The Pure-Hearted Princess and the Kiss of Darkness

~ ENRIQUE -

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"It's great. You're incredibly smart, for someone of your age to accomplish something like this... and I'm certain it must have cost far too much as well."

"There's no price too high for something like this," she says, blushing at the compliment. "And I got help. It wasn't all me."

"But it was your vision, and you made it happen," I say quietly. The atmosphere around us changing.

Our eyes meet, and the urge to grab her and kiss her fights against me. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on NovelDrama.Org. Visit NovelDrama.Org to read the complete chapters for free. So instead, I look away and sit down on the ground, my arms resting on my knees as I look at the twinkling star or two that peek out from behind the clouds.

She sits down beside me, her legs tucked under her, her long hair cascading over her shoulder.

I look down at the hand and begin to remove it when she reaches out. Stop. What are you doing?"

"I told you, I'm not accepting this."

"Enrique... why not?" The light in her eyes that was there when she talked about it, diminishing. "Please accept it. I've put everything into this, please just accept it."

"This conversation is over," I say, my voice once again colder. I pull the wires from inside of me, feeling the fizzle of electricity and a tinge of pain as I watch the tiny dots heal over.

"No, it isn't. Please, I made this for you. I don't want anything in return. This is for me, too. This is my life's work."

"Then I'm sorry, Princesa, but you wasted your life on me," I say quietly, placing the prosthetic on the ground before her.

Her heart is thumping as she shakes her head. "No, I haven't, because you were the reason I lived. You are my life." I'm unable to look at her, my own emotions a storm.

What is there to love?

No one would really miss me if I'm gone...

"Like I said, the boy you lived for is dead. All I am is a remnant of him, one

who wants nothing more than revenge."

"Enrique- You lost your hand for feeding-"

"I didn't fucking lose it for feeding you! You're pathetic, you don't even know what you're trying to make up for!" "Your father punished you for helping me, for feeding-"

"I lost my hand for freeing you that day!" I snap, unable to stop the words from leaving my mouth.

Her eyes fly open, her face losing all colour as she sits there shaken.

How does she not know that? I'm certain her father knew... he questioned me... I saw it in his eyes. He knew.

"En-Enrique- Goddess... he found out... once again I-"

"Enough!" I growl as I suddenly stand up and put distance between us.

"I'm sorry... so sorry, please I'm sorry. Whether it was for feeding me or freeing me it's still my fault!"

"Let it go, it's in the past." I snarl. "I did what I did on my own accord, you didn't ask me to so you do not need to pay me back! I need nothing from a Rossi."

"No, Enrique, please don't do this. Why do you hate us so much!?" she asks desperately, pain and frustration clear in her eyes as she stands too.

"I said enough! Go back to your precious father!" I snarl, switching to Spanish.

"No! Tell me, please! What has he done to earn this hatred?"

"No. I'm done listening. You made this hand to make yourself feel better, right? You want me to accept it, so you feel better, right? Then fine, just leave it. I don't need to use it but at least your conscience can rest knowing it's f*****g done. Go back to your family!" "Please... Just tell me why you hate my father so much!"

"Because! Because he was painted a f*****g god!" I thunder, unable to stop myself. "I thought he'd be able to help us, but he couldn't! He f*****g only cared for himself and for his loved ones!"

There. I fucking said it.

She freezes as she stares at me. She wants to hear it, no? Then I'll give it to her.

"He isn't a fucking god. He's not even a fucking king, just a man. A man painted far better than he is. I thought... I thought he'd be able to save my padre, save my madre from the pain she suffered... but then I realised he only cared to help his own! So, before you act like a f*****g saint, I know you're all alike and I will never trust a Rossi who will do anything for their own selfish gain!" I rake my hand through my hair, unable to hold back the returning rage that reminds me of why I hate the Rossis. "He tried. I swear he tried!" she whispers, her eyes glittering.

"He didn't f*****g try hard enough. If he had wanted, he could have tried harder. He had no intention of helping my padre!"

She shakes her head. "No, don't say that. I know my father can't do everything, but I swear he tries. He really tries. My father has always tried to help, even when he felt so alone in the world, Enrique. You two are so much alike-"

I raise my hand, pointing my shaking finger at her. "NEVER. Never put me in the same category as him!"

"Enrique, listen to me! My father tries his best! But yes, at the end of the day, he is only a person. He isn't a god, but he does everything in his power to help everyone." Her voice breaks. "He once had to make the decision to let your father's wolves take me so he could save my brother and sister. Sometimes... there's a horrible voice inside of me who tells me he loved them more, that he only has a soft spot for me because of his guilt." She breaks into sobs, burying her face in her hands. I frown, what is she on about?

"But then... I tell myself if he didn't let me go, I would have never met you. Everything happens for a reason, but what I do know is that he tried. And I would willingly be ok with being kidnapped a thousand times if it meant meeting you," she says, wiping her tears away furiously.

"Let go of your infatuation, there is nothing here to fucking love," I growl.

I can't deal with it, I'm almost falling into the trap of believing those words

"You're wrong again. I wish you could see that," she whispers, stepping closer to me and I step back.

"I'm not fucking wrong, wake up from your delusion, Princesa, because this world is a place you will never survive in with that outlook..." I turn my back on her just as she reaches for me, brushing her hand off me I clench my fist. "You're sleeping here tonight." With those words, I walk away before I shift and run into the trees. I'll be nearby, making sure she's ok but I can't stay beside her when I'm not sure what I'll f*****g end up doing...

I will take her to the summit... and I will leave her there.

She will not return to this island.

There is no place for a Rossi here.