Alice hugged me for quite a long time, probably over an hour. When she finally calmed down a bit, she let go.

  “Feeling better now? You’re a grown woman, but you still cry like that,” I said, teasing her a little.

  “Shut up... This is all your fault anyway,” she muttered with a pout, lightly hitting my back with her fists.

  “Yes, yes, it’s my fault. So, are you going back to your room now? It’s really late,” I asked, holding her hand gently to stop her from hitting me.

  “I’m sleeping here tonight, Bayu. Your room or mine, it’s all the same. I’ll go grab my pillow and be right back, so don’t you dare fall asleep!” she said, standing up and hurrying to the door.

  But as she opened it, she found Jayden and Lisa standing right outside.

  “Hey, Alice, what happened? Why do you look like you’ve been crying? Did Bayu do something to you?” Jayden asked, pointing straight at me.

  “What do you mean 'did something to me'? I cried because Bayu....”

  I quickly cut her off. “Alice, don’t.”

  I gave her a subtle look, asking her not to say anything about what had happened.

  “Alright then, I’ll be right back, Bayu,” Alice said and jogged off toward her room.

  “Tell me what you did to Alice, Bayu! Did you make her cry?! Answer me!” Jayden shouted so loud, I would surprised if the whole palace didn’t hear it.

  “Well, yeah, I guess I did make her cry. But what does that have to do with you? Why do you always stick your nose into things between me and Alice?” I replied coldly, staring him down.

  That did it. Jayden stormed into my room, grabbed me by the collar, and glared into my face.

  “You bastard! How dare you make a woman like Alice cry?! You should be ashamed of yourself! I should’ve broken down your door the moment I heard her screaming!” he yelled, raising his fist.

  Before he could swing, Lisa stepped in and grabbed his arm.

  Just then, Alice came back, holding her pillow, and froze. Her eyes widened as she saw Jayden gripping my collar.

  “Jayden, what the hell are you doing?! Are you insane?! Let go of Bayu right now!” she shouted, rushing forward and pushing him away from me.

  “But Alice, that bastard made you cry! How can you still defend him?” Jayden protested, trying to justify his actions.

  “That’s enough! Both of you, get out of my room!” Alice snapped, shoving Jayden and Lisa toward the door.

  (Though... technically, this is my room. Alice’s is right next door. But yeah... there was no way I could say that out loud.)

  “Bayu, are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Alice asked as she checked me from head to toe.

  “Thanks to you, I’m totally fine, Alice. I always knew I could count on you,” I said with a soft laugh.

  “Don’t laugh! Do you realize how dangerous that was?! What if Jayden really had punched you?! I used to think he was a decent person...” she said, looking troubled.

  “Yeah yeah, it’s my fault. I’m sorry, Alice. But now that they’re gone, how about we get some sleep? Go grab that pillow you threw earlier when you ran back,” I said, gently patting her head.

  Alice nodded and went to pick up her pillow from the floor. After that, the two of us lay down on the bed together.

  “Alice, you have to be careful when judging whether someone is good or bad,” I said, turning on my side to face her. “Just because someone seems kind in front of you doesn’t mean they don’t have bad intentions.”

  “I know… I guess I let my guard down a little. I’ve just been so excited about everything that’s happened lately. I’m sorry, Bayu…” she replied, looking guilty and downcast.

  “It’s normal for people to make mistakes, Alice. But you have to remember, you’re beautiful, so there will always be men with bad intentions trying to get close to you. That’s why.... Wait, why is your face turning red?”

  “It’s your fault, Bayu! How can you say something like that so casually?” she snapped, trying to hide her embarrassment.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “Oh, you mean the part about you being really beautiful? But it’s true. That’s why I fell in love with you… and why you’re still my girlfriend.”

  “Enough! It’s late, so you should go to sleep now, Bayu!” she said, quickly covering my mouth with both hands.

  I gently held her hands and moved them away from my mouth. “So we’re going straight to sleep? I mean, I thought we’d… do something first, since you seemed so excited to ‘sleep’ with me.”

  “W-What are you even saying?! I just want to sleep next to you! That’s all!” she panicked, pinching my cheeks with both hands.

  “Alright, alright! I was just joking! Please stop pinching me, Alice…” I said, trying to block her hands.

  “I only want to sleep beside you, okay? Nothing more! And you should sleep too, Bayu!” she said with a pout, her cheeks still red.

  “Sure, Alice, sure. I’m fine if you just want to sleep beside me. But I’m also ready if you want to slee... Ow... !”

  I didn’t get to finish that sentence because Alice pinched my arm really hard.

  “…Hey, Bayu. I’m going to heal you. No matter what. You have to stay alive until I find a way to cure you. You have to…”

  “I believe in you. My amazing Alice will definitely find a way,” I said, a little surprised by her serious tone. “So… hey, don’t cry again, please.”

  “Whose fault do you think this is…” she muttered, trying to hold back her tears again.

