Prince Charming's Beloved Wife

The Man

Suddenly, a strong force grabbed onto her left arm, pulling her around.

“Ahh!” Adela screamed as the pile of wood in her arms dropped onto the ground. Suddenly, her mouth was covered by a large hand that very clearly belonged to a man.

Adela looked up and her eyes met with a pair of grey eyes. The man raised one eyebrow when he saw Adela’s face, and the hand over Adela’s mouth loosened as he stared into Adela’s gorgeous eyes. 

Taking this opportunity, Adela forcefully pushed the man’s arm away and made an attempt to run again, forgetting about the wood.

However, the man’s reaction was very fast and he immediately grabbed onto his arm again.

“Help me!” He said, his voice soft but forceful.

Adela looked up at the man again, this time more closely. He had defined facial features and a sharp jawline, his eyes standing out because of the attractive grey colors. His thin lips were curled up into a small smile that looked almost playful, and the raised eyebrow only added to his amused expression. 

He was at least a head taller than Adela, and his body build was quite lean. However, from the strength of his grip on Adela’s arm, she could tell that he probably had some muscles hiding beneath his dirty white shirt and black pants.

His black hair also had a few pieces of leaves inside it, making Adela wonder what he was doing.

“Who are you?” She asked, staring at his face intently. Something about how he looked rang a bell inside her mind and made her think that she had seen him somewhere before.

However, she just couldn’t remember where.

The man didn’t answer her question and instead looked behind them anxiously, “Please help me. There are people chasing me.”

Adela raised one eyebrow. That only added a reason to why she shouldn’t help him. Not only did she not know him, but if there were bad people chasing him, she didn’t want them to follow her and find their way to Grandma Madeline and Grandpa Daniel’s cottage. 

After not much thought, Adela pushed the man’s hand off of her arm. She turned around to leave but the man grabbed onto her again, a little more forceful this time.

“Please.” 

Adela turned around to see that his playful smile had disappeared. This made him look a little more serious and scary, completely different from the temperament he gave off a moment ago.

Suddenly, they both heard the sound of footsteps moving across the ground, rustling the pile of leaves scattering the forest floor.

They looked at each other more intensely, and in a second, Adela suddenly remembered where she had seen him before.

Her eyes widened as her mouth opened slightly, looking more closely to make sure.

Yes! That’s right! They were the same person.

Adela raised one eyebrow as she thought for a few seconds. The footsteps got louder and the man became more anxious.

Finally, Adela grabbed onto his hand.

“Come with me.”

The man relaxed a little and a smile appeared on his face again. The sound of the heavy footsteps continued to get louder, and it seemed like there were several people together.

As they ran, the man’s eyes stayed on his hand and his fingers, which were interlaced with Adela’s soft and small hand.

The man’s smile widened slightly as a sparkle flashed past his eyes. He did not look like the one trying to escape from people at the moment.

In a few seconds, they stopped in front of the cottage and Adela pushed the man in.

“Go under the bed.”

“Under the bed?” The man asked, still with a smile on his face as he looked at Adela’s face.

“Yes,” she replied sternly.

The man reluctantly slid down onto the ground, his huge body looking very strained under the small bed. After he had slid under, Adela covered up the area from the bed to the ground with a blanket.

She looked around, surprised to see that both Madeline and Daniel weren’t inside, but that may also be a good thing.

Maybe they were in the back picking vegetables for the meal.

After a minute or two, there was suddenly a loud and forceful knock at the door. The man looked up from under the bed and watched as Adela straightened her dress and calmly walked over to the door, opening it.

Outside, there were several men dressed in fully black outfits with black bandanas covering their faces. They were holding rifles in their hands and Adela’s body tensed up when she saw it.

The man in the front lifted his rifle up when the door opened but lowered it again upon seeing Adela’s face.

“Did you see a man with black hair wearing a white shirt and black pants go by here?”

Adela pretended to think for a moment before shaking her head, “No, I have been inside this entire time so I didn’t see anyone.”

The man under the bed couldn’t help but be slightly surprised at Adela’s calm answer. She can really lie without even blinking an eye.

The smile on his face grew even larger.

Outside, the man standing in the very front tried to look into the room. Adela gracefully leaned aside so the man could have a look.

Without seeing anyone, he took a step up to try and step into the house but Adela blocked the door.

A slight blush spread on her cheeks as she looked down, embarrassed like a little girl, “Sir, my room is a little messy.”

The man in the front looked down at Adela’s gorgeous face and lifted one hand up.

However, before his fingers could touch her face, she took a step back.

One of the men in the back cleared his throat, “Sir, our mission isn’t complete yet.”

The man took one long look at Adela before turning back around, “Let’s go look over there.”

After they left, Adela immediately closed the door. She checked through the window to make sure they were completely gone before she looked towards the bed.

“You can come out now.”

The man lifted the blanket up and slid out of the bed, standing up. He was so tall his head almost brushed against the cottage roof, and it made the room look even smaller than it already was.

Adela looked up at his face and made sure once more that he was the person she thought he was. He seemed to look more handsome than when she had last seen him. . .

“Thank you for -”

The door suddenly opened again.