Chapter 84

Claudia's POV
I was lacking oxygen, so I breathlessly pulled away and looked up to a now smirking Maxwell. My cheeks grew warm as I noticed what we just did, but they grew warmer as I noticed a group of women and a few men in the castle watching us.
"Maxwell," I murmured feeling embarrassed that they had just witnessed our heated kiss.
"Hmm?"
"Behind you." Maxwell pulled away and looked around. I looked up at him and bit my lip when I saw him glaring at the people in the castle who were now scurrying away
"Maxwell, you're so mean!" I laughed
"They deserved it, the last thing I need are the servants spying on their king." My eyes widened, their king? Maxwell must have noticed what he had said since he sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"King?"
"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." He ran a hand through his hair. "When my father died, I immediately took the title so now I'm no longer a prince – but a king. At first, I didn't accept since my mother was still a queen, but she insisted." He looked at me as if afraid to see my reaction. It took a little while for his words to sink in but when they did, I grinned. At first, he looked confused at my reaction but soon he returned the grin.
"Wow, congrats!" I flung myself at him and hugged him tightly
"So, you're not mad?" I looked at him and frowned
"Mad? And why should I be?" I untangled myself and stood in front of him
"Being king means having a lot of duties, so it will be hard spending a lot of time with you." I chewed on my bottom lip and hid my smile. Aw, he's worried about not spending time with me
"Maxwell, I don't mind." My voice went soft
I squeaked in shock as Maxwell pulled me forward and pecked me on the lips
"Come on, there's somebody I want you to meet." He grinned taking my hand and leading me up to the castle.
He offered me an encouraging smile as he opened the door. I felt nervous considering that I still didn't know who this person might be. I already asked Maxwell about whom I would be meeting, but he told me that it was a surprise. I followed him inside the room and was amazed by its size. It was at least triple the size of my room and was fit for a queen. Surrounded in gold and white, the room gave you a sense of warmth.
I looked forward and saw a very beautiful woman lying in a sitting position on the bed and I immediately knew who she was. They have the same eyes, same hair color, and they looked so much alike. The queen had shoulder length wavy black hair and Maxwell, her black eyes were as dark as night. My nerves increased as I realized that I was now in Maxwell's mother's room. The queen greeted Maxwell with a warm smile and hugged him when he crouched next to her.
"Hi mom," Maxwell murmured returning his mother's hug
"So how's my baby boy doing in his third day being a king?" His mother gushed when Maxwell drew away.
"Mom, I told you to stop calling me that!" Maxwell groaned, a light shade of red covering his cheeks. I giggled finding Maxwell embarrassed very amusing. The queen seemed to hear my giggle since she took her gaze from her son to me. I swallowed uneasily and curtsied remembering that I was in front of a queen.
"So this is the Claudia that my son is so fond of, come here honey." She patted the space next to her. My eyes went to Maxwell, who had a heartening smile on and then to the queen's who had a soft one. I hesitated, but sat next to her on the bed suddenly feeling timid
"I'm very happy that my son has found the girl that suits him and I'm very pleased that it is you my dear." I blushed and said a quiet thank you. I expected the queen to ask me a normal question like how did we meet each other or something like that, but I was sure not expecting her to ask me the following.
"But I have to ask, at first, how were you able to stand him?" I couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Mom!" I looked sideways and saw Maxwell crossing his arms while glaring at his mom
"Maxwell, don't interrupt!" His mom scolded. It was kind of funny actually, seeing Maxwell huff like a five year old child and his mother scolding him.
"Well my queen – "
"Oh please, call me Zara." I smiled and nodded then answered her question. It turned out, Maxwell didn't like my reply.
"If I recall, you were head over heels in love with me." Maxwell pointed out making my jaw drop.
"Were not! If I recall, you were the one head over heels in love with me!" I used his words against him. Maxwell was about to respond but his mother butted in.
"Don't try to deny it Maxwell." His mother warned. I bit my lip keeping in my laughter. I already like the woman!
"That was fun." I said as we walked out of the queen – Zara's room. Maxwell slowly turned his head to look at me and narrowed his eyes.
"Fun?!" I rolled my eyes and didn't bother responding because if I did, I knew that Maxwell would go all mumbo jumbo on me and say 'you can't talk to me like that in front of my servants' and all of that shit so I kept my lips locked.
I went out to breathe some fresh air and sat on the ground. Out of a sudden, two arms became wrapped around me. It was Maxwell's. He kissed my head and mumbled a few words which seemed as 'You are my everything'. I sighed peacefully . At last, no more problems, and finally, everything was back to normal.