  “I’m sorry. And… thank you, Alice,” I said, gently stroking her hair.

  After everything that happened, I felt strangely at peace. Knowing that someone didn’t see me as a stranger—someone who truly wanted me to stay alive, made me feel… happy.

  Not long after, Alice fell asleep, completely exhausted from crying. I quietly pulled Mother out from beneath the pillow and held her close.

  “Good night… Mother,” I whispered, before slowly drifting off to sleep.

  After what felt like a very long night, the sun finally began to rise. I slowly woke up, the sunlight slipping through the window and hitting my face. The first thing I felt was… heavy?

  Something soft, and kind of heavy, was pressing against my face.

  It was Alice.

  Apparently, she’s really active when she sleeps, and she tends to hug anything near her like a body pillow. Unfortunately, there was no body pillow here… so I guess she decided I would do.

  Hovering beside me, Mother was pouting.

  “I really wanted to hug you, but this girl suddenly grabbed my precious boy in her sleep and completely blocked me from getting close. Just look at how rude she is! Hugging you like that and pushing her breas.... ”

  “Ahaha, sorry, Mother! She’s just… really clingy when she sleeps,” I quickly cut her off, trying to change the topic.

  “Hmmm… sounds like my precious boy actually likes being hugged like that, with her brea.... ”

  “Alright, alright! You can hug me all you want after she wakes up and leaves. Just… don’t say that word, please,” I said, starting to panic a little.

  I gently slid Mother back under the pillow and turned toward Alice, trying to wake her up.

  “Alice… Wake up, it’s morning. Don’t you have training every morning?” I whispered, poking her cheek with my finger.

  “Five more minutes, Bayu… I’m still really sleepy…” she murmured, half asleep.

  “Alice, if you don’t change your position now, I’m going to assume you want to sleep with me… in that way,” I teased, gently pinching her cheek.

  “Hmm? What are you talk.... Wait, why am I here?!” Alice suddenly jolted a little, slowly realizing the situation.

  A few seconds later, her face turned bright red, like a tomato.

  “I... I didn’t mean to, Bayu! You know I always hug a body pillow when I sleep! So I… Stop laughing already!” she shouted, flustered, and slowly backed away from me.

  She quickly rushed off to her room to change clothes and get ready for her training.

  Her pillow was still here.

  I guess she forgot it in the rush.

  After Alice left, I pulled Mother out from under the pillow.

  “My precious son sure has a habit of shoving his own mother under a pillow,” she said coldly, staring at me with those frosty eyes.

  “Sorry… I just don’t know where else to hide you safely,” I replied, trying to explain.

  “Hmph. I’ll forgive you, only because you’re my favorite child. As a reward, I’m going to hug you aaaall day today,” she declared before suddenly wrapping her arms around me.

  And just like that, I went through the rest of the day as usual.

  Breakfast, study, lunch, nap, study again, dinner.

  Then, just when I thought the day was settling down, Alice suddenly barged into my room holding a plate full of food.

  “Bayu! Why didn’t you eat anything today?! You have to eat to stay alive! Here, meat and vegetables, eat all of it! Now, open your mouth!” she said angrily, pushing a spoonful of food toward me.

  “Alice, calm down, I can feed myse.... ”

  “No! I’m going to feed you right now! I’m making sure you finish every bite, Bayu!” she cut me off sharply, determinedly holding the spoon in front of my mouth.

  In the end, I gave up and let Alice do whatever she wanted.

  Once I finished the food, she took the empty plate and left the room to return it to the dining hall.

  Not long after she left, Jayden suddenly burst into my room.

  “Aren’t you ashamed? Acting like a spoiled child. What kind of man makes his woman get his food and even feed him like a baby? Do you even have any self respect?” he barked, pointing his finger at me.

  It’s not like I asked Alice to do any of that. But seriously, why should I even bother explaining myself to this jerk?

  I stayed silent, ignoring every word.

  “Don’t ignore me!” he shouted. “How could a woman as amazing as Alice be with someone like you? You must’ve threatened her or tricked her into being with you, didn’t you?!”

  Wow. Is his voice box okay? He screams way too much.

  Still, I didn’t care. I just kept ignoring him.

  “You bastard!” he finally snapped and punched me across the face.

  A sharp pain bloomed on my cheek, and I could feel it swelling almost instantly.

  The room suddenly went silent.

  And then, a cold breeze began to creep in, growing colder and heavier with each second.

  Yeah...

  Looks like Mother is really angry this time.

  “Jayden! What are you doing? Stop it right now!”

  Lisa suddenly burst into the room, grabbed Jayden’s arm, and pulled him away from me.

  Then, right behind her, Alice appeared in the doorway, she must’ve just returned from the dining hall with Lisa.

  She froze.

  Her eyes locked onto me, and the bruise on my face.

  For a moment, there was only silence.

  And then, her expression twisted in rage.

  Oh man... Tonight’s going to be a total disaster.