Principeesa Is So Gorgeous, and She’s No Longer Yours Chapter 03

Principeesa Is So Gorgeous, and She’s No Longer Yours Chapter 03

I bent down and gathered my belongings, tucking my important documents into the suitcase along with everything else.

Noise from the garden downstairs drifted up every now and then.

I couldn’t keep quiet any longer and asked quietly.

“Why the sudden groundwork out in the garden?”

The butler replied with deference.

“Mr. Ferraro says there’s a happy occasion coming for the household soon.”

“The future lady of the house adores lily of the valley.”

“So we’re clearing out whatever doesn’t need to stay to make room for the bulbs.”

“We ordered lily of the valley bulbs all the way from Holland first thing yesterday morning. They’ll be delivered this afternoon—incredibly rare, high-end bulbs.”

I stood there stunned and lost.

I’d only ever loved tulips.

I’d brought it up to Leonardo multiple times, telling him I dreamed of having a whole bed of tulips planted in the garden.

Every time, he’d either frown and complain it was too much trouble, or brush me off carelessly and tell me to bring it up with the butler myself.

As a ward living in someone else’s household, I’d never felt comfortable asking for frivolous wants unrelated to food, shelter, and daily necessities.

Yet lily of the valley was a hundred times more delicate and high-maintenance than tulips.

It wasn’t that he hated the hassle at all.

It simply came down to whether I was worth going out of his way for.

By the time I finished packing, all I had left was a pile of items tied only to Leonardo.

There was the bullet he’d once gifted me—the very bullet that had once rested closest to his own heart.

Our first photograph together, posed cautiously to avoid seeming too intimate, terrified that Leonardo’s parents might pick up on our hidden feelings.

There was also a coral specimen he’d pulled free on his first deep-sea dive when he turned eighteen.

He’d told me then that he hoped to share countless first experiences with me for the rest of our lives—that he only wanted to explore all the wonders the world had to offer by my side.

Unavoidable flashes replayed in my head of the night before: him coaxing and persuading me to give myself to him one more time in that bedroom.

It made me feel sicker than any tragic romance movie I’d ever seen.

Curled up in his arms that night, I’d asked when he planned to confess our relationship to both our families.

He’d told me it would be soon.

Now here I was, sitting across from him and his new girlfriend at dinner.

Tears slipped down my cheeks before I could hold them back.

The butler watched me carefully, speaking with quiet concern.

“Miss Moore, are you alright?”

“The east wing bedrooms are laid out identically to this one, with plenty of sunlight. They’ve just sat empty for quite some time and collected a layer of dust.”

“Please let us know if anything fails to meet your satisfaction.”

“Otherwise Mr. Ferraro will fault us for poor work once he’s back.”

I shook my head.

“It’s fine.”

“I’m heading back to my family’s estate for a few days.”

The butler visibly relaxed in relief.

I hefted my suitcase and nodded toward the pile left by the doorway.

“Please throw all of these things away for me.”

Shock flickered across the butler’s face—clearly confused by my request—but he nodded his agreement in the end.

After five years living beneath the Ferraro roof, I was finally saying goodbye to this place for good.

Arthur spotted me walking out of the Ferraro manor and hurried over to help lift my suitcase.

“You’re absolutely sure you don’t wanna stick around a little longer?” he asked.

I glanced back toward the sprawling Ferraro estate several yards away, letting out a bitter laugh before answering.

“No. I’m done here.”

We merged onto the highway heading home, and Leonardo’s name popped up on my phone with an incoming call.

I treated it like an unwanted spam call and let it ring unanswered.

Arthur stayed focused on driving, completely oblivious to my inner turmoil.

He circled back to the dinner earlier that evening, and my resolve crumbled. I voiced my question hesitantly.

“Hey, how did Leonardo and Elena even meet each other anyway?”

Arthur leaned into gossip mode instantly.

“Elena’s Leo’s long-lost first love. His lifelong unattainable crush.”

“He stayed single all these years just waiting for her to come back around.”

I kept a neutral smile plastered on my face, burning inside. If he’d stayed single all this time for her, then what had I been? Just a casual fling to pass his time?