The Tyrant King Is Obsessed With Me

Chapter 116: Chapter 116 - Decisions

"I don’t need to go to the doctor," Lilith said, seeing no need to go so far. "It has always been like this. As long as I wait a little, the pain goes away."

Cassian didn’t ask twice. He simply lifted Lilith into his arms and carried her, because he could not afford to take chances with her.

Lilith had little choice but to stay still. "Who wants to go to a doctor and hear awful news? That is all they ever did, the very few times I got to see one. Speaking of doctors," Lilith remembered something important. "Many of them would turn me away in the past."

Lilith frowned as Cassian kept walking, paying her no attention. She poked his cheek to make him look at her, but it made no difference. "Fine. I’ll go see the doctor. But if the news spoils my day, I will be upset with you for the rest of it."

"It is better to know early if something is wrong, Lilith. That way, you can be treated and get well. Everything that happens to your body now will affect you later. I need you to get through these two years, so I know that it has all changed. Please," Cassian pleaded, desperate for Lilith to care.

"Very well," Lilith sighed, letting go of the argument. "It is not as though I can walk away from you. All doctors seem to do is deliver bad news."

"Others can heal you," Cassian replied. "I’ll take you to a doctor from my lands. One who will treat you properly. It is better to be safe than sorry."

Lilith didn’t respond. She let herself sink a little further into the warmth of being carried, and for a moment, she didn’t try to resist the comfort of it.

While Cassian took Lilith to visit a doctor, Diana and Gerald walked alone together towards her chamber.

"Why are you here instead of being at Lilith’s side? You know how she is. She’ll grow suspicious of why you’re absent and send someone to watch you," Diana said, though in truth she was glad he was beside her. "You should have been tasked with guarding me all along."

"I am going to ask to be removed from her majesty’s side. Your son has let it be known that he is aware of our meetings," Gerald revealed.

Diana stopped walking. "How? Who told him? How did he find out?" she asked, glancing back down the corridor the way they had come. "Did you say something to one of your peers?"

"I did not. I did not breathe a word of this to anyone," Gerald promised.

"Then how? Do you think it was because I sent for you that night? We have been meeting at my home, and I have long had my servants’ loyalty. I wasn’t ready for it to come out yet," Diana said, pressing her fingers through her hair. "I wanted more time."

"We don’t have to hide it,t as Cassian already knows. Or are you still worried about others seeing us? Richard is gone," Gerald reminded her.

"The timing doesn’t feel right. I would like to enjoy the secrecy a little longer," Diana said.

"What is the point of secrecy when your son already knows? It seems you are still worried about what others will think about you, ou going from a duke to a man who once served him. I thought we had settled this. I thought there was going to be a future for us," Gerald said,g careful in how he said it. He was trying not to show how much was riding on her answer.

"There will be a future for us. I assure you of that. It is all just very sudden. I need to speak to my son first," said Diana.

"And then what? Will you be open about our relationship with others? I don’t want to remain hidden forever. I don’t want to carry on with this if it has no future. Cassian knows, and he was not upset about it. His opinion was the only one that ever truly mattered to you," Gerald said, holding her gaze.

"I do want to be with you. If not you, I would have no one," Diana said, not wanting to lose Gerald.

"Then what is it? We don’t need to go out of our way to announce it, but if we are seen together, there is no reason to panic. Is it that you fear the Mortimer family would oust you?"

"No. I told you that my son is king, so that is no longer a concern for me. I assure you that we shall not need to be secretive for much longer. I would not like to go on sneaking around like this, but allow me to speak to my son first," Diana said, reaching for his arm as she spoke.

"Very well, but if we take too many steps back after you speak to him, I don’t think I can continue with this. You gave me your word that there is a future for us, and I have put everything into believing it. Please don’t go back on that," Gerald said, and the quiet in his voice held more feeling than if he had spoken it loudly.

Diana stepped forward and placed her hands on Gerald’s arms, rubbing them gently. "I’m sorry for how I reacted. This is all rather sudden. I thought I would be the one to tell Cassian in my own time, not learn that he already knew. I wanted to be careful about how I brought it up so he wouldn’t think I had betrayed his father."

"Did it seem that way to you?" Diana asked, worried Cassian saw betrayal.

"No. He didn’t seem to mind, and he warned me not to hurt you. You mustn’t think too deeply about it. Have your talk with your son, and then give me a clear answer about where we stand. I will wait for you," Gerald said, stepping back just enough to give her room to breathe.

He didn’t want them to be seen standing so close together for Diana to panic.

Diana reached for his hand before he could move too far away. "I will tell Cassian that I am bringing you home with me. You won’t need to serve as anyone’s guard any longer. Just stay at my side," she decided, not wanting Gerald to have more doubts. "We will be more open."