadn't thought about that name in years.
But the moment Noona said it earlier at the party, the moment she said her name, all the memories came rushing back to me.
............
Twenty Years Ago.
"Lexi! Lexi, wait for me!"
A little girl with dark hair in pigtails ran after me, her tiny legs struggling to keep up. She was holding a stuffed bunny that was almost as big as she was.
Seven year old me stopped, and turned to face her, "You're too slow, Angel," I had said, but I still waited anyway.
She beamed at me, her whole face lighting up. "You called me Angel again!"
I laughed, "That's because you are one," I had replied taking her hand. "Now come on. Mom made cookies."
She giggled and let me pull her along, and at that moment I felt important, like I was protecting something really precious.
.........
I squeezed my eyes shut, but the memories kept coming.
The way we used to build blanket fortress in the library, and also stole extra desserts from the kitchen because she always wanted two.
The way she used to cry if anyone took her toys, and how I would immediately march over and take them back.
"That's Angel's toy. Give it back."
And they would give it back immediately, because even at seven, I already had that typical Graham death glare. The one that made even adults uncomfortable.
But Angel had never been scared of me, she just looked at me like I was her idol, and it always made my heart flutter even as a child.
..............
Fifteen Years Ago.
Five years after our moms died, I decided to move to Europe, a boarding school. But it was to escape the relentless press. And School was also unbearable.
And all I could think about was a little girl I hadn't seen in over five years after our moms accident.
"Do you think Angel's okay?" I'd asked Noona a day before leaving.
She'd looked really sad. "I don't know, sweetheart. Both Maxwell and Margaret never returned any of my calls, since they moved out."
I had clenched my fists, young and helpless and furious. "When I'm older, I'm going to find her."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." I nodded with determination. "And when I do, I'm going to marry her. So no one can ever keep us apart again."
Noona had smiled through her tears. "That's a big promise, Alexander."
"I mean it, Noona."
..........
I laughed in a short, bitter sound and turned away from the mirror.
So I found her after all, I actually found her.
And I.... I didn't even recognize her.
But I remember feeling something about her, that first night at the lake.
The way she looked at me with those wide, terrified eyes.
Something had tugged in my heart, something familiar.
But I had ignored it.
Because acknowledging it would have meant acknowledging that the universe had a sick sense of humor.
I promised to marry her, and I really did. But just not the way I had imagined as a child, even though it's somehow in the same circumstances.
Because I had promised to marry her to protect her, and here we are married, so that I could protect her.
I scoffed shaking my head still amused, the universe really has a sick sense of humor.
I pulled off my jacket, then my shirt moving away from the mirror.
But she's not the same again.
The little girl i remembered, my Angel, had been sweet innocent and happy.
Always laughing and always trusting.
But this Dandelion?
She was broken, insecure and angry.
Nothing like my Angel.
I caught my reflection in the mirror again, scowling.
She's not even that cute anymore.
Angel had been adorable with chubby cheeks, the most genuine smile and those ridiculous pigtails that made me laugh uncontrollably.
Meanwhile this woman was....
Beautiful.
I shook my head sharply.
No. She's not.
She's too sad, and too complicated.
Angel was simple and easy going, not because she was a child but rather it was her natural personality.
This version of her is a nightmare.
But then I remembered when she smiled at Nona earlier, really smiled, not that fake, practiced thing she did for cameras.
Just for a second, I saw her. My Angel. And it had knocked the air out of my lungs.
I sat on the edge of my bed, running my hands through my hair, exhaling heavily.
This changes nothing. She's Still temporary, the past doesn't matter anymore.
Even when I knew that the woman sleeping two doors down the hallway wasn't just some stranger I saved on a whim.
She was Angel my favorite person.
The girl I had promised to find, the girl I had promised to marry.
And I did keep to that promise.
Just....in the worst possible way.
I lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
She's not Angel anymore, I convinced myself firmly. That girl is gone, this is....this is someone else. Someone I don't know.
But even as I convinced myself, a memory surfaced suddenly.
Her hand in mine as we walked through the gardens as kids.
"Lexi, do you think we'll be friends forever?"
"Of course we'll be friends forever," I had promised without hesitation.
I closed my eyes, my jaw clenched.
I'm such a fucking liar.
Because I had broken that promise the moment I handed her that contract.
And the worst part?
I wasn't even sure I could fix it.
Even if I wanted to.