Chapter 517
The Past 11
“Why?” Irene questioned Anaya with dismay. She then looked pointedly at Ophelia and asked, “Did you know about this p>
“Irene, please just forgive my daughter. I’ll make sure she doesn’t—” Ophelia began, trying to salvage their situation with a desperate plea.
“No,” Norris interrupted firmly, who also emerged after hearing the arguments unfolding, thus not letting her finish her plea. “It is better for both of you if you leave this house immediately. Anaya’s actions and words, cannot be ignored, Ophelia p>
“Where will I go with my daughter? Please don’t do this to us,” Ophelia begged, joining her hands together in a gesture of frantic supplication.
“My husband will arrange a temporary place for both of you to stay tonight,” Irene clarified. “I never expected Anaya would actively go after Amelie’s mate like this. Ophelia, do not expect any further assistance or charity from us ever again,” she clarified. “I will not tolerate any kind of trouble in my daughter’s life. If Prince Gabriel learns the full extent of this, Anaya may be severely punished,” she warned, giving a reason for the expulsion.
“Let’s go to your room, dear,” Irene stated, taking Amelie’s hand and leading her upstairs, with Norris following closely behind.
Ophelia turned back to look at Anaya with fury and despair. “Why? Why did you have to do that?” She grabbed Anaya’s arms tightly, boring her gaze into her daughter. “I told you not to ruin anything! This place was giving us everything we needed!” She harshly reprimanded her. Then, roughly dragging Anaya toward their room, she slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside.
“Mother,” Anaya whined, undeterred by the catastrophe. “I told you I want to be the next Luna Queen. Why don’t you just use the knowledge of your witchcraft to make Gabriel fall in love with me?” she suggested, the selfishness of her demand astonishing.
Ophelia stared at her daughter, utterly speechless and consumed by disbelief at the depths of Anaya’s ambition and madness.
“Have you gone completely crazy?” Ophelia demanded, her eyes widening in pure shock and horror at Anaya’s suggestion of using witchcraft.
“No,” Anaya retorted. “You did the same thing for my father. I know.” She delivered the devastating revelation of her mother’s dark past. “You prepared a potion for my father because you loved him. You didn’t want him to find his destined mate. Before you could tell him about your feelings, he found his mate. Later, you fed him that potion, and Father married you instead p>
Ophelia instinctively clapped a hand over her mouth, her face pale. “H-how?” she stuttered, her voice barely a whisper. “Did you go through p>
Anaya understood the unfinished question perfectly and answered immediately, without remorse. “Yes. I read your diary once. I was a curious little girl, so I ended up reading it and found out everything.” She stepped closer to her mother, lowering her voice to a seductive plea.
“Mother, don’t you love me? Did you see how they humiliated us just now? Just prepare a simple potion for me. I will feed it to Prince Gabriel myself. Then, he will be mine. Don’t you want your daughter to be the next Luna Queen?” She began inflecting evil thoughts into her mother’s desperate mind, trying to convince her to finally use her hidden, dark magic in their favor.
Ophelia didn’t say anything.
“Mother, why are you thinking so much? I’m your world, aren’t I? Please do it for your Anaya,” she urged this time, taking her mother’s hands in hers.
Gabriel was preparing to go to bed when a servant interrupted him to inform him of the arrival of a person named Rico.
“Let him in,” he ordered. The servant left, and Gabriel moved to the seating area just outside his bedroom. As he settled onto the sofa, Rico walked in and offered a respectful bow.
“Take a seat first,” Gabriel said, gesturing to the chair across from him. Rico nodded and sat down.
“Your Highness, a lot happened in Miss Amelie’s house after your departure,” Rico began immediately, getting straight to the point. “Anaya tried to blackmail her, saying she would reveal something to the Alpha King that could prevent your marriage from taking place p>
Gabriel’s brows furrowed instantly as soon as he learned of the threat.
“Also, Anaya and Ophelia are definitely planning something evil,” Rico continued. “Anaya has become obsessed with you and desperately wants to marry you. I couldn’t hear the exact details of what they were planning since going any closer could have allowed them to sense my presence p>
“You did a great job, Rico,” Gabriel affirmed, though the anger in his voice still persisted. “Stay close to Amelie and continue monitoring. Let these witches attempt whatever they desire, because I’m going to ruin their plans before they even begin p>
“But they seem to be genuinely dangerous, Your Highness. You have to be extremely careful of them. Also, Anaya may try to approach the Alpha King directly with her threats,” Rico cautioned with concern.
“I will talk to my father before Anaya even gets the chance to fill his mind with those wild threats,” Gabriel muttered, already forming a strategy. However, the audacity of those two women infuriated him, realizing how brazenly they were maneuvering to disrupt his life with Amelie.
“You can leave now,” Gabriel told Rico, dismissing him.
Rico stood up, offered a low bow to the Alpha Prince, and left the room quietly.
“How did that witch even find out what my father wasn’t supposed to know?” Gabriel mumbled to himself, referring to the crucial astrological detail Andrew the High Priest had concealed.
But then, he remembered that some witches possessed innate abilities to perceive such hidden truths. He decided his immediate course of action. He needed to see his father first, and then he would go to Amelie to assure her that absolutely nothing would ever happen to their mate bond.
He rose to his feet and went inside his room to get ready to meet his father.