Betrayed By The Hero, Loved By The Lord-Chapter 17: Visit with the king (3)

Darius wanted to know more about the relationship Xavier had with Selene but considering they weren’t close, he knew it was unlikely Xavier would reveal anything. It was going to be amusing to watch Gabriel try to get back his wife from Xavier.

"She’s a pureblood so she fits you but it doesn’t mean the other families will be thrilled about this. I have done my part in marrying one of their daughters but then there was always you who denied every offer. You might upset someone. Just for that, I will have the divorce dealt with fast," Darius promised.

It was about time the other families set their anger toward Xavier. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Xavier knew there was more to Darius agreeing just to clear a debt. "Rise to power and then you could ruin her life. As expected of you."

Darius smiled. "Your hearing has always pissed me off. I didn’t even hear you out there. Isn’t it about time your family comes clean about your talents? You are hiding something from me."

"I didn’t know we were so close we had to share our secrets," Xavier replied.

"I am your king," Darius reminded Xavier.

"Are you? Your family has gotten too comfortable thinking you rule us. Our families rule this kingdom. I expect to hear the divorce is final within three days," Xavier said, seeing it as enough time.

Darius wanted to call for the guards to have Xavier sent into the palace dungeon but he couldn’t. They would need to catch Xavier first. "You know, you’re going to wish one of these days that you were my friend. I could help you."

Xavier turned around to leave. "You’re going to wish you didn’t piss me off so much. You have other things to worry about than me. Worry about the queen killing all the women you feast on and how many humans you go through. The attacks are becoming too much."

Darius wasn’t worried about it. "It is fine."

"Humans who don’t sell their blood are getting attacked. They will grow tired of it and gather to attack us. Have you forgotten they have once succeeded in killing some of our kind?" Xavier asked.

"And we won that war, making them our servants. They know their place. You worry too much, Xavier. Have a drink with me. I will bring a woman to keep you company," Darius offered.

Xavier shook his head. "You’re a fool. I hope they come for your neck first."

Xavier continued to leave the room since talking to Darius for too long always gave him a headache. A day of liking Darius wouldn’t come soon after the advice Darius offered to Gabriel.

When Xavier exited the room, the woman before went back inside. She didn’t know that once the queen caught wind of her presence, she was dead.

Xavier walked away from the room so he wouldn’t be around when the queen came.

"Have you turned to stalking me now?" Xavier asked, slowing down as he approached Gabriel. "I am not interested in adding a man to my list of admirers."

Gabriel continued to lean on the wall he punched his hand on shortly after Xavier went in to speak with the king. "You can have her."

"Oh," Xavier smiled. "You think I needed your permission? Tell the story how you want but the truth will always be that she left you."

"She doesn’t know what she is getting herself into with you and you don’t know what you are getting into. That woman fails to give her heart. She only turned to you because of your name. She likes to use us," Gabriel said, confident his guess was right.

"That is true," Xavier agreed. "Just as you turned to her because she is a pureblood. How many times must we have this talk? Quite frankly, I am bored of it. Have you finally realised it is time to move on or will you leave and think she still belongs to you?"

"You can have her," Gabriel said once more. "She is a beautiful woman so I understand how you fell into her hands but she is nothing like you might believe. I know Selene will find her place back by my side eventually when you grow tired of her using you. You will not always be able to look down on me."

"Considering I am taller than you, I shall," Xavier replied.

Gabriel gritted his teeth. He once respected Xavier but now his eyes were opened to what Xavier was like.

"I wish I could say it would be fun to keep talking but I have a lovely woman waiting for me at home. It would be rude of me to keep her waiting. It must be exciting to return to her," Xavier said simply to toy with Gabriel. "You have that woman waiting for you."

"Cassandra. Her name is Cassandra," Gabriel said, needing respect for his future wife.

"I will learn it when I care. Excuse me," Xavier said, continuing on his way out.

Gabriel wished to know why Xavier walked around with so much confidence like no one could touch him. One day he would have Xavier show him some respect.

At the Blackthorn estate, Selene took a break from looking over the rooms so Agnes could rest her feet.

"Have you visited the estate before, Milady?" Agnes asked since Selene seemed to know her way around already.

"I did not. I have only seen the Blackthorns at parties when I was a child but there are portraits of the inside of this home. It is one of the first homes the Blackthorns built to settle in on their land. It looks different from the portraits I have seen," said Selene.

"Many years have gone by. Perhaps many things needed to be fixed or the owners turned it to their liking. It is a bit scary to be here," Agnes said, her nerves not yet calmed. Her stories of the Blackthorns were different since she wasn’t a pureblood.

Agnes remembered being told to avoid the five families yet here she stood in the estate of one. She stayed only because of Selene.

"The dresses are lovely and they remind me of your mother. If only you were able to take a portrait of your parents. Will the lord succeed at gathering your parents’ things? It would be wonderful if your childhood home would be given back to you," Agnes said, wishing for Selene to have something to make her happy.

"I trust that he will. He wouldn’t have offered his help if he didn’t have a way of bringing them to me. We must trust him. He will be my husband," Selene said more so to herself than to Agnes. "I do wonder how he got the dresses so fast. I wouldn’t have placed him to remember the kind of dresses my mother and I liked."

"Then he must have truly seen you as a friend. It is a shame you didn’t know," said Agnes.

Selene was yet to believe they were once friends since their conversations were few in the past. She thought he had been forced to acknowledge her face in the past since he never looked happy but maybe, it was how he always looked.

Selene couldn’t think of any good memory she had with Xavier.

"I thought Lord Blackthorn was terrifying but the portraits of his family scare me even more," Agnes said, uncomfortable with the sight of the large portrait in the room.

"You mustn’t show your fear so easily no matter who stands before you. You are my maid so your actions reflect on me. When we meet his mother, we must be at our best. I have a feeling her visit will come soon," Selene said as she stared at the portrait of her future in-laws.