Chapter 15
Elena
I didn’t leave the room, unlike I was certain the king was long gone, and the first person I encountered after leaving the room was Eric, leaning opposite the wall across the door. My heartbeat instantly quickened as he closed the distance between us.
“I didn’t know you were the king’s… woman?” He began and I chuckled awkwardly before pushing my hair out of my face.
“Yeah, I told you it was a little complicated.” I muttered awkwardly and he hummed with a small chuckle. Unlike how relaxed I felt around him before and during our shared lunch, now I felt tense around him because the king said he couldn’t be trusted.
But to be fair, he didn’t seem harmful at all, but I guess appearances can really be deceiving. The king had asked me to not hang out with him anymore. I didn’t like that the king only loved to order me around instead of asking if I wanted to do something or not, but I guess I didn’t have an option in this situation.
“Um, I have to go now.” I mumbled awkwardly.
Eric was silent for a moment before shrugging and stepping backwards.
“Did the king ask you to not hang out around me?” He asked, sounding curious and certain at the same time. I shook my head almost immediately even though that was exactly what happened.
“No, he didn’t!”
He hummed. “That’s… surprising.” He finally stated.
“I have to go now though, I need to go take care of something.”
He perked up and stepped closer. “Would you like me to come with you?”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary but thanks for offering. You’re too kind.”
He laughed this time. “The king would beg to differ.”
I was curious of the origin of whatever feud might be between them, but I stopped myself from asking because
It was none of my concern.
“I guess I’ll see you around then.” I mumbled with a wave. He managed to catch my hand and brush a kiss over the palm, before returning my wave and turning to leave, leaving me to stare at him as he rounded the
corner.
I slid into the car that was to drive me to the store for the shopping, and inside the car, two of the women
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Chapter 15
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that dressed me up for the wedding and for the wedding consummation after the crow ordered them to, were in there. I don’t remember them liking me much so it was awkward in the car with them. A few guards were accompanying us in a different car, and a driver was in the front seat.
After a few minutes of us being on the road, the silence was getting too heavy so I decided to break it.
“Um… can you please tell me about the king?” I asked as I glanced between the two women. One outrightly glared at me, while the other one chuckled softly before seating up and leaning forward.
“To be honest, we’d rather not talk about the king with someone we don’t trust.”
My eyes widened and I felt so taken aback.
“What?”
The second woman cut in before the first woman continued. “It’s the truth. Didn’t you betray your past mate? You might betray the king that same way, so we don’t trust you. We actually don’t like you, so forgive us for not willing to talk about the king with you.”
Right. They had already judged me with what they saw online about me. Was this what the rest of my life was gonna be about? What happened to leaving judgment aside and trying to see if someone is as bad as rumors might have claimed?
Seeing how those rumors my mate had spread about me was really affecting my life now was making me sad. I never predicted that it would affect my life to this point. It was daunting to imagine how I’d be treated in public after I wasn’t able to escape the prejudice while being indoors.
“I don’t know if you’ll believe me; but I didn’t betray my mate or his pack. I’d never.” I breathed out, eyes on the two women. The one who seemed nicer in the two let out a hum while the angry one scoffed and rolled
her eyes.
“Think we’re fools, right? There was literally picture proof online.” She hit out and I surpassed a sigh.
“I was set up, that is all.” I explained and the second omd seemed to be listening to me.
“Look, child… I’m not saying you’re lying, but it’s just a little hard to believe. Of course, I’m ready to have a charge of heart should I see that you’re not actually a chest and a back stabber.”
I almost sobbed at those words. It felt like those words were a physical hug, it was just because everyone had been judging me and shunning me since those rumors got to the internet. This woman was the only one that actually seemed to believe my words a little even though she clearly still had doubts… which is logical, but at least she’s not looking at me with so much judgement.
“Thank you.” I breathed out quietly and she nodded before grinning.
“So… what do you wanna know about the king?”
The second woman nudged her. “Don’t tell her about the king, what if she betrays him?”
The first woman shook her head. “What could it hurt?”
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Chapter 15
The woman turned back to me. “So, dear, what do you wanna know about our king?”
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I opened my mouth to speak just as the car stopped before a large store. It was way larger than I expected because I thought the king sent me to a small store.
“I guess we could have this conversation later.” The woman said and I nodded.
