Williams stood at the foot of Susan's bed and looked down at Susan, who was sprawled on the bed with her eyes on the ceiling.
"Did something happen?" He asked curiously.
"I feel like dying, dear brother." She said in a very quiet voice that made his brow shoot up.
"Is this about your marriage mother talked about?" He asked curiously as he went to sit down on the chair in front of her dressing table.
Susan had a lot on her mind as she lay on her bed, and if not for the banquet and the fact that she didn't want to have to answer a lot of questions about why she was skipping breakfast, she would have preferred to avoid joining the family and aristocrats.
She couldn't even afford to pretend to be sick, as if she did that her mother would fuss over her and not give her the space she needed to be alone and think.
Although she was nosy and liked being adventurous, last night's discoveries had left her confused. First, it was finding out that Harold didn't shift, but was spending the night in his bride's chamber. She hadn't thought they were in that kind of relationship. Then what about the curse? Had it been broken? How? Who else knew about it? She really wished she could talk with Princess Amber about it and ask her questions, but she couldn't.
As if thinking about her discovery of Harold's secret was not enough, seeing the Queen meeting in secret with the king's beta was another surprise. As a matter of fact, it was a big shock. How long had they been meeting that way? What could they want to talk about that required meeting at such an ungodly hour and in such a place? Someone could easily misunderstand if she wasn't the queen.
"Or is this about Alvin?" Williams asked, cutting into her thoughts.
Distracted, she sat up immediately and glared at him. "Of course not!" She said defensively.
Her reaction only made Williams certain that he had something to do with her mood right now. He crossed his legs and folded his arms as he watched her keenly, waiting for her to talk.
She cried out and used her hands to cover her face. The thought alone made her wish the ground would open up and swallow her.
"I am so upset!"
Williams had thought that she was faking the cry, so he was a little startled when he saw her sniff and clean her tears with the back of her hands before she laughed out.
"What did he do?" He asked, sounding concerned as he sat up. It was rare for something to get to Susan like this.
She bit her nails as she thought of Alvin, and her face flushed in embarrassment when she remembered all he had said to her. He didn't fancy her in any way, shape, or form? He had been spying on her this whole time because he thought she wanted to harm Princess Amber? Why would he think something like that? Because she was the queen's niece? Susan sighed as she got off the bed and walked over to the window to look down at the courtyard.
She couldn't believe that she had been making a fool of herself this whole time. She had even taken his side over Ivan's side. Not that she had been wrong in doing that anyway. Ivan had been wrong, hence, she had taken Alvin's side.
How was she going to face him now after making a fool of herself? She shouldn't have listened to Princess Amber. It was Princess Amber who had planted that seed in her heart, making her think that Alvin fancied her. She wished she could talk with Princess Amber about it.
"He doesn't like me. I have been making a fool out of myself the entire time." She said with a careless shrug as she turned to face him.
"I have been assuming things on my own. I guess I deserved that."
"He... told you that?" Williams asked hesitantly as he watched her.
"Yes."
"When did you meet him? Aren't you supposed to stay away from him this period?" He asked, reminding her about their parents' being in the palace now. Rumours could spread if they were seen together, and it would just confirm what Ivan had accused her of.
Susan looked a bit flustered and shrugged again. She couldn't tell him she had broken the rules and snuck out at night. She also didn't want to tell him about whatever she had seen and heard last night. Because she wasn't sure about the nature of those meetings yet and she didn't want to put him in trouble.
"No one saw us." She assured him. "What about you? Have you heard anything from Paulina?" She asked, changing the topic swiftly.
He knew what she was trying to do, but he only gave her a suspicious look before shrugging too.
"I don't have any reason to."
"Because you want to protect her?" She asked suspiciously and didn't wait for him to answer before she said, "You shouldn't forget that she is human. And you are the heir of our family. You haven't forgotten that, right?"
It wasn't as if she was looking down on humans, but this was just common sense. Harold could do it but they were not Harold. Williams wasn't cursed to never be together with their kind. Harold wasn't the heir either. At least, they all believed he wouldn't be made king even if he was an alpha.
If their parents so much as suspected that Williams had a soft spot for Paulina, she would die at that same hour.
"And you shouldn't forget that Alvin is not just any guard, but Prince Harold's guard. You should be more worried about yourself. Because it wouldn't just end with getting rid of Alvin. We will be going up against Prince Harold. And we all know that the king favours him. Even more than the queen."
"I... don't care about him," Susan said, swallowing nervously.
Williams sighed and stood up. "You should take care of your feelings. And be careful." He warned.
They both turned to the door when a knock sounded.
"Susan? Are you in?" Tyra called from outside.
"See you at breakfast," Williams said as he went to open the door. He shared a bow with Tyra before he excused himself and Tyra entered the room.
"I take it you are ready to leave for breakfast?" Tyra asked once she noticed that Susan was now in front of her dressing mirror, touching up her face and adjusting her hair.
"Yes, I am." Susan turned to look at her and forced out a smile.
"Shall we leave?" Susan asked and Tyra nodded.
As soon as both ladies stepped out of the chamber, Tyra asked, "Are you alright?" She had noticed that Susan wasn't her usual chatty self.
"Yes, I am," Susan said quietly as she continued walking. She wondered if she should tell Tyra about what she had seen and heard. Tyra was very devoted to Harold, so she wasn't sure she could tell Tyra about it as Tyra might want to confirm it with Harold. And she couldn't tell Tyra that she had seen the queen with Damon either, since regardless of the bad relationship between her and the queen, they were still mother and daughter.
"The Queen wants me to marry Lance," Tyra informed Susan, and immediately Susan, who had been distracted, stopped walking and snapped her head up to look at Tyra.
"What? Lance?" Susan asked with contempt. Although they all suspected the queen was going to push for it, hearing it for real was shocking.
"Yes. But I'm not worried about it. Lance doesn't want to marry an Omega like me. He says he can't stand my smell," Tyra said, and Susan's eyes flashed angrily.
"He said that to you?" What was wrong with all the male species in this kingdom?
Tyra giggled, "I'm not upset. I'm actually glad he can't stand my smell. I don't have to worry about him. Besides, after the way Prince Harold handled him a while ago, I'm sure he wouldn't want to bother with me," Tyra said with a pleasant smile, and Susan looked at her closely.
"Prince Harold? What did he do?" Susan asked, and Tyra told her how he had saved her from Lance, but she didn't tell her about Harold's promise to her.
Both ladies paused and stood straight when they noticed the King's beta, Damon, approaching.
He had the usual cold air around him as he walked straight.
Susan's heartbeat soared as she wondered if he knew she had seen them last night, especially with the way he was looking at her.
She bowed and expected him to walk past, but he stood just before he could pass them and looked at them, sending Susan's heartbeat into overdrive. She could swear he could hear it.
Fortunately, his gaze moved from her to Tyra, who kept her head down.
"Get a proper mask for your smell before joining the table." He said before walking away.
Susan heaved a deep sigh of relief before turning to look at Tyra, who still kept her head down. But her hands were tightly fisted beside her and she looked... angry.
Susan could almost smell the anger and hate that was radiating all around Tyra.
She would have been pissed too. But it was weird getting this feeling from Tyra.
"It's okay, let's go and meet the physician before we head for breakfast." She said, touching Tyra's shoulder gently.
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