Intoxicating scents….
“I’m not your enemy, Veronica. In fact, I really don’t want to be. But you have to understand-”
“I understand perfectly,” I cut her off, my voice rising. “You’ve charmed everyone with your little act, pretending to be so kind, so humble, but I see right through you.”
The cooks stood awkwardly by, unsure of what to do, their eyes darting between us. I could sense their fear of getting caught in the middle of this power struggle, and that only fueled my anger more. They had already chosen to follow her orders over mine. My own authority was slipping, and I could feel it slipping faster with every moment she remained in the mansion.
Ashley took a step back, exhaling softly. “I’m not here to argue with you. If you want to eat something else and not the lunch order I made, fine. I’m not going to make this a bigger issue than it needs to be.” She glanced at the cooks. “Just make sure to let me know next time if she has given an order for lunch so that we can easily avoid these unnecessary issues.”
“Oh wow, so I’m causing issues now?”
“Nobody ever said that. You know what, I don’t have the time and energy for this back and forth. All I’m saying is that I don’t want to waste food, and the best way we can avoid that is by communicating well on already set plans for lunch, that’s it.”
She turned to leave, but I wasn’t done. “Do you think this is going to spite me? You know I see through you, Ashley. I hope you are aware of that. It’s pretty obvious that you are being desperate because what you’re doing is trying so hard to be me. You don’t belong here, Ashley. You never did, and you never will.”
Ashley paused, her back still turned to me. For a moment, it seemed like she wouldn’t respond, but then she spoke, her voice quiet yet resolute. “We’ll see about that, Veronica. Time has a way of revealing who truly belongs.”
She walked out of the kitchen, leaving me standing there, seething. The cooks immediately turned their attention back to me, waiting for my next order. But all I could think about was the smug look Ashley must have been hiding, confident that she had won this round.
No. She hadn’t won anything yet.
I turned to the cooks, my voice sharp. “Get rid of it. Make what I want. And this time, if anyone takes orders from her without my approval, you’ll regret it.”
They scurried to comply, clearly unnerved by the tension. As they moved around me, I couldn’t shake the gnawing feeling that Ashley was right. Time would reveal who truly belonged. But I wasn’t going to sit back and wait. If she thought she could outmaneuver me, she was in for a rude awakening.
I had other plans in motion. And this time, I wouldn’t allow myself to be caught off guard.
I’d find those papers. I’d reclaim my position. And when I did, Ashley would regret ever stepping foot into this house.
Right after lunch, I went out to visit my mom where we had scheduled to meet. It was a very nice and private restaurant right outside town, and I didn’t bother telling anyone where I was going because at this point, I don’t even think anyone cares about me anymore. Ever since Ashley was publicly announced as the Queen Mother and my supposed “replacement,” it just seemed like I was instantly thrown into the closet to remain unnoticed and forgotten. All the focus was on her and, most especially, her children, who have started gaining popularity all over the Kingdom.
As the car drove along, I could feel the unsettling gaze of the driver, who kept watching me from the rearview mirror. This went on for a while before it finally got to me at a point where I couldn’t take it anymore.
“And what are you looking at? Aren’t you supposed to be focused on the road and nothing else?” He dropped his eyes and avoided looking at me but still didn’t say anything. The car was silent, and the ride continued, but it didn’t take much longer before I felt his gaze on me again.
“Do you want me to get your eyeballs removed from their sockets? Why are you still staring at me? In fact, I cannot even imagine the audacity you have right now to look at me in the manner you are. Stop the car!” I yelled, but he didn’t respond, nor did he stop.
“What are you, deaf? I told you to stop the damn car right now!” I yelled once more, and he took a deep breath before slowly moving towards the side to park the car. As soon as the car was finally settled, I continued.
“Now, who the heck do you think you are, huh? Since we began driving, you have been staring at me, and I will not have such nonsense condoned.”
“My apologies, my queen. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he said, and I bit my lip to keep myself from saying anything further. But then again, what else did I have to say? It wasn’t like he said something offensive, or probably he did something other than stare, so what exactly was I angry about? He still didn’t say a word but continued avoiding eye contact, so I sighed deeply, relaxing back in the car seat before waving a hand of dismissal.
“Fine, fine, just keep going then, and stop with the creepy stares, or else you will not live to see tomorrow. Am I clear?”
“Yes, your Highness,” he responded softly as he proceeded to turn the car on once more. Within no time, we were back on the road, and I looked over at my wristwatch to check if I was running late. If there was one thing my mother hated the most, it was lateness of any sort. I got some relief seeing that there was still time for me to get to the restaurant early enough to meet our agreed time.