“Okay.”
In the store, I selected only a few clothes but the nicer woman between my two companions informed me the king didn’t give me a limit of what to spend so I should go ahead and select more stuff without hesitations. I was still hesitant because I wouldn’t want to suddenly be indebted to the king along with being his prisoner.
I was selecting some dresses when I came across a face I never expected to come across here, and my face instantly darkened with a scowl as my ex–mate’s friend stopped a few feet away.
“Elena.” He murmured. Usually, I’d smile at him and speak to him politely. However, after knowing all Elijah’s friends knew our union was never real, I felt hatred towards him and made to shoulder past him but he stepped in my way.
“Wait, I just wanna talk. I didn’t expect you to be here. Last I heard, you were to become Jason’s little plaything.” He stated, then he licked his lips as his eyes dragged over my body. “I have to admit, I was jealous of Jason when I heard he was to own you because I’d rather own you. I believe I deserve you compared to Jason, don’t you think so?”
I scoffed, irritation and anger swirling within me. “Go fuck your self, Vlad. And fuck the rest of Elijah’s friends.”
He chuckled softly. “Never knew you could be this snarky.”
He reached for my hand but I slapped his hand off.
“Never knew you could be dumber than you already are. And for the record, you have a horrible body odor. I never mentioned it for the sake of my mate, which forced me to be nice to you assholes. But did you know Elijah never saw you as a friend? And that he always talked shit about you with Jason? Elijah was only friends with you because he wanted to get close to your elder brother who’s better than you in everything. How stupid you’ve always been, thinking you and Elijah were really friends.”
His eyes were blown wide with clear shock as he spluttered.
“You’re 1- lying.” He whispered and I laughed.
“You know I’m not. But whatever. You’ll soon get backstabbed by Elijah like I was, because you and I know I was always faithful to Elijah. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Vlad.
I didn’t wait for him to respond before leaving, knowing the seed of doubt was already planted. And I hadn’t been lying anyway, Elijah really never saw him as a friend. With what I told Vlad, if he was a little smart, he’d used his sense to try to ruin Elijah.
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I wasn’t in a place to get revenge on Elijah just yet, but as soon as I am, no matter how long it takes, I’ll get my revenge on Elijah. I’ll make him suffer and ruin him completely.
The rest of the shopping went extremely smoothly, and after the outrageous bill got cleared and the guards began to carry the bags to the car, I excused myself to go use the restroom before we returned to the palace.
As I left, I noticed a few women doing double takes as they noticed my presence, and some began to gossip amongst themselves while pointing at me. I was grateful that the people present in this store right now weren’t a lot, because it would have been more humiliating to me.
In the restroom, after I washed my face and stared at my bleary expression, I wondered if I’d ever have a purpose on moving forward after being forced to be a breeder. And that’s if it’s even gonna work.
If it didn’t, would the king let me leave?
I signed as I dried my hands. The door opened and three women stepped in, making me instantly grow tense. They began to wash their hands while I hurried to leave.
“Are you Elena? That backstabbed her own mate?” One of the girls asked while her friends nudged her.
I let out a long breath and reminded myself this was my cruel mate’s fault.
“What’s on the internet is a lie. Those things never happened.”
The women exchanged glances before the one in the middle rolled her eyes. “No need to lie, I’m not judging you. But all the things on the internet are a little too much to be mere lies.” She explained and once again, I wished I had a phone so I could see those rumors myself. I wished I could remember to bring up the phone issue with the king when he spoke with me this afternoon.
Aside from checking out the rumors, I also needed a phone because I’d like to reach out to the few genuine friends I had that are undoubtedly worried about me since that night my husband falsely accused me of cheating. I’d like to assure them that I was okay and unharmed.
I’ll have to speak to the king about it tonight.
The women were about to say more but I turned around and lent, ignoring the sound of the laughter as I left.
I felt humiliated and as I walked in the direction, I kept my head casted down so more people wouldn’t recognize me. Before I could take a turn, a cloth was suddenly being pressed against my nose and mouth while a body suddenly pressed behind me, holding me firmly as I struggled against the fumes filling up my Jungs fast.
In a few seconds, I began to slip into unconsciousness while panic swallowed me whole.
Before I fully got knocked out, I was lifted and thrown over a shoulder, and my heart sank at the dreaded realization.
