Chapter 22 Chapter Twenty Two

"Listen, Maxson, it really wasn't an accident." We were in the garden again, waiting for The Report to be taped.I waited all day to find this opportunity to speak to him. "But she looked guilty and apologized." He asked back, "How could this not be an accident?" I sigh, "I'm telling you, I see Celeste every day, and that's where she insidiously sabotages Chris's chances of being in the spotlight, and she just wants to win so badly." "Well, if she was trying to take my attention away from Chris, she failed. I spent about an hour with that girl and had a good time."

I don't actually want to hear that.I know our relationship is a little delicate, and I don't want to face anything that might change the situation until I'm clear about my feelings. "So, what happened to Annie?" I asked. "Who?" "Anne Warmer? She hit Celeste and you drove her away, remember? I knew Anne must have been pissed." "Did you hear what Celeste said?" he asked suspiciously. "Well... no. But I know Anne, and I know Celeste. Anne is not the type to resort to violence immediately, and Celeste must have said something particularly cold-blooded to her, and she will Then react."

"America, I know you spend more time with the girls than I do, but you really know them? You like to hide in your room or the library, dare I say, relative to the other candidates , you are more familiar with the characters of your maids." He might be right about that, but I wouldn't back down easily: "That's not fair, I'm pretty good at assessing Mary, aren't I? Don't you think she's nice too?" He made a grimace: "yes She is very good." "Then why don't you believe me when I say Celeste is doing things with great care?"

"America, I'm not saying you're lying, I get it, it's true from your point of view. But Celeste has apologized, and she's been very polite when she's with me. " "That's for sure." I muttered unconvinced. "Enough," Maxson said with a sigh. "I don't want to talk about other people right now." "She's trying to steal my gown, Maxson," I complained. "As I said, I don't want to talk about her," he said sternly. That was the last straw, I immediately shut up and raised my hands just to smack my legs hard.I have nowhere to vent my grievances, I really want to scream.

"If you are still like this, I will find someone who is willing to be with me." He just left. "Hello!" I called him. "No!" He turned to look back at me, and said to me in a harsh tone that I can't imagine, "You have forgotten who you are, Miss America. You'd better remember that I am the prince of the kingdom of Elia, just Literally, I am the master of this country, and if you think you can treat me that way, you are very wrong. You don't have to agree with my decisions, but you must abide by them." He turned and left, if he didn't see it, he didn't care about the tears in my eyes.

I didn't look in his direction the whole dinner, but that's hard to do when recording The Report.I noticed him look at me twice, and both times he pulled his earlobe, but I didn't respond.Now I don't want to talk to him because all I can think about is getting scolded again, but I really don't need to inflict insult on myself. Afterwards I walked back to my room, confused and saddened by Maxson.Why doesn't he want to listen to me?Does he think I lied to him?Worse, did he think Celeste wouldn't lie to him? Perhaps, Maxson is just an ordinary man, and Celeste is a beautiful girl. In the end, this is the decisive factor in the outcome.Saying that he wants to find a soul mate, maybe all he wants is a bed partner.

If that's what he is, why should I bother?So stupid, too stupid, too stupid!I even kissed him!I also told him that I will be patient!What is this for?I just…… I turned the last corner back to the room and saw Aspen standing there, waiting outside my door.All my anger boiled down to a strange sense of uncertainty.As guards, they have to keep their eyes on the ground and stay alert, but now, he was looking at me with an unreadable expression. "Ms. America," he said softly. "Constable Ledger." It wasn't his job to open the door for me, but he did it anyway.I walked slowly past him, not wanting to turn around, afraid he wasn't real.Despite my best efforts to get him out of my heart and mind, at this moment, all I want is him to be with me.I can feel his breath in my hair as I pass by.

He gave me another deep look, then slowly closed the door from the outside. Sleep is hopeless.My head was full of Maxson's stupidity and Aspen's approach, and I was tossed and turned for hours, not knowing what to do with any of them.I was so absorbed in thinking that in the blink of an eye, it was already two o'clock in the night. I sigh.My maids will have to work hard to make me look good again tomorrow. Suddenly I saw a light come on in the hallway, and silently, as if I were hallucinating, Aspen broke in and closed the door. "Espen, what are you doing?" I asked him as he walked towards me, "If you get caught, you're in big trouble!"

He still walked towards me quietly. "Aspen?" He stopped in front of my bed and silently put the things he was holding on the ground: "Do you love him?" I looked into Aspen's deep eyes, though barely visible in the night.For a thousandth of a second, I don't know what to say. "No." He ripped the covers off me in such a graceful and forceful way that I should have resisted, but I didn't.He reached the back of my head, brought my face to his, and started kissing me passionately.I feel like all the good things in the world are in their right place.He doesn't smell like handmade soap anymore, and he's stronger than ever, but every touch, every caress is so familiar.

"They're going to kill you." I finally catch my breath as he kisses my neck. "If I don't, I'll die too." I tried to muster up the courage to tell him to stop, but I knew it would be futile to say anything.There are a million questions at this moment (how many rules we've broken; and I know Aspen has another girlfriend; and there's some ambiguity between Maxson and me), but I don't care because I'm too Angry at Maxson, and Aspen was so soothing to me, I just let his hand run up and down my leg. We didn't have such a large space before, and the feeling now makes me very surprised and pleasantly surprised.

Even with this distraction, I can still feel everything rushing into my head.I was mad at Maxson, and I was mad at Celeste, and even, I was mad at Aspen.God, I'm mad at the kingdom of Elijah too.We kept kissing, but I cried out. He still kept kissing me, and after a while, I realized some of the tears were his. "I hate you, you know that?" I said. "I know, Ami, I know." Ami.When he touches me and calls me that, I don't feel like I'm in a palace at all, and no matter how unhappy I am, Aspen can make me feel like I'm coming home. We lasted for almost fifteen minutes before he remembered: "I'm going back, and the patrolling guards will spot-check my standing guard." "what?" "Some guards patrol randomly. It may last for twenty minutes, or it may last for an hour. If they only circle around in a small circle, it may last for five minutes." "Go!" I urged him, sat up straight with him, and helped him cut his hair. He picked up the things on the floor and we walked towards the door together, before opening the door, he still held me and kissed me again, it felt like the sun was pouring directly into my blood. "I can't believe you're here," I said. "How did you get sent to the palace as a guard?" He shrugged: "I didn't expect that I was born with this talent. They sent everyone to White for training. America, that place is full of ice and snow, it's not like a sudden snowfall over our house. All recruits can eat Full, trained and tested. They also give us a nutrient solution, I don't know what's in it, but it makes me grow super fast. I'm a good fighter, and I'm smart, in my class, I'm a score Highest." I smiled proudly: "I'm not surprised at all." I kissed him again.Aspen's conditions are so good, I always feel that it's a pity for him to be the sixth level. He opened the door and looked in the corridor, but there was no one there. "I have a lot to say to you, let's talk about it." I said in a low voice. "I know, we will have a chance, it may take a while to find a chance, but I will definitely come back. It shouldn't be tonight, and I don't know when it is now, as soon as possible." He kissed me again , so hard, I almost felt pain. "I miss you." After he finished speaking to my lips, he went back to stand guard. I went back to my bed dazed, unable to believe what I had just done.There's a part of me (a very unhappy part) that thinks Maxson deserves it, and if he chooses to let Celeste go and insult me, I'm sure I won't be able to continue in this game.If she can take advantage of the rules, I have nothing to miss.That problem is solved. Feeling suddenly exhausted and falling asleep within minutes.