<h4>Chapter 620: Bright Eyes</h4>


    Her forehead pressed lightly against the window, Nnenna closed her eyes. The hum of the engines seemed to echo her heart, steady and distant. And then, her mind slipped back.


    Her mind drifted, unbidden, back to that day with Somto, bright eyes, confident smiles, a future neither of them could predict.


    That first time. That first journey across the continent.


    She had not woken in her own bed, no. She had woken cocooned in warmth, her body sinking into a softness that felt too perfect to question.


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    A nket she didn’t remember pulling over herself. A pillow so warm and solid that it erased every trace of the nightmares she usually carried in her sleep.


    Only when her fingers reached for her phone did the numbers on the screen snap her halfway awake.


    Ten hours?


    Her eyes had shot open. I slept that long? The realization was absurd, but her body felt so weightless, so deeply rested, it almost made sense.


    She stretched, letting thefort linger a second more, until her ears picked up something rhythmic. A soft tapping, right beside her.


    She turned her head.


    Somto.


    Sitting beside her, calm as ever, eyes locked on his tablet. His fingers moved with sharp precision across the screen, tapping and swiping like he was conducting some quiet symphony.


    His brow was furrowed, lips pressed together in that way he had when he was concentrating. The glow from the screen painted him in a halo of faint light.


    And then her heart stuttered. Because the pillow under her cheek, wasn’t a pillow at all.


    It was him.


    Her entire body had jolted upright, heat exploding across her face.


    "How, how did this happen?!" she burst out before she could stop herself.


    Somto’s head turned, his calm gaze finally leaving the tablet. A smile curved onto his lips, patient and maddeningly amused.


    "Well," he said with infuriating calm, "you put your head on my shoulder. That’s how it happened."


    Her jaw dropped. "What?! No—I didn’t! Did I? I—uh—you—" Her words tangled and tripped over each other, copsing like a stack of stones.


    Somto’s chuckle was low, warm. He leaned back slightly, seeming to be enjoying the view of her flustered expression. "You looked like you were having a nightmare. I was doing you a favor, Princess."


    Her blush deepened. "You—! I wasn’t—!" she sputtered, then quickly turned her face to the window, refusing to let him see her cheeks burn brighter by the second.


    Silence stretched between them. Her hands twisted in herp, her guilt piling higher. She must have just slumped onto him in her sleep. Used him like a piece of furniture. The thought was mortifying.


    But Somto did not look offended. If anything, his lips curled higher. He had studied her, wide eyes,shes still heavy from sleep, her cheeks painted with colors she didn’t know how to hide. Probably thinking she was innocent. Honest. Adorable.


    Something inside him must have softened because she would never forget his next words.


    "I don’t mind," he had said quietly, his voice clear and unhurried, like each word was chosen with care. "You can use my shoulder... or myp as a pillow... anytime you want."


    Those words had struck her like a thunderp.


    She could remember her face turning crimson, hotter than fire. She shot up so suddenly the flight attendant nearby nearly dropped a tray.


    "I—uh—thank you—I mean no thank you—I’m fine!" she stammered, bolting to the far end of the jet as if escape could erase the echo of his words in her chest.


    Somto only chuckled, leaning back in his seat. He watched her retreat, half hidden behind her own embarrassment, and let his smile linger. He must have been thinking she was so easy to tease.


    The rest of the journey, she had barely breathed in his direction. She glued her gaze to the window, staring at clouds that blurred into endless white. Her back was stiff, her posture screaming I’m fine, though her ears stayed pink for hours.


    And behind her, Somto had simply watched. He had not teased further. He had not intruded. He had just let his gaze rest quietly on her, her awe at the endless sky, her wonder softening her eyes.


    She hadn’t turned back but judging from the scorching gaze on her back that day, he must have smiled to himself.


    Because even then, maybe... just maybe... this had been the beginning of something more than either of them had expected.


    Blinking away the tear that threatened to spill, Nnenna pressed her lips together and focused on the clouds outside.


    They faded quickly as the ne dipped lower, thend of Lionara stretching wide beneath them. Her heart tightened. The descent felt heavier than the first time, like the very air remembered what she had lost.


    The jet touched down smoothly at the capital’s airport, wheels screeching against the runway. Hourster, their ck car rolled through the gates of Lionaran Castle, gliding past rows of guards and courtiers already assembled at the entrance. Word had traveled ahead of them, legends were returning.


    The car eased to a stop right before the grand steps. Before the driver could reach for the handle, Nnenna pushed the door open herself.


    Carl was already out, moving quickly to meet her. The driver hurried to assemble the wheelchair, snapping it into ce with practiced efficiency. Without waiting for ceremony, Carl lifted Nnenna gently and lowered her into the chair, his motions steady but deliberate.


    Gasps rippled through the rows of onlookers. The bowing courtiers froze mid motion, their eyes flickering between reverence and confusion. A few whispered, their voices sharp against the silence, but none dared speak aloud.


    Arthur and Darius stepped out next, the weight of their presence pressing down on the gathering like a storm front. Even then, heads kept tilting toward the car, expectant. Waiting.


    But the vehicle pulled away toward the lot, empty.


    The realization rippled like a silent wave.


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