Chapter 30 — This Time, It Wasn't an Accident
The palace was unusually quiet that evening.
Mia had just finished dinner and was walking through the west corridor when she noticed Nathan standing near the tall windows, looking out at the gardens.
She slowed down.
"Still awake?"
Nathan turned.
"Apparently."
Mia smiled faintly. "You look like you're thinking too much."
"I could say the same about you."
"I wasn't thinking."
"You were staring at the same painting for almost a minute."
Mia glanced at the painting behind her.
"I was admiring it."
Nathan smiled. "Of course."
She rolled her eyes and continued walking.
Nathan followed.
They ended up in the small sitting room beside the garden, where they often spent their evenings lately. Mia sat on the sofa while Nathan remained standing near the table.
For a while, neither said anything.
Then Mia broke the silence.
"You know what I find funny?"
"What?"
"We spent our entire childhood arguing."
Nathan chuckled. "That's putting it mildly."
"And now we're married."
"Still sounds strange when you say it."
Mia laughed.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither looked away.
Nathan walked toward her.
Mia watched him carefully.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're doing that again."
"Doing what?"
"Looking at me like you're trying to figure something out."
Nathan stopped in front of her.
"Maybe I am."
Mia's heart gave an unexpected little jump.
She stood.
"I'm going to bed."
She turned to leave.
Nathan reached out and gently caught her hand.
"Mia."
She turned back.
"What?"
"I…"
He hesitated.
Mia waited.
Then, almost instinctively, she stepped closer.
Their faces were suddenly only inches apart.
Mia's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me we're about to—"
Nathan leaned in.
At first, it seemed like another accident.
But this time, it wasn't.
Nathan kissed her.
Mia froze.
For one brief second, she didn't know what to do.
Then she closed her eyes and kissed him back.
There was nothing accidental about it anymore.
The kiss lasted long enough for both of them to realize exactly what they were doing.
When they finally pulled apart, Mia stood completely still.
Nathan didn't look embarrassed.
He didn't look regretful either.
He simply looked at her.
Mia's eyes widened.
"You…"
Nathan took a breath.
"I wanted to do that."
Mia stared at him.
"For how long?"
Nathan gave a small, almost nervous smile.
"Since the first time we accidentally kissed."
Mia's mouth fell slightly open.
"You're serious?"
"Very."
She shook her head.
"Nathan, we agreed those were accidents."
"I know."
"Then why would you—"
"Because I stopped believing they were the only reason I wanted to kiss you."
Mia went silent.
Nathan stepped back slightly, giving her space.
"I didn't plan for tonight to happen," he admitted. "But when you stood there, I just…"
He stopped.
Mia folded her arms, trying desperately to regain her composure.
"You could have warned me."
Nathan laughed softly.
"If I had warned you, you probably would have run away."
"I would not have."
"You're already arguing with me."
"Because you're making this sound like it was completely normal!"
"It wasn't."
Nathan looked at her seriously.
"But I don't regret it."
Mia's expression softened.
Nathan continued.
"And don't pretend you hated it."
Mia immediately looked away.
"I never said that."
"You didn't have to."
She glanced back at him.
"You're very confident."
"I'm only confident about one thing."
"What?"
Nathan smiled.
"You kissed me back."
Mia opened her mouth to argue.
Nothing came out.
Because he was right.
She had kissed him back.
And worse…
She had liked it.
A lot.
Mia covered her face with her hands.
"This is a disaster."
Nathan laughed.
"How is this a disaster?"
"Because we're supposed to be figuring out what is happening between us."
"And now we know something is happening."
"That doesn't make it less confusing!"
Nathan sat on the edge of the sofa.
"Then we don't have to figure everything out tonight."
Mia lowered her hands.
"What do you mean?"
"We don't need to suddenly decide we're in love. We don't need to change everything between us."
He looked at her calmly.
"We can just admit that something has changed."
Mia considered his words.
That sounded much easier than pretending nothing had happened.
She slowly sat beside him.
"So… what happens now?"
Nathan shrugged.
"We take it one day at a time."
Mia smiled.
"That actually sounds reasonable."
"I'm capable of being reasonable occasionally."
"Occasionally?"
Nathan laughed.
Mia laughed too.
The tension that had filled the room finally began to disappear.
They sat together in comfortable silence.
After a few minutes, Mia leaned her head against the back of the sofa.
"So we're not going to make this weird?"
Nathan looked at her.
"We already made it weird."
She laughed.
"Fair point."
He smiled.
"But we don't have to make it worse."
Mia nodded.
"Agreed."
They sat there a little longer.
No arguments.
No pretending.
No accidental excuses.
For the first time, they both understood that the kisses between them weren't simply mistakes anymore.
Something had changed.
And although neither of them was ready to call it love…
neither of them wanted to go back to pretending nothing was happening.
As they finally stood to leave, Mia paused.
"Nathan?"
"Hmm?"
She looked at him.
"About tonight…"
"Yes?"
A shy smile appeared on her face.
"I don't regret it either."
Nathan's expression softened.
And for once, neither of them needed to say anything else.