Chapter 19

Cole's POV

I tried to take my mind off what Rhys said for the remainder of the day but I just couldn't. The fear of what Tiffany could do to Giselle and my child kept on haunting and worrying me and I could not concentrate. I was pissed at myself for not ensuring Giselle's safety when I should have done better.

A few hours later I decided to have a word with the soldier in jail, maybe he would have a change of mind and decide to reveal who sent him. The prison cell or dungeon located in the far corner of the palace was still the only place in the royal house that was old and ugly looking. The walls smelled of mold and the dungeon had little sunlight giving it an eerie feeling.

I passed the adjoining corridors and reached the cell of the soldier. He was crouched down, his arms and legs bandaged from the beating I had given him earlier. His eyes were slightly open and he looked so terrible that I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
"Come wake up. I need to talk to you," I called for him behind the jail cell.
His eyes slightly opened as he struggled to get up on his feet. He instantly became nervous as he recognized it was me.
"I've decided to give you one last chance. Tell me who sent you and I'll help you. This is your only chance to redeem yourself to think very well before you answer"

The man stared at me for a while thinking about what I said before shaking his head and making his decision.
"Even if I wanted to, I can say who sent me. What I can say is I had no choice," he croaked.

"What do you mean by you had no choice? Were you threatened?"
He stared at me with a sorrowful expression before shaking his head once again.

"I can't answer any of your questions but what I can say is that my family life is at stake so I had no choice"
His words only baffled me more and more and I was sure there was something more to it. I left the jail cell to go see Rhys and tell him what happened.
"It was just as I had suspected. Knowing the Luna queen I think she must have threatened the lives of his family at stake," Rhys uttered after I had relayed everything the soldier said.

"I also suspected just as much. I had also made sure all the men that came with me in the East wing were trustworthy and it didn't make sense for one of them to suddenly betray like that"

"This just means your stepmother will do anything in her power to put her son on the throne even if it means risking Giselle's life"
I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. I was already regretting deciding to bring Giselle to the royal court. I was so sure I could protect but I didn't know if I could anymore.

"Don't worry. It's going to be okay. Why don't you go check up on her? I can only imagine how dazed she must still be after what happened earlier," Rhys suggested trying to comfort me.
He was right. All I could do now was try to protect her at all costs.

I arrived at my bedroom and saw Giselle sitting at the bedside table, her head curved over strews of reports all over the table. There was a stack of files and an opened laptop on the table. I peered angrily at the tray of untouched lunch that was still lying on the table. She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn't notice me coming in at all.

Her hair was still tied in a messy bun but this time she'd used a pink scrunchie to hold it up making her look younger. Her face was still devoid of makeup but I noticed she was very pale and her face was so white it felt like she could break down at any time.

I cursed myself for not knowing how weak she was until now. I walked slowly into the room trying not to disturb her and continued to watch her. Her hair smelled of lavender and her scent filled me and enveloped my body. She was looking over the proposal she had given to me to invest. I saw that she was revising them and adding new ideas to the proposal to make it better.

I smiled to myself. This was what I liked about her. She was so dedicated to her work and that was what made her all the more attractive to me. It was the qualities I had wanted to have in a Luna and it made me admire her all the more.

When I had decided to invest in Giselle's proposal I hadn't expected to make money from it, I hadn't expected her to execute it so diligently. It wasn't like I didn't trust her capabilities but I had decided to invest in her proposal because I knew it could help her and I feared she would get into more trouble if I didn't help her.

I continued to watch her for a few more minutes and watched her as she continued to go through all the documents and the laptop on the table. I was starting to feel concerned when almost an hour passed and she still hadn't noticed I was standing there. I had heard Giselle was known for her combat skills and alert training so I was surprised I was able to sneak up on her and she didn't notice.

Finally, she was done reviewing the proposal and closed the laptop and all the files on the table. She stretched out her arms and yawned loudly while massaging her sore neck. She was about to stand up when her legs gave up and she started to fall. I quickly stood up from where I was sitting and raced towards her before she fell to the floor.

I held my body against hers and refused to let her go. Surprisingly she didn't fight back. I held her for a while drinking in her scent and moving a strand of hair behind her ear. We stayed like that for a few minutes, neither letting go nor the stillness of the room providing a rhythmic feeling to our hearts.