Page 23 of Tall, Royal Hater
TRG wasn’t a classically pretty prince like his brother, Fay, but he had a ruggedly charming look to him just like his father. He had the square, permanently shadowed jaw of a king in the making, thick, almost stern brows, and a strong, regal nose too. His ink-black eyes didn’t transform to a brown in the light, but his whole appearance was softened by his loosely styled, raven-black hair and the dimple in his right cheek.
Paired with his awkward, slightly grumpy, but sweet personality, he was as cute as he was handsome. Plus, he only had eyes for Esmeralda in a way that had me grinning. She had quite literally found her perfect man. His nickname was even “The Perfect Prince”for Neves’ sake!
In other words, Kai and Esmeralda were meant for each other. That I could have bet my entire life on.
And yeah, I was fine being single. It was easy and mostly enjoyable. But sometimes I really fucking craved the kind of head-over-heels love she had with him.
It must’ve felt really good to be the centre of someone’s world.
Looking at Kai and Esmeralda, it seemed like it felt fucking epic.
One day, Mariyah. Your turn will come one day.
Pushing the bittersweet longing to the deep, dark, untouched depths of my soul, I called out to Esmeralda. The two lovers stopped in their swaying and slowly untangled themselves to face me. But Kai kept a possessive arm around Esmeralda’s waist, holding her close.
“As much as I’m enjoying seeing you two act adorably cute together, I would like a moment, please,” I declared with a big fat grin.
Colour washed across their cheeks in perfect sync before they both smiled, Kai’s polite in comparison to Esmeralda’s giddy one.
“Of course,” he said, looking lovingly down at our beautiful girl.
I shook my head. “Oh, I wasn’t talking about Esmeralda. May I have a word, Prince Kai?”
If I thought the man had been blushing a moment ago, then his warm golden cheeks turned into an inferno as his eyes widened. “Me?”
“Yes,” I said through a chuckle. “Unless Esmeralda minds.”
“Why would I mind?” Esmeralda said, her pouting lips turned up. “It’s not as if you’re taking away my boyfriend who I haven’t seen in two months.”
Kai grinned as he tugged on his left ear, while I smirked. “You’ll survive a couple of minutes without him, honey. Prince Kai?”
He pressed a long kiss to Esmeralda’s forehead. “I’ll be back.”
I smirked over my shoulder in reply to Esmeralda’s playful glare as Kai and I walked to the side.
“You don’t have to call me Prince Kai,” he said when I turned back.
“Does TRG work then?” I teased. He fumbled for an answer, causing me to laugh. “What would you like me to call you then?”
He smiled sheepishly. “Kai is fine.” I agreed with a nod.
We came to a stop, and he stood as stiff as a child waiting to be scolded.
“You can relax,” I said, chuckling. “I’m not gonna grill you about Esmeralda. A few minutes watching you with her told me all I needed to know.”
His shoulders eased as his mouth lifted. “What did you see?”
“That you love her a touch more than she loves you, which is saying a lot because she is obsessed with you. And that reassures me that her heart is in the right hands.”
A starry glaze spread over his eyes. “Thank you, Mariyah. And I do. I love her more than she knows. But as her best friend, you still have the right to question me. I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
“All right then.” I tipped my chin up. “What are your intentions with my best friend?”
His expression took on a genuine seriousness like I was interviewing him for his dream job. “I want to spend the rest of my life loving her and making her happy.”
I blinked in pleasant surprise and grinned. “Wow…I mean, I was just kidding, but that was an excellent answer. Which kind of makes me feel bad now.”
“Bad?” His brows pinched together. “Why?”