As soon as I got there, I turned to the side and saw one of my former friends who used to look up to me a while back. At this point, I was already out of the car, and so was the driver, who was patiently waiting for my next instruction. The moment my gaze landed on her walking toward us, I instantly ran into the arms of the driver to help keep my face covered. At first, he resisted and tried pulling me away, but I remained firm and stayed in his arms. After a while, he soon gave up and stopped trying to move away. I held him tightly as I made sure to keep my face inside his chest, and while I was there, I couldn’t help but take in his intoxicating scent. For a while, it seemed as if all my senses had escaped me because just the mere feel of his rock-hard chest, combined with his amazing mint scent, made me lose myself for that brief moment. I felt his strong hands slowly rest on my lower back, close to my waist, and for a short while, I relished the moment, until I finally got myself together again.
“Will you get those filthy paws off me?” I said, as I pushed him back, leaving his warm embrace. He didn’t say anything, but his face was quite flushed in embarrassment.
“My apologies, your Highness. I didn’t understand what was happening. I thought you needed someone to-”
“No, I don’t, okay? I just saw someone I was trying to avoid, that’s all. I know that must have been very unprofessional and uncomfortable for you, but I apologize.” I turned to leave. “You can wait here until I’m done, and don’t worry, my mother and I won’t take more than two hours.” I didn’t bother waiting for his response before making my way into the restaurant, still taking cautious steps to avoid Becky, my former friend.
As soon as I walked in, I found the reserved table my mom and I had booked for our little hangout and walked over to sit down. It didn’t even take a minute before a waitress walked over to me at the table.
“Greetings, madam. Welcome to the Royal House Lounge. May I get you started on anything?”
“Oh, nothing for now, thank you. I’m waiting for someone.”
“Alright then. In the meantime, can I offer you some water or drinks?”
“Thank you, I’m perfectly fine. I’ll call you when I need you.”
“Alright, no problem, ma’am. I’ll be over there in case you need anything.”
“Yeah, whatever,” I responded, and she walked back to wherever she had come from. I honestly didn’t care. As I sat and quietly waited for my mom, my intrusive thoughts played out the previous occurrence in the car. The smell of Lyon’s cologne still lingered despite the fact that he wasn’t even in the room with me. I reminisced on how safe and comfortable I felt in his arms, and my intrusive thoughts soon went terribly wild from there. I started imagining how manly he was and how effective he might be in bed. I remembered just how firm and warm his hand was when it landed on my waist, and this made me imagine it exploring other places on my body. I was already starting to get lost in this little fantasy until I felt a hand hit me.
I got myself together and was soon met with my mom’s annoyed look.
“And what exactly is that thing that’s making you so happy, Vee?” she asked, and I frantically shook my head.
“Oh no, nothing, Mom.”
“Oh really? You were smiling from ear to ear. By the way, what exactly could be making you happy right now when there’s so much that has gone wrong?”
“Mom, I know that, but just because things aren’t going my way right now doesn’t mean I should let it wear me down.”
“Hmm, I see,” she said, settling comfortably in her seat while continuing to stare at me with a quizzical look.
“Come on, Mom, what is it again?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, don’t worry.” She dropped her purse on the table and rested her elbows on it as well. The moment I noticed this gesture, I knew we were getting straight to business. I had studied my mom long enough to know that whenever her hands were on the table, it meant a serious discussion was coming.
“Alright then, talk to me. How do you feel right now?” She looked at me intently after asking the question, and for the first time, I realized I didn’t even know how I was feeling.
“Honestly, Mom, I don’t know.” She furrowed her brows, and I shrugged. “That’s the truth, Mom. I’m so hurt right now, not only because I was stripped of my position, but what makes it worse is that neither Lucas nor Simon found it necessary to defend me. Not once, all through the ordeal. Since it had everything to do with their dear sons and the continuity of their bloodline, they didn’t bother trying to help me at all.”
My mom sighed, and I waited for her to say something, but she remained silent for a while.
“Mom, are you not going to say anything?”
“And what would you have me say? It’s already been done, and here we are.”
“So are you saying I should just give up and accept the nothingness fate has reduced me to?”
“Oh, of course not. You, of all people, should know that I am not one to give up on anything, and neither should my child.”
“So, what are you saying, Mom?”
“Well, now that the deed has been done, we need to strategically correct the errors that have been made, starting with the choice of those elders who thought it wise to replace you with a dirty, unworthy slave.” She spat the last words with disgust, and it made me feel so much better knowing that someone shared my disdain for Ashley.
“Hmm, so what’s the plan?” I asked, leaning forward with renewed interest.