(Theo's POV)
This Zara girl is stunning.
Theo hadn't gotten himself so drawn to a person before. Even when he had seen her picture, he never found himself so mesmerized by her beauty as he did currently.
But even as he found himself steadily attracted to Zara, he couldn't help but squirm at the processions of the current day.
Nothing went according to plan.
He hadn't expected Zara's immediate family to cause a scene, and of course, he hadn't even expected to hear that she was the contracted girlfriend of Kai Frost.
This led him to make a last-minute change—one that would defy the very reason he came to Imperial City in the first place, and would most definitely go against his father's planning.
Theo didn't have much of a choice. When Francis told him of the details, claiming that his current name might be too jeopardized to rease to the public at a time like this, he couldn't help but agree even as he saw the dire situation unfold before him.
Zara was tortured and tormented. She had an entire family plotting and scheming to see her downfall. She was on a hot seat most nobles wouldn't dream of occupying.
This would've been the most chaotic time to reveal himself. The news media would eat it up. Zara's family would have more scandal at their fingertips to cause her more harm, and as for Kai Frost…
Theo wasn't sure what he would do.
But he knew that the so-called trillionaire would not allow his recently contracted girlfriend to slip from his grasp so easily.
In light of all these factors, Theo made a penultimate decision to change his last name to "Vasquin" and keep the name, "Diego."
This way, he would not garner as much attention to himself while going about his mission, which was ascertaining Zara's eligibility to be the next princess of Nexus Province.
And it seemed almost as if she was to be the one…
The idea of this date was an impromptu decision he made to quicken the pace of things while ensuring Zara was within his sights.
He wasn't sure if he was going to see her again soon, and now that she was a contracted girlfriend, he wasn't so sure he would've gotten to see her much at all.
Rich men were always possessive with their property.
And Theo knew that Kai was no different. He had only even saved her reputation from her family because his gala was at stake.
Francis did not support the idea of a date when Theo proposed it to him. He considered it "too risky" to the hosts' reputation.
But Theo did not care much.
As far as he could tell, Zara was all alone at the high table while her supposed hosts had left to share drinks and discuss plans.
That was not how to treat a guest.
At the end of the day, he would only take her out to know her better. Theo already planned to make up his mind about her tonight and send a report to his father. He wanted things to be slow, yes, but all his plans for that had been thrown out the window.
Now he just wanted to return to his home. But it seemed that things were not finished quite yet.
Zara had done nothing short of captivated him.
She was a natural communicator, not letting her noble upbringing spoil her sense of humour and colour. She didn't fawn over him as well, which was quite a good thing, as Theo found that to be quite irksome considering that he had experienced it for most of his life.
The more they talked, the more he realised how good of a person she was.
They had reached a solid point in their conversation, Theo mimicking a particularly annoying way with which nobles drank tea, a routine he had come to learn and memorise himself being a member of the royal family.
Zara had laughed at his harmless joke, a breathless laugh that reeked of joy and freedom, like she had stopped trying to be a particular type of person and had just let go, enjoying life to the fullest.
Theo found her even more beautiful.
They had shared passions, habits, likes, dislikes and so many things in just a span of minutes. It was like time slowed when he was with her, as their comversations seemed to jumped from one topic to the next.
"And then he actually jumped in."
"Wait. No way!"
"Yes, Diego.", Zara said between bouts of laughter.
"What happened to him?" Diego asked in mock surprise.
"The old man broke his spine. Couldn't walk for the rest of his life." Zara covered her mouth, and Diego suddenly realised what she was trying to do.
She had just told him a story of a distant uncle of hers jumping into a pool filled with literally a million cents.
Of course, it was a reckless thing to do, and the man had paid for his own foolishness by getting crippled for the rest of his life. Zara had held her mouth, trying to stop herself from laughing so he wouldn't see her as a bad person.
"Zara. It's hilarious. You can laugh all you want." He quickly told her, and Zara let out the most hideous cackle he had ever heard in his life.
She wheezed and giggled till she ran out of breath and tears spilled from her eyes. And even then, she was still laughing.
"I thought you'll think me a bad person for laughing at a man's demise. But my oh my, rich people are foolish."
