Chapter 81 CHAPTER 81
Lisa stood before the mirror, smoothing down the simple blouse Isabel had picked for her. Lunaris Academy loomed in her mind like an unfamiliar horizon - new halls, new faces, new life. She had been told she would spend the morning touring the school and meeting the teachers who would oversee her studies.
“Isabel?” she called, turning toward the bed where her best friend sat cross-legged, hugging a pillow to her stomach. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”
Isabel shook her head immediately. “Nope.”
Lisa blinked. “No?”
“No,” Isabel repeated, stretching the word dramatically. “As in… N-O, absolutely not.”
“Why?” Lisa pressed. “You’ve been glued to my side since I got here. What’s suddenly changed?”
Isabel sighed, then shifted on the bed as if preparing to confess something scandalous. “Is Liam going with you?”
Lisa frowned. “Yes. Ethan told him to come as my bodyguard during the tour.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Why?”
Isabel stared at her with the most exaggerated expression of innocence. “Exactly. And that is why I’m not coming.”
Lisa blinked again. “I don’t understand.”
Isabel groaned and threw the pillow at her. “Oh, Lisa! You really don’t see it, do you?”
“See what?” Lisa asked, catching the pillow clumsily.
“That something is brewing between you two!” Isabel declared, pointing dramatically at Lisa. “And I am not going to be the third wheel in your romance story.”
Lisa’s face burst into flames. “What romance? There is no… Is this about the other day’s training? Isabel…”
Isabel crossed her arms smugly. “That blush tells me everything I need to know.”
Celia giggled inside her mind, unhelpfully. “Finally, someone other than me says it.”
Lisa glared at the ceiling. “I am going to lose my mind.”
Isabel softened, swinging her legs off the bed. “Look… you two like each other. At least… something is happening. And I refuse to get in the way. Go, enjoy the tour. Let me rest here and have a day to think about how I’m supposed to return to school after running away like a thief.”
Lisa’s expression turned sympathetic. “Isabel…”
“No, it’s fine,” Isabel insisted, waving a hand. “Go. Liam will be waiting downstairs. And I’m not kidding - I will not be the person who stands between you and your princess-bodyguard love story.”
Lisa groaned in embarrassment and grabbed her bag. “Goodbye, Isabel.”
“Have fun!” Isabel called, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Goodbye!”
“And don’t forget to breathe!”
“Isabel!”
Lisa fled from the room before she could combust.
The palace staircase carried her downward, her heartbeat already unsteady. She didn’t know why she felt nervous - maybe because Isabel’s words echoed in her head, because Celia wouldn’t stop smiling inside her mind, because the memory of falling during training hadn’t left her.
She reached the bottom step…
And froze.
Liam stood waiting near the entrance, leaning lightly against the wall. He wore fitted dark jeans and a simple black T-shirt that hugged the shape of his shoulders and chest. His hair looked neater than usual, brushed back in a way that made him look even younger - and somehow more handsome.
He straightened as soon as he saw her.
For a moment, they just stared at each other.
Lisa was certain her heart actually stumbled.
He stepped toward her, his voice unusually soft. “You’re ready?”
She nodded, unable to find her own voice.
As she came closer, she caught a faint scent - something warm, woodsy, and clean. Deodorant. Different from his usual scent, but still… him. Familiar yet new.
She swallowed.
He cleared his throat. “The car is waiting. Let me walk you.”
He moved ahead slightly, opening the door for her. She hesitated, expecting to head for the backseat, but he gestured to the passenger side.
“You can sit in front,” he said. “Since it’s just us.”
Just us.
Her stomach fluttered again.
She slid into the seat, feeling strangely exposed, strangely aware of every movement he made. Liam rounded the car and got in beside her, settling into the driver’s seat with a tension she wasn’t used to seeing on him. He looked… nervous. It made something warm curl inside her.
He reached for his seatbelt and clicked it into place. “Put on yours,” he said gently. “We’ll be on the road for a bit.”
Lisa nodded and reached for her seatbelt - but it refused to budge.
She frowned, tugging harder. It still didn’t move. “It’s stuck.”
Liam leaned over before she could protest. “Here - let me.”
And then he was close.
Very close.
His arm brushed hers. His body heat radiated through his shirt. His breath ghosted against her cheek. The scent of him - clean, warm, masculine - wrapped around her. Her heartbeat hammered in her ears.
Celia, she warned silently.
“I’m not saying a word,” Celia whispered, amused. “But girl… the way your heart is racing right now…”
Lisa pressed her knees together, mortified. “I can do it,” she whispered aloud.
“It’s fine…just let me….” Liam murmured, still struggling with the stuck belt.
She turned her head to tell him she’d manage….
And then their lips met.
Not hard.
Not intentional.
Just the softest brush of warmth against warmth.
Both of them froze instantly.
Liam’s breath caught.
Lisa’s eyes blew wide.
A spark - sharp, bright, and unexpected - shot through her chest.
For a heartbeat, neither moved.
Neither breathed.
Then they jerked apart at the same time.
“I…I’m sorry,” Liam stammered, hand dropping from the seatbelt.
“No, I’m sorry,” Lisa blurted, her face burning. “I didn’t mean… I wasn’t…”
“We just…”
“It was the angle….”
“The seatbelt….”
They spoke over each other, flushed and mortified.
Lisa pressed her back against the seat, covering her mouth with trembling fingers.
Liam stared straight ahead at the windshield as if the fate of the entire kingdom depended on it.
Celia was laughing so hard inside her head that Lisa wanted to throw herself out of the car.
The silence that followed was thick, warm, and confusing - so full of unspoken emotion that Lisa didn’t trust herself to breathe too loudly.
Finally, Liam cleared his throat, voice hoarse. “Your seatbelt… still needs to be buckled.”
She reached for it, careful now, and finally managed to pull it loose. The click of the buckle echoed unnaturally loud.
Liam nodded, still staring ahead. “Good.”
He started the engine, his hands stiff on the wheel. The car pulled away from the palace slowly, gliding down the long driveway.
Neither of them spoke.
Lisa stared out the window, her heart tumbling in confused circles. Her lips still tingled faintly, and every time she inhaled she caught the whisper of his scent again.
Celia finally spoke gently inside her.
“You’re allowed to feel something good, Lisa.”
Lisa closed her eyes.
She didn’t know what this feeling was.
But for the first time in a long time…
It didn’t scare her.
It simply made her want to breathe.