The atmosphere in the room was very hostile and suffocating all of a sudden. The two men were still glaring at each other fiercely. The guests were shocked to see a duke, dared to look at the king in such a manner.
Some people whispered to each other that Duke Romanov was a foreigner and probably had never met the monarch, so he didn't know who that man was.
Everyone was watching the two of them in a staring contest until Princess Karenina ventured to approach Nicholas.
Karenina took the king's hand and invited the king to continue the party with her.
"Your Majesty, I don't know what kind of trouble you have, but it's my birthday today. Can you please give me face just this once and continue this party with me?" said Karenina in a soft tone. She looked at him pleadingly.
However, the king did not move an inch from his place. He pursed his lips and glared at Leland. He was angry that a guest dared to stare back at him challengingly. Nicholas only invited this Duke Romanov because he wanted to see Sophia. He didn't expect the duke would be this rude and hostile.
Meanwhile, Leland, who saw Karenina holding the other man's hand suddenly noticed the princess called his opponent 'His Majesty'.
So, his guess was correct. The man in front of him was King Nicholas Hanenbergh himself! That only meant one thing. Sophie had married the king of the Riga Kingdom, the kingdom that Leland wanted to destroy.
Riga's royal family was the enemy of the werewolf tribe… Their mission to come to Riga was to attack Livstad and topple the royal family from power.
However, Sophie was actually involved with the king? How could this happen?
Leland suddenly felt a throbbing headache. He just thought of what's worse than Sophie being involved with the king of Riga.
That would mean… Luciel and Jan were the heirs of the Riga kingdom.
At this moment, Leland became anxious. His mind was filled with disturbing thoughts. What if Sophie and King Nicholas met now and Sophie decided to return to King Nicholas?
After all, this man was Sophie's first love and the biological father of Luciel and Jan.
Leland's fingertips turned pale and his body felt extremely cold. He was afraid that Sophie would leave him for Nicholas. What woud he do if she chose Nicholas over him?
His head throbbed and he was feeling all kinds of emotions right now. All bad. However, the Alpha was very good at hiding his feelings. There was no emotion on his face at all or a change in his gesture.
His distraught was well masked by his cold countenance and sharp gaze on Nicholas.
Nobody said a word and they all felt the tension. If someone dropped a needle, they would be able to hear the sound. The situation lasted for several minutes until the silence was broken by the sound of the footsteps of a woman and two little boys entered the ballroom.
Sophie, who had previously gone out to look for Leland as well as to take a breath of fresh air, was surprised by the silence.
She looked around then fixed her focus on Leland. Her husband stood with his back to her unmoving. He seemed to be facing someone whose face Sophie couldn't see because Leland's body was blocking her.
Her confusion grew even more when she saw everyone was staring at Leland and the person standing in front of him.
Sophie walked over as she held both of her sons' hands.
"Leland."
When he heard Sophie's voice, Leland was startled. So was Nicholas. The two pairs of eyes that had been locked for a long time finally moved away from each other.
Leland immediately turned around. His body still blocked Sophie's view from seeing Nicholas. He was terrified by the thought that his mate would now see the figure of the king.
Leland couldn't afford to lose Sophie.
Could he be selfish just this once?
When she saw that Leland looked so tense, Sophie curled her eyebrows in surprise.
"What's wrong, Leland?" she asked in concern.
Leland shook his head and said, "Nothing. We'd better go home now."
He grabbed Sophie's wrist and pulled her away.
"Leland, what—" Sophie suddenly froze. Her eyes had caught sight of the man who had previously been standing behind Leland.
"Sophie..." Leland spoke softly, as he saw Sophie stare at Nicholas. Her body was trembling.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Nicholas also froze when he met Sophie's eyes. However, the reason he froze was different from Sophie's. At this moment, Nicholas was so mesmerized by Sophia Romanov's beauty that he was at a loss for words.
Karenina, who noticed the king's gaze on Duchess Romanov and Duchess Romanov's gaze on the king, was both confused and annoyed.
After he stood unmoving for about five seconds, Nicholas suddenly smiled kindly, then stepped closer to Duchess Romanov. But as soon as he was a step away, Sophie moved back. Her knees felt so weak all of a sudden.
Leland saw Sophie and Nicholas lock eyes, both of which couldn't look away from each other. He then turned to stare blankly at his hand that was still holding Sophie's wrist. He slowly let go of the wrist.
Now he felt like he was a nobody between them.
Sophie still looked at Nicholas with gleaming eyes. Her gut told her to charge at Nicholas and hug him. But then she froze when Princess Karenina came and wrapped her arms around Nicholas' arm.
"Your Majesty… do you know them?" she asked in her sweet voice.
Nicholas looked uncomfortable with Karenina in his arms and wanted to get away from the young woman, but Karenina wouldn't let him.
Sophie, who had been unable to think because she was so surprised to see Nicholas standing in front of her, began to realize the situation.
Sophie saw Princess Karenina, who put her arms around Nicholas, then looked at the crown that Nicholas was wearing. At that moment, realization dawned on her.
Sophie could finally guess that the man before her was King Nicholas Hanenbergh a.k.a Nicholas Ferdinand, her first husband.
He was still alive.
Sophie's heart broke. She felt devastated because she felt cheated and lied to.
"Hello, I'm King Nicholas Hanenbergh. Nice to meet you, Duchess Sophia Romanov," Nicholas said. He introduced himself with a smile that never faded.
Sophie was both surprised and hurt even more when she heard Nicholas introduce himself.
She was right. The man in front of her was indeed her husband. Nicholas.
Sophie could never forget his voice. At first, she thought it was just her imagination, that she saw a man who looked very much like Nicholas and also had a similar voice.
However, after she heard Nicholas' voice for the second time and got a better look at the king, Sophie's little heart realized that they were indeed the same person. Nicholas, her husband, and King Nicholas Hannenbergh.
He didn't give her his real name and hid his identity from her. His lies made her mourn his death for many years.
Sophie suddenly found it hard to breathe. This Nicholas seemed friendly and considerate, but he didn't look like he knew her. How could he not react at all when he saw Sophie in front of him now?
Did Nicholas really not recognize her, or was he just pretending not to recognize her?
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