"I think so too." Theo responded, a smile lighting up his face.
"Why don't you tell me a story of yours? I've been the one doing the storytelling."
Theo's heart sank. He was carrying a fake name, a last minute change at that. He hadn't prepared for something like this.
In his own original life, he had similar stories, but he couldn't directly tell those since his identity was to remain a secret.
Nevertheless, he knew he had to say something.
Theo cleared his throat and leaned back on the soft limousine cushion, the moonlight filtering through the tinted car windows and casting a gentle glow in the quiet space.
"Alright," he began slowly, "I'll tell you about a boy I once knew."
Zara perked up with interest, resting her chin on her palm. "A boy? This sounds suspiciously like it's about you."
Theo gave a small, forced chuckle. "Maybe. Maybe not. You'll have to decide."
He paused, carefully weaving a story around a fictionalized version of himself. "This boy… he grew up in a very structured world. There were rules for everything. When to speak. When to eat. Even how to walk. His family owned more land than they could see in a lifetime, and every day of his life was planned out before he even had a chance to live it."
Zara raised a brow. "Sounds like prison, just with more money."
Theo nodded slowly. "Exactly. A golden cage. One day, this boy snuck out—he was maybe fifteen at the time. Dressed in a guard's uniform, slipped through the palace gates... I mean, the estate gates." He corrected himself quickly, but Zara didn't seem to notice. "He ended up in a festival, completely different from the banquets and galas he was used to. People were dancing barefoot, eating spicy skewers off street grills, and jumping into water barrels just to cool off. It was messy. It was loud. It was freedom."
Theo was actually talking about the little village beyond the hills that surrounded his castle.
Zara smiled. "What happened?"
"He lost his wallet. His fake name slipped. The local sheriff almost got him arrested, thinking he was a runaway thief."
She gasped dramatically, placing a hand on her chest. "Oh no! Did he confess?"
"No," Theo replied, grinning. "He cried. Like full-blown, ugly tears. Claimed his rich parents had disowned him and he was now living on the streets. The sheriff believed him and gave him money for bread."
Zara burst out laughing again. "Oh my God! You really are a little devil."
He raised his hands in surrender. "Allegedly."
There was a moment of silence between them, soft and comfortable. Then Zara leaned back against the bench and stared up at the stars.
"You have no idea how much I needed this. My life has been hell lately."
Theo's smile faltered just slightly. "Oh I'm aware."
Zara's smile faltered slightly.
"But I never told you yet?"
Oh crap! Theo thought as he thought of a nice cover-up for that little slip up.
"Instincts Zara. I could see it on your face at the gala that you were down. And who would be happy with a mother that screams like that."
"Stepmother." Zara corrected.
"That witch and her two daughters have been nothing but trouble ever since they stepped foot in that mansion." Zara added.
"I can't wait to sort out my documents. I'll have them sent away ASAP."
"Documents?" Theo asked with a slight confusion.
"Yeah it's personal. I don't want to talk on it much." Zara responded, unknown to her that Theo was knew of everything already.
"I like that I can get to escape, even if it's just for a little while." Zara added with a tinge of excitement.
Theo placed his hands over her, the soft warmth of her slender fingers seeping into his.
"And I like that I get to be the one to help you with that." Theo responded with a twinkle in his eyes.
"And for what it's worth—" Theo continued.
"You didn't end up here by accident. You adapted and survived. You're a strong woman." He added with a note of finality that made Zara smile.
A gradual slow in acceleration signalled to them that they had reached their destination. Theo raised the curtains to the grand sight of a 5-star restaurant.
He turned to her, his smile glinting in the dark space.
"Shall we?"
Zara smiled back. "We shall, Mr Diego."
He grinned and got up. "Lead the way."
As they disappeared into the confines of fine dining, hand in hand and both pretending to be people they weren't, something shifted quietly between them.
Neither of them mentioned the gala again. Not Kai Frost, not the Blake family, not the royal madness bubbling beneath the surface.
But deep within Theo, something began to stir. A conflict. An uncertainty.
He had come here to observe Zara Blake. To evaluate her as a potential bride, a political partner.
But he was quickly becoming something else—a confidant, a friend, maybe something deeper.
And that wasn't part of the plan.