Athan showed up the next morning, acting like he didn't leave me alone yesterday. He looked different; his hair, which he regularly had up in a neat bun, was let down. I didn't even know it was long, as he always had it in a bun. Let down, it reached his shoulders. He wasn't putting on his royal robes. Instead, he had on black slacks and a white wrap shirt, with a black belt around his waist, holding the shirt in place. I frowned as I watched him, wondering why he went to the length of changing his looks.
I had gotten used to seeing the two of them putting on the same golden dress with their hair up in a bun, so I did a double-take when he showed up.
"You … You changed your looks?"
"Oh, you noticed?" He smiled, running his fingers through his hair. "I thought you wouldn't."
"Why won't it?" It wasn't something as inconspicuous as wearing slacks under a robe or changing the designs of a belt. He had a total change.
"You…" He glanced away, cleared his throat before he looked at me. "Yesterday, when you spoke about Ethan, your eyes changed from purple to golden."
I blinked. "Pardon?"
I had long forgotten about my eyes. Confined in this empty palace with just two men, I forgot about my odd hair and eyes. None of the kings seemed to care, so I stopped doing that.
"It always changes from purple to golden whenever you smile at me. I just didn't like the way it changed when you spoke about him."
Stunned, I watched him, realizing just when he pointed it out, that my feelings for Ethan had gradually changed.
"On that first day you met him, it turned red each time you spoke of him, but now it turns golden," he continued, looking at me accusingly. "Do you like him?" He asked, stunning me further.
I gulped, trying to process everything I heard. I didn't have any response to that question. I had kissed Athan before and liked it. It couldn't be love if I hadn't kissed him, right?
"I doubt," I said at last. "I might have gotten comfortable with him."
That explained the way I feel. Knowing Ethan wouldn't hurt me was enough to make me trust him enough to actually converse with him.
"I see."
…
Though Athan stayed instead of ghosting me like he did the day before, I noticed how distant he was. He still smiled at me, but it felt forced, like he didn't want to be with me.
He denied it when I asked, yet I knew there was more to the way he was acting.
When it was time to leave, he only bade me farewell. He didn't even ask me to hide from his brother, and he didn't mention the room, which had automatically turned into mine.
He just left me in the kitchen and disappeared. Soon, Ethan appeared by the door. He leaned on it and folded his arms, watching me.
Just like Athan, Ethan also changed his hairstyle. He had his hair in a loose ponytail, with a few strands curled on his face. He was putting on the same clothes Athan wore, but without the belt and shoes. While Athan wore white, he wore black.
What better way to show their differences? One was night and the other day.
"You changed, too," I said, focusing on him. I didn't even bother to rise from the stool.
"Yeah. A little change can't hurt anyone." He smiled.
The first genuine one he had given me, and it took my breath away, almost knocking me down from the chair. Though he looked like Athan when he smiled, there was a difference, a more teasing twitch on his lips.
Without realizing what I was doing, I got up from the stool and walked over to him. I reached out and touched his cheeks, only returning to my senses when my palms rubbed his cool skin.
He peered down at me, locking my gaze with his and stealing my breath. We both stared long into each other's eyes, frozen in time and unable to move.
My heart thumped loudly in my chest, and my stomach flipped, my abdomen tightening, not from nerves. An excited thrill went through me when he lowered his head and touched his lips to mine. It wasn't a kiss. Just a peck on the lips, but it was enough to make my knees weak…
Had he not reached forward to wrap his hands around my waist, my legs would have given way under me, sending me crashing to the floor.
He placed another kiss on my lips and whispered, "Now I know why Athan is mad over you."
Those words were enough to break me out of the haze his handsome smile had placed me on. I blinked, took a step back when he let me go, and shook my head.
My cheeks coloured, and I averted my gaze from his. Guilt gripped me hard, twisting my heart until it felt so painful I could hardly breathe.
I drew another step back and looked at him. Ethan had his head slightly tilted, looking at me with furrowed brows. He parted his lips to say a word, but I cut through it before he could.
"Good night," I said to him and ran past him, into the hallway. He didn't call me back as I raced towards my sanctuary, and I was more than grateful for it.
I rushed into the room and slammed the door shut behind me, leaning on it as I let out a shaky breath.
I had kissed Ethan and liked the hell out of it. It would have been easier if I didn't like Athan. I enjoyed his kisses the same way I did his brother's, even though Ethan didn't kiss me, only laid pecks on my lips.
I placed my hand over my chest and closed my eyes. It seems the villagers were right about one thing. I'm a slut. The devil's whore. Why else would I lust over two brothers if I weren't?