With Rachael gone and now that I had sorted out my feelings about Reiner, the only thing that bothered me was the unchangeable fact that someone wanted me dead. The ill wish left a very bad taste in my mouth, and I shivered just at the thought of it. Who wanted to get rid of me? And why?
If I asked Reiner, would he know? Would he tell me?
…
I returned to help Queen work on her garden after that and she bombarded me with questions about what Rachael talked to me about. Queen was seriously into gossip although I could sense that she was genuinely worried about me as well.
“Nothing much. She told me that Knight didn’t marry me because he loved me,” I said before I flashed Queen a smile.
“Oh…and you said?” she asked as her hands stopped midair during her effort to cut a stem.
“I told her that Knight loves me because he told me so. I’ve decided to believe his words and that was that,” I replied, concisely.
“Wow…Knight actually said that? I’m impressed!” Queen exclaimed as her eyes widened.
“He says it quite often now…please don’t tell him that I told you,” I whispered as if telling her the world’s deepest and darkest secret.
“Oh wow…of course, I won’t say a thing…” Queen replied with a mischievous look on her face.
Just like Queen was worried for me, I couldn’t help but worry about Rachael. All in all, none of this was her fault. If anything, she was a very big victim in all of this mess. She fell in love with Reiner, and I could understand that. If I were her, I’ll probably be madly in love with him too. Then he broke his engagement with her not once but twice. The second time, he broke it off with her and married me immediately after. Either that, or he didn’t even bother to tell her about it before he married me. Reiner was horrible at managing a girl’s feelings!
“Umm…I’m not sure how to put this but…what about Rachael? Is she, ok?” I asked softly.
Queen looked at me for a moment and I could tell that she understood what I meant. She looked away for moment as if to think before her eyes returned to me.
“She will move on. She has to. Rachael is a strong girl and I love her like she’s one of my own. It’s unfortunate about what happened, and I feel extremely guilty for what Knight has done. Breaking off the engagement twice and all that but I guess it was better for everyone that he didn’t go ahead and married her as planned,” Queen said patiently before sighing softly.
“How so?” I asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? Knight doesn’t love Rachael in that way. It’s unfortunate for her but I’m glad that my son married the woman that he loves,” Queen said before she smiled at me and placed a hand firmly on my shoulder.
“I feel a bit bad for her…” I confessed softly as I glanced down at my feet.
“Don’t. Rachael is proud and she doesn’t need your sympathy. She’ll move on and I’m sure that she’ll find the right man for her sooner or later,” Queen said comfortingly.
“I hope so,” I replied.
…
As promised, Reiner returned in time for dinner. After spending almost an hour just pacing around in front of the entrance, Reiner finally returned. I ran up to the side of his car like a dog that had been anxiously waiting for its owner to come home from work. When Reiner got out of the car, I was already there by his side.
“Welcome home!” I cried out happily as I wrapped my arms around him.
“You look too happy. Did something happen while I was gone?” Reiner asked as he also hugged me in return.
Oh…how did he pick up on that so fast?
“Let’s talk about it over dinner,” I suggested before I beamed him another bright smile.
Reiner seemed curious but he did let me lead him to the dining room without asking any further questions. Food was already prepared and laid out on the table for us by the time that we seated ourselves at our usual seat at the dining table.
“So, what happened while I was gone?” Reiner asked.
“I was in the garden with Queen…” I started.
“And…?” Reiner prompted for me to get to the point.
“And…a maid came to tell me that Rachael was here to see me,” I said as I tried my best to read Reiner’s reaction.
“Why did she come to see you?” Reiner asked.
He didn’t seem shocked that Rachael came to see me, but I had to say that he didn’t seem pleased or surprised about it.
“She…came to congratulate me on our wedding…” I said as I tried to figure out how to tell Reiner the rest of it.
“She came to congratulate you on our wedding when I was conveniently not present?” Reiner asked and I could tell that he was more than suspicious.
I gulped down some water to clear my throat while my mind raced on how to break the news to him. It would probably not have any negative impact on me, but I was certain that Rachael might get into trouble for what she had done if I didn’t put the right spin on this. Why am I trying so hard to protect her?
Perhaps without realizing it, I had started to feel slightly guilty about taking Reiner away from her. Although it wasn’t like she had him in the first place. I sighed softly to myself as I wondered how to put this in a diplomatic way.
“Actually, she also came to tell me that there was something that you had been keeping from me. She told me all about how someone had ordered to have me killed and how you married me so that I could benefit from the protocol stating that King’s immediate family would receive protection no matter what. She told me that you married me just to keep me safe…and that you didn’t really love me or anything like that. Of course, I didn’t believe what she said about you not loving me. Ok? I didn’t believe that part at all,” I explained as I tried to pick my words carefully.
–To be continued…