Valeria was completely intoxicated by the passionate kiss that Diego had initiated. For a moment, she lost control of her own body and let herself be carried away by the Prince's sensual lips.
Since she woke up in this world, she had not had any kind of relationship, and the abstinence was killing her. To top it off, Diego, although a novice in these matters, was kissing her in a way that stole her breath. Valeria was not made of stone, and the way he explored her lips, massaging her tongue with desire, was exciting her in an inexplicable way.
In a moment of lucidity, Valeria realized the situation: they were in the garden, in everyone's view. She emerged from the trance in which Diego held her, beginning to separate from him. The Prince perceived the change and stepped back a little, observing her in silence, waiting for her to say something.
Still with her breath ragged, Valeria looked him in the eyes and, regretting what had happened, spoke:
"It would be better to stop, Highness; we can be seen here."
"Diego, Valeria… call me by my name."
"Very well… but it is better to return to the hall before someone sees us alone."
"No, not until we clarify things."
"I see nothing that needs clarifying. We kissed, period. There is nothing more to say."
Diego could not believe the lightness with which Valeria took the situation. He looked at her with a furrowed brow and asked:
"What do you mean there is nothing to say? Valeria, what just happened between us… I mean the kiss… do you mean that for you it meant nothing?"
Valeria was not ready to speak of her feelings; Diego was pressuring her too much, and that irritated her. Noticing the confusion and anger in his face, she decided to put on her best expression of annoyance and respond:
"But what do you think? When you want, you want me, and when you do not, you despise me. I am not a toy, Prince Diego. If you will excuse me, it is already getting late for dinner."
With those words, Valeria tried to withdraw, but Diego, seeing that her attitude was not indifference but anger, lowered his guard and gently took her arm to prevent her from leaving. He added in a conciliatory tone:
"Wait… forgive me, Valeria. I did not mean it that way. It is just that… I no longer want you to stay away from me. I never despised you, it is just that…"
Valeria, noticing that Diego was insisting differently than in the novel, decided to listen to him. This was not the prince she knew; that one would never have worried about her staying away. Hearing that he had never despised her, and doubting how to continue his sentence, Valeria intervened:
"You did not want an arranged engagement. I know it, and that is why you no longer have it, Prince; you are free to choose whom to marry. I do not understand why you keep seeking me out."
"Because I fell in love… I fell in love with you and…"
Diego's direct confession took Valeria by surprise, and she quickly replied:
"Do not continue, Prince, because I do not believe you. I think you only desire what you cannot have. As soon as someone else appears, you will forget me and continue your way as if we had never met."
"That is not so, and I am going to prove it to you with facts, since my words are useless."
Valeria could not understand why Diego was saying that. The whole situation made her too uncomfortable, so, taking advantage of the fact that he seemed to have finished his confession, she added:
"I will not continue discussing this. As I said, it is already getting late for dinner."
With those last words, Valeria left the garden, leaving Diego pensive.
"Is it so hard for you to believe me?" Diego murmured while Valeria's figure disappeared among the bushes. "I know I was an idiot to you, but why do you not accept that I fell in love with you?"
When he could no longer see her, he decided to return to his room. He was not hungry, and the situation had closed his stomach. Damian, his brother, would be waiting for him to talk quietly.
What neither Diego nor Valeria knew was that Rosalia was hidden in the garden, behind a tree, reading a book since they both arrived. After the morning incident, she had not wanted to leave her room, but at midday she decided to take a walk in the gardens. She took a book from her room's bookshelf and sat under a tree, immersed in reading for almost the entire afternoon.
At the moment of leaving, she heard raised voices. She peeked out to see who it was and was left agape: Diego and Valeria were arguing, and at one point, Diego circled her with his arms and kissed her.
Rosalia could not believe what she was seeing, but the final blow was hearing Diego confess his love to Valeria. It was something that had never happened in the original novel. What most caught her attention was a phrase from Valeria:
"As soon as someone else appears, you will forget me and continue your way as if we had never met."
Rosalia could not get out of her head the possibility that Valeria was also a reincarnation. After witnessing the scene, she returned to her room, deep in thought, processing what had happened. She knew that, by trying to eliminate the villainess, she might have ruined her own chances with the Prince. From what she had seen, Diego was in love with Valeria, and that never happened in the novel.
While Rosalia wandered in her thoughts, Valeria immersed herself in her bath. Clara was already waiting with everything ready, and Valeria appreciated the gesture. The day had been exhausting, and she could not help but think of Diego's confession. He seemed sure of what he felt, but Valeria could not trust fully.
"(It is obvious that many things from the novel have changed, but Rosalia has not appeared yet. If I could have the certainty that, when she appears, Diego will still feel the same… perhaps I would let myself be carried away by what I am starting to feel. But that will only happen within seven months.)"
Those thoughts circled in Valeria's mind while she relaxed in the jasmine bathtub.
On the other hand, Diego, despite the fact that his declaration had not turned out quite well, was sighing like a love-struck fool just remembering the kiss. Just at that moment, Damian entered the room and, seeing his brother with a dazed face, asked:
"May one know why you did not go to dinner, brother? And why do you have that foolish face?"
"I was not hungry… and I do not have a foolish face."
"Yes, yes, whatever you say. But tell me, why that expression?"
"I kissed her," Diego responded, still smiling.
"Speak clearly… whom did you kiss? Miss Valeria?"
"Yes… who else? Valeria."
"But tell me how it was. Do not leave me like this."
Diego recounted everything: from the walk in the garden, the argument, the kiss and, finally, his confession.
"But she told me she does not believe me. She thinks I am a toy and that as soon as someone else appears, I will discard her. Can you believe it? Do you believe me capable of such a thing?"
"No, brother, but it is understandable. You never paid attention to her, you always pushed her away, and now that she decides to pull away, you are interested. It is obvious she doesn't trust you. My advice: keep trying to win her over; at some point she will believe you."
"And if it is not so? Today, when she told me she no longer wanted anything to do with me, I became enraged. I could not stand the idea of her walking away, and that is why I kissed her."
"Oh, brother… you are losing."
"Do not mock me anymore; I do not even know what is happening to me."
Damian continued teasing his brother until both grew tired and decided to sleep. The next day would be long, and they needed to rest for all that awaited them.