Chapter 35
Amelia didn’t waste a second rushing downstairs to watch the news on the TV. She could use her mobile, too, but she wanted to see it on a larger screen so she wouldn’t miss anything.
She asked Miss Quinn if she could turn the TV on, and the lady nodded.
Amelia sat on the large couch, nipping at her nails as the news channel of the healer’s community started showing the laboratory burning in large flames.
Meanwhile, King Cyrus Valentino sat in his chair, his fingers drumming against the table glass as he waited for the news on the order he passed out a couple of hours ago.
“Hello?” Cyrus said as soon as he saw his phone ringing.
“Sir, the news is online,” his subordinate said, and Cyrus’s face smirked before he stood from his chair, ready to see the so-called princess and her reaction.
He exited his office and descended the stairs, only to see the Princess sitting on the couch with her legs up, watching the news with big, wide eyes.
Miss Quinn noticed his presence and was about to warn the princess to sit like a lady because she didn’t want their king to berate her, but King Cyrus’s glare stopped her.
She stepped back with her head bowed, praying for the Princess, who was so immersed in the news that she didn’t even see her surroundings.
“It’s bad,” Cyrus commented slowly.
Amelia, still focused on the screen, nodded.
“It’s indeed bad. The data from hundreds of ongoing and existing research studies has been lost. I always told them to make a separate copy of the data and store it elsewhere, but they never listened to me. Now see what happened,” Amelia said, scoffing at the last words.
Cyrus’s brows quirked.
He observed her. She looked like an excited child who was watching some traffic news and commenting on it. No part of her reaction looked like she was also a part of the same community whose laboratory was burning.
“Aren’t you sad?” Cyrus asked.
The strange question made Amelia pause in her place. She thought about everything.
All the hard work she put into it came first to her mind, but before she could feel sad, what followed was the tragic memories of how many times she was humiliated in the same lab before everyone.
How many times did she lock herself in a cabin and cry in the corner because her test results were taken away from her? She previously loved Hannah because she was under the delusion that her sister cared for her, but sometimes her results were taken by others, too.
Whenever she would ask her father to put her name on important publications, even as an assistant, but her father would deny it, she would cry like a baby and curse her luck.
She even forgot the number of times she cursed the moon goddess for giving her a pathetic life.
But now, looking back in time, Amelia couldn’t help but blame herself for everything that had happened to her. She let it happen because she was blinded by the need for love and care from people who only wanted to break and use her further.
Thinking about everything, Amelia took a deep breath and shook her head.
“My research data got lost, but I can do it again. Am I sad about what happened? Only for the data. As for the healers’, my father, they all deserve it,” Amelia sighed.
She stood from her place with a dejected face, her mood suddenly souring with bitter memories. However, as soon as she turned around, she saw King Cyrus standing only a couple of centimeters away, and her breath hitched.
She stumbled back in surprise, her foot hitting the side of the couch. She was about to fall when King Cyrus extended his hand, snaking it around her waist to prevent her from falling.
Her eyes were wide. His eyes were narrowed. And both looked at each other, searching each other’s eyes for something they didn’t know.
No one moved for a few seconds, and Amelia gulped as her heart started pounding again, something she needed to take control of.
She can’t afford to look like a mess every time the King holds her, right? She will only appear like a freak before him this way.
“I did it,” King Cyrus said after a drawn silence, his hand still around her waist as she stood straight.
He watched her reaction carefully, wanting to depict where her loyalty stayed.
He thought she would ask questions like why he did it or tell him he should have been mindful of all the data that took them years to get.
However, much to his surprise, Amelia smiled and nodded.
“Thank you,” She said.
Amelia’s heart fluttered. Butterflies of pleasure erupted in her stomach if that was even enough to describe what she felt in the moment.
Once again, the man had taken her stand unknowingly. He probably didn’t know what happened to her in the University, and he might’ve done it to harm the healers but the time of it was just so coincidental.
This strengthened her belief that this mab was the only one she could rely on p>
’And the man who protected you,’ her subconscious reminded her, and Amelia hummed.
“Why are you thanking me?” King Cyrus asked.
Amelia just smiled and shook her head at him.
“I just felt like it,” she said before she looked up at his face so close.
“Can I kiss you?” she suddenly asked, and Miss Quinn, who was standing at some distance with milk for the princess, widened her eyes, the tray slipping from her hand.
The glass broke in thousands of shards, the milk staining the carpet, but Amelia didn’t waver her gaze from King Cyrus.
Cyrus knew precisely what was happening around him, but seeing the girl looking at him, he suddenly felt captivated.
’Allow her. She is our wife.’ His wolf, who had barely participated in any conversation or situation in months, appeared for the second time in such a short time, and Cyrus saw this as an opportunity.
Could he use this girl to bring his wolf out?
Though the animal doesn’t feel any responsibility to his human counterpart, he strangely feels a responsibility towards this girl who married them.
It was a little strange, but it was okay as long as his wolf was ready to come out and talk to him. Probably one day, he would come and start transforming again. He could use Amelia as a catalyst for that.
Cyrus felt hopeful after such a long time, and he gulped before taking a deep breath.
He didn’t want to do it. He still didn’t trust Amelia enough, but just for his wolf’s sake, he lowered his face to her face level.
Amelia, who had blurted out that sentence just to tease the King, stood there frozen, not expecting him to actually agree.
She wasn’t the only one.
The unexpected turn of events left Fabian, Trevor, Miss Quinn, and the other maids in shock.
Everyone stood there with their mouths agape.
Fabian – Is this happening? He pulled out his phone to record a video, and Trevor turned to look at his friend. Seeing him doing something so obscene, he widened his eyes and pulled the phone from Fabian’s hand.
“Do you want to die?” He mouthed to him before he walked away.
Fabian furrowed his brows but didn’t say anything, just looking at their King.
“Okay,” Cyrus finally said, and Amelia’s heart skipped a beat before she tilted her head and placed her lips softly on his cheeks.
Her lips felt soft, like rose petals. The warmth they brought him was like a morning sun, and Cyrus froze in his place when Sylas made a slight sound after so many years.
Yes. His wolf not only stirred but made a sound, too!
He stood straight, looking at the girl staring at him with shyness and innocence. He couldn’t help but feel a weird emotion in his heart.
He did not say anything. He just turned and left.
Amelia looked at the back of the leaving man with a concerned expression.
“I think he didn’t like it,” She whispered.
“Princess, you are amazing!” Fabian showed her his thumbs up.
Trevor, who had been secretly recording and noticed their King’s ears slightly turning red when he watched the video three times, smiled, genuinely happy.
“Will he hate me now?” Amelia asked no one in particular.
Miss Quinn and the other wolves, who had felt the shift in their king’s aura after the kiss, didn’t say anything and just smiled at the clueless girl.
“I will bring you another glass of milk,” Miss Quinn said, leaving Fabian to walk to Amelia and hold her hands in his.
“You did great, Princess. I am sure you will melt our King’s heart and rule on it one day. I am rooting for you,” Fabian said like an excited kid, and Amelia’s tension dissolved lightly before she smiled sheepishly.
She hoped that, too, to make him fall in love with her, to show him that he could be loved, and to protect him from the evil around the world that had been hiding behind a veil.
Amelia sighed.