Leland came back to see Sophie and the children. He talked with the healers and they told him it was not wise to move the injured child to a far away place in his condition. Because of that, Leland was forced to stay back in the manor.
He immediately told his men to bury the dead and fixed the manor as much as possible. He also sent some people to sneak into the capital and the royal villa to find information about the king and the royal lycan hunters.
They needed to be on guard in case their presence was found out and the royal army was hunting them.
"What happened while we were away?" Sophie looked at Leland with a sharp gaze when her husband entered the room. She had stopped shedding tears for Jan simply because she had cried so much and now her tears were dry. "Did Nicholas come here? Did he cause this destruction?"
Her voice was hoarse and her expression was a mix of anger and sadness. Leland had never seen her looking this upset.
Leland glanced at Luciel who was sitting beside Sophie. His face looked sad and miserable. The boy was usually always happy and loud, but he had been so quiet all day. It ached Leland's heart to see both his son and wife in this condition.
"I am sorry," he said softly. "It's my fault."
He was used to taking the blame for all the bad things that happened around him. Whether it was because he was incapable, he was not strong enough, or not wise enough. That was the bad habit he maintained after years of being subjected to his mother's abuse who kept telling him he was never good enough.
However, this time, he honestly admitted that he had a contribution to what happened to Jan. What Lucas did was a reflection of what he would do. He realized his Beta knew him so well and cared so much about him that Lucas did what he did.
Leland could imagine if he was in the manor when Nicholas came and get all chummy with Luciel and Jan, his heart would burn in the same anger that Lucas felt, or even worse, and Leland would also attack Nicholas.
The fight would be inevitable. He knew they shouldn't fight around children, but when their hearts were blinded by rage and jealousy, the two men might not pay attention to their surroundings and hurt the children too, unknowingly.
This time, Jan was hurt. What about next time? What if Luciel, Sophie, and their unborn children got hurt too? How could he live with himself?
"Why did you say it's your fault?" Sophie gritted her teeth. She knew Leland's bad habit and didn't want him to take responsibility for something that was not his fault. "Luciel said Nicholas came here and fought with Lucas."
Leland motioned Duncan to take Luciel because he wanted to speak to Sophie without the boy present. "Luciel, you have to eat something, and then you must try to get some sleep. You look really tired."
He helped the boy get on his feet and rubbed his hair lovingly. Luciel pursed his lips, not wanting to leave his mother's side, but Sophie understood what Leland wanted and she forced a smile and patted the boy's back.
"Go, eat something, and rest. Mommy will go and see you very soon."
Luciel couldn't say no to his mother. He finally nodded and took Duncan's hand and left the room. Leland also told the healers to leave. Soon, there were only him and Sophie, sitting by Jan's side.
"Lucas attacked him," Leland said flatly. "He had been coming every day and insisted on seeing you. Slowly he started to get the kids to like him."
"Oh..." Sophie pressed her lips in surprise. Both she and Leland knew what it meant.
Nicholas had truly regained his memory. He must have come here because he remembered being married to Sophie and... he must already guess that Luciel and Jan were his sons.
So, this was it.
It happened so fast, faster than what she expected.
"Lucas is my Beta. I take responsibility for what he did," Leland continued. "Of course, the king is responsible too."
He went silent. His eyes caught sight of Jan. Somehow, seeing the boy suffer, his resolve and stubbornness to fight Nicholas in a life or death battle wavered.
One had fallen victim. Leland would be devastated if Jan didn't survive and he would carry the guilt with him to his grave.
Leland crouched down and touched Sophie's knees. "Soon, he and I will have an open war. When that happens, I don't want you and the children to get hurt by being the bystanders. I hope you would listen to me and leave. Whoever wins, means he is the stronger one among us and he deserves to be the one to protect you and the children."
"Leland...!"
The man continued his words. "I know you have said that you take my side, and I am grateful for your love and support. I am the happiest man in the world. However... I cannot let you and the children stay with me if I am not strong enough to protect you, and I don't want you all to stay here and witness the ugly war and worse... become the victims."
Leland must mean everything he said because for the first time he uttered so many words in one go. His words left Sophie speechless.
***
Karenina had slept with the man her father hired for ten days in a row. As days went by, she became numbed by what happened and went on to do the deed without feeling anything.
The only feelings throughout the whole ordeal she had were probably bitterness and anger. She no longer felt disgusted. She only hoped she would get pregnant as soon as possible.
When their family doctor confirmed that she might be expecting, she didn't even feel joy. There was just relief washing over her being.
Ha. The king could no longer call her a liar. She would return to the royal palace with the news that she was pregnant with the king's child, and Nicholas couldn't refute her claim.
Queen Marianne had asked the royal physician to check Karenina's condition after she was found naked and 'assaulted' in the king's bed, but of course, the physician was in on their little scheme from the beginning.
He confirmed Karenina was no longer a virgin. However, apparently, her claim was still not good enough because Nicholas still insisted she must have lied since he didn't remember what happened.
Even after Karenina tried to kill herself, he still wouldn't budge. That truly hurt Karenina's feelings and pride. Now, she would make sure the king would not have a way to get away from her.
"Don't think you can get rid of me now..." Karenina muttered to herself in front of her mirror. "Not after you took five years of my life. I will make you pay for my sufferings..."
She couldn't wait to tell the king the news of her pregnancy and wanted to know how he would react. But before that, she still wanted to take care of one thing.
"Father, I want all the info you got on Sophia Hansley. I will go to Hastings and confirm for myself about Sophia Hansley's marriage to the king," Karenina said to her father.
After she got what she wanted, Karenina immediately got up from her seat. But before she left, she said, "The man I have slept with, I want Father to kill him so that there are no witnesses."
"Before you asked for it, I already did." After saying that, Viscount Verhovent exchanged a smile with Karenina.
***
Karenina went to Hastings in disguise. She started her search for information and visited Cawden Academy because according to information from her father's informant, Sophia Hansley had studied at the academy.
She thought she would easily get information, but reality said differently because Sophie's class had graduated six years ago. Many teachers and administrators had also been replaced.
But after trying more, she finally met an old man, one of the senior guards who had been at Cawden Academy for ten years.
The man also told Karenina about Sophia Hansley, but the information he gave was not very useful for Karenina because he only knew Sophia as a very talented student who always excelled in every lesson. But, she was often bullied by other students and her two cousins.
"Two cousins?" Finally, Karenina got something that she thought could provide information about Sophia Hansley, who was married to Nicholas Ferdinand.
The guard nodded with a frown. "They are Lucia and Valerie. They never miss an opportunity to badmouth their cousin, even though I know Sophia is a good child," he said.
From his words, Karenina concluded that Lucia and Valerie hated Sophia. Maybe she could get the two women to work together to destroy Sophia Hansley.
"Do you know the addresses of Lucia and Valerie?" she asked, which made the guard a bit confused because he had thought the woman in front of him was coming to look for Sophie.
"You said they were cousins, ??right? So maybe Sophia lives with them." Karenina quickly corrected her words as soon as she noticed the guard's suspicious face. "I just wanted to know where she is now. She was an old friend from Hauntingen and I miss her dearly."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om