Freya froze on the spot when she saw the door creaking open. How was she going to explain to the princess that she had used the same dress given to her as a gift to go over to Rowan’s room? And now, she and Rowan were nothing close to family because they had just slept together. The thought of the look of betrayal that would be on the princess’s face while she listened to all of that already made Freya feel so guilty, causing her hands to tremble. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Rowan?" The princess finally pushed open the door, but before she could take another step inside, Rowan walked over to Freya and used his shirt to cover her up.

As far as Rowan was concerned, he didn’t care much about the women anyone saw him with. His life was his life, and he had never cared about others because he believed that no matter what, people would always say what they wanted to say. It didn’t matter if you were good or not; they would judge you. So Rowan decided to live his own life by his own rules, pleasing nobody but himself.

The only reason he was covering Freya up at the moment was because of how scared she was, and he wouldn’t deny that he played a huge part in that. If he hadn’t walked into Freya’s life, then the girl wouldn’t have anything to be scared of or try to hide. She would have remained her pure self.

"Rowan!" The princess called the first person she saw, then her eyes moved to the side. "Oh! And Freya?"

Freya, who was still recovering from the shock, held Rowan’s shirt closely. She gave the princess a nervous smile.

"Princ-ehm..." The girl cleared her throat, "Good morning, Princess Lirien," she bowed.

The princess heaved a sigh of relief. "I was so worried, Freya. I thought you were missing. I went to your room and you weren’t there..." Lirien’s voice trailed off when she noticed that Freya was wearing a man’s shirt, which obviously belonged to Rowan, and behind them, the bed looked scattered.

"Did you two spend the night... together?" The princess asked with a smile on her face. Her eyes moved from Rowan to Freya, who was now shaking.

Rowan stood there with his hands still on his waist. He didn’t want to answer for Freya. If she wanted everyone to know, then he was fine with it, and if she didn’t, he was still okay with it. All he wanted was her.

Freya brought her hand down to her side, gripping the shirt tightly. She was sure that if the birds chirping outside paused for a second, the sound of her anxious heart racing with fear would be heard by everyone in the room.

Princess Lirien nudged Freya with a playful smile. "I mean, you slept in your brother’s room last night, yes?"

Rowan noticed how tight-lipped Freya was, so he decided to step in. They were two grown-ups, and there was nothing wrong with them sleeping together.

"Yes, Freya and-"

"I wasn’t feeling well last night..." Freya quickly cut Rowan short. "And I was having nightmares, so I came to Rowan’s room," she whispered the last part.

The princess ran towards Freya, touching her forehead. "Is that why your face looks pale? This is bad. Let me bring the physician."

Freya touched her neck. Even though she was perfectly healthy, she felt like she had lost half her life when the princess walked in on them.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be fine."

Princess Lirien shook her head. "No, you’re not. What if it happens again tonight? Will you run to Rowan’s room? Even though you see him as a brother, he also has his private life."

Rowan had a smirk on his face. "It’s okay, I’m not complaining. And Freya here only gets better if she sleeps by my side. I know just what works on her better than the physicians."

Freya widened her eyes as she glared at Rowan. She knew exactly what he was talking about, and it was nothing related to being ill.

"You do? I didn’t know you also had knowledge of healing. It makes you the perfect man." The princess smiled, giving Rowan a small wink. Turning to Freya, she continued,

"I came to call you for breakfast, but I will ask the maids to send it to your room."

Freya nodded. "I’d really appreciate that, thank you." She turned to Rowan. "I’ll be going to my room now."

"Sure, go on." He gave Freya a calm smile, gesturing for her to go on, but his eyes never left her.

Freya took the first step, which was a little awkward because she felt her core throb again, making her step awkward. She hadn’t felt it earlier because she was scared of being caught by the princess, but now that her whole body was calm, she felt everything as it was.

"Are you okay?" The princess noticed the awkwardness in Freya’s walk.

Freya paused, kicking her leg in the air. "I just felt a numbness, but I’m better now. Haha..." She could feel Rowan’s grin growing wider without even having to look at him.

"It must be a good kind of numbness," Rowan’s voice was heard, and he did nothing to suppress his wicked smile.

Princess Lirien, feeling left out, held Freya’s hand. "I’ll hold your hand and help you walk to the room."

As the two girls made their way to the door, Rowan followed behind them, watching how cautious Freya now acted around him. His lips curled into a smile. She would need to get comfortable because it was just the beginning, and he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon.

Freya exhaled the moment they were outside the room. She couldn’t bear to keep up with Rowan’s piercing gaze, a stark reminder of how she had shamelessly screamed his name the previous night.

"Rowan is really good to you. And I like it for both of you," Princess Lirien remarked. "I guess it’s because you’re a good person, Freya. And good people deserve the best."

The words struck something in Freya’s heart. Was she really a good person? Knowing that the princess was interested in Rowan, she went ahead and slept with him. And now she had resorted to lying. The only way to free her heart was to tell the princess the truth. Though Freya didn’t know what she actually felt for Rowan since she had moved with the heat of the moment, she wanted to clear her conscience. But before she could say anything, the princess beat her to it.

"Freya... I actually have something to tell you, but maybe when you get better." Pushing the door to Freya’s room open, "Get some rest. I’ll come by later." She waved before leaving the room.

Freya stood at her door, watching the retreating figure of the princess. Remembering the previous night, where she gave in to her temptation without thinking it through, or asking Rowan what would become of their relationship, Freya sighed again, ruffling her hair with her hand.

"What have I done?" she said in a small voice.