The Forgotten Princess Rose
Chapter 157

Chapter 157: Chapter 157

Rose fell back onto her bed as soon as she entered her bedroom. Her right hand covered her face as there was a need to cry but she did not want to. She would have liked to go longer without knowing the king was her father but she appreciated her mother’s honesty.

No one would have any idea that she didn’t want to know the truth. It was understandable that they thought she was deserving of it.

"He is my father," Rose muttered, disgusted by this.

It was hard to swallow that the reason many became lost in the brothel was thanks to her failure of a father.

Victor would continue to be the man she looked to as a father but she couldn’t stop thinking about the king. Would it kill the king to know that his orders stopped her from going to anyone for help? Even now that she was free there was still an order blocking her from looking into missing girls.

It was disappointing.

To be told that you were a princess did not feel pleasant when the king was a fool. A fool who did not care about his people.

"We are half-sisters," Rose realised her relationship with Kiara.

The princess wasn’t a sister Rose wanted to get involved with. Her obsession with Alexander was a big issue. They had only spoken for a moment but Rose hadn’t missed how Kiara looked at her like she wanted her to drop dead.

"Anna is enough."

Rose closed her eyes, wanting to sleep to let this moment pass. She had lessons to start tomorrow and a ball to prepare for.

More importantly, Rose had to give Zayne an answer. Knowing that she was a princess might sound like she was now equal to Zayne but Rose did not think so. She did not think highly of herself being a princess when her father was a terrible king.

The family secret would never get out therefore she would just be seen as a lady of the Ambrose family, something Rose did not mind.

It wasn’t long before Rose found her place at the side of her bed and fell asleep there where it was most comfortable.

The next day, Rose looked out the carriage window at the mansion in which the ball was to be held. She spent most hours of the day following her mother’s lead for this moment.

Rose was clueless as to what happened the day before with her skipping dinner. No one said a word about anyone being upset that she wanted to be alone. No one spoke of what Valerie said to her. It was like they had all moved on and Rose preferred it to be that way.

"Calm down, Anna. You must keep yourself composed," Madeline said, touching Anna’s leg.

"I know. It is just exciting. How many do you think will ask me for a dance?" Anna wondered, biting her nails.

Madeline moved Anna’s hand from her mouth. "I do not know. What I do know is that you should not ruin your nails by biting them. If you appear nervous or too excited, you might scare some suitors away. Just enter like this is any other ball. You are Anna Ambrose. You must not appear as though you are begging anyone to dance with you."

"Right," Anna relaxed. To distract herself, Anna turned to Rose. "You will steal the night away thanks to your appearance. What a shame you didn’t get to speak to Zayne when you came out. Did you see his face?" Anna covered her mouth as she laughed. "Maybe that was why father whisked him away."

Anna continued, "I know you don’t want to but I would love to see the two of you dance. It is scary since it is your first time but once the music starts playing and many take to the centre to dance, you will want to join."

"Zayne isn’t fond of dancing as well. Maybe next time I will be so bold to dance. I am not confident that I remember all the steps," Rose replied.

"You would not be the first to miss a step and you would not be the last. You only need to avoid running out crying if you do. It only fuels laughter behind your back. Father is here," Anna said, once more excited as her father opened the carriage door.

Rose took a deep breath when the door opened. This moment was what she had tirelessly prepared for all day. She searched for Zayne who rode with her father as they needed to talk about their plans.

Rose had gotten only a small glance at him before Victor took him away but it was long enough to see how handsome Zayne was tonight now that he had dressed up. Rose had never missed how handsome Zayne looked in his more comfortable clothes but today, she got a glimpse of how he must have looked standing beside his family at home.

Rose was the second to step out after her mother with Victor’s help. Already there was plenty of attention on the family.

Since she was attending a ball as an Ambrose, it had to come out that the missing daughter was now home so the news was spreading fast. It was quickly spreading that a foreigner was also here.

Rose went to Zayne’s side so they could bear the attention together. Zayne was better at ignoring those around them than she was. "You look handsome. It is a problem for me. I will have to save you many times. It should have been one of those balls with the masks."

"A mask cannot hide my beauty," said Zayne.

"Your confidence knows no bounds. It is not a bad thing now. Anna is eager to dance with many suitors. I am still confused as to how many can find partners to wed in so little time and just after a dance," Rose said, watching as men fixed their gaze on Anna. "She stands out."

"She is not the only one," Zayne noticed, staring at a group of men looking their way. "I can bet that you don’t have any idea how beautiful you look right now. You are right beside your sister gathering all the attention from men. You will be asked to dance many times."

Rose bowed her head to hide her face. She was still trying to understand why Zayne’s compliments felt different from those of her family or others like Janice. "I will not dance tonight. I will stay near you and my mother."

"You should dance."

Rose looked up. Zayne didn’t want to dance so was he telling her to dance with someone else? "With one of the suitors here?"

"If you wish," Zayne replied with a smile.

Rose didn’t know what to believe since Zayne’s mouth and face said something different. His mouth said she should but his face showed his dislike of what she said. Was he angry that she thought he meant to dance with someone else? "I just thought-"

"Rose, we must go inside."

Rose bit her lip as she failed to correct the mistake. Even if Zayne were to suggest dancing with someone else, she didn’t want to do it.

Though she wanted to improve herself and step out of her comfort space, Rose was not interested in dancing with just anyone as many of the young ladies might do tonight. She could only think of dancing with Zayne.

Rose remained mindful of the eyes on her. She kept a good space between herself and Zayne since she was not married.

"Zayne," she whispered after they made it up the steps leading inside. "If I wanted to dance with you, would you say yes?"

Zayne peered down at Rose, her eyes pleading with him to answer now. "I did not torture myself with you stepping on my shoes all day not to dance with you if it is what you want."

He certainly didn’t do it so some bastard after her family name would have the honour of sharing her first dance.

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