Chapter Thirty-one
Claire had a hard time falling asleep, half expecting Lukas to return again. But he didn’t, not when the clock hit midnight, nor when dawn roused her in the morning.
Servants came to attend to her when Claire got out of bed, she still had a difficult time adjusting to having people at her beck and call, eager to help her out.
Because she would be moving around a lot, Claire was dressed in tailored black, flared pants with a matching band around her bust, a white overcoat thrown over the outfit.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror when she was all dressed. Her hair had been gathered into a low bun with tendrils framing her face, stilettos on her feet. She didn't feel like the person in the mirror, she felt like an imposter.
Claire was led to the dining hall by a helpful servant even though she already knew the way there, she was just reluctant to go because she knew that she would bump into Lukas and that was the last thing she wanted. To her surprise, the dining room door was opened for her to reveal Senite and Lola already seated at the table.
"Claire! There you are!" Lola got to her feet and came around to meet her at the door. "We were considering coming to get you ourselves."
Claire blinked in surprise. "I-I didn't expect to see you two here."
Senite remained seated, she wore a grayish-green turtleneck dress. "Lukas asked us to have breakfast with you because he's tied down in his office."
This surprised Claire even more than finding Senite and Lola waiting for her instead of Lukas. "He did?" She asked blankly, letting herself be led to the dining table by Lola.
Lola and Senite shared a knowing look, Lola responding. "Of course, he didn't want you to be lonely without him."
Now Claire was starting to get suspicious, that certainly didn't sound like Lukas but she didn't dispute their claims, settling down to eat her breakfast. She wasn't exactly sure because she had eventually fallen asleep but she could safely say that Lukas hadn't slept in their 'shared' bedroom.
For some reason, that thought made her feel troubled. It was silly because she had been the one desperately looking for ways to get out of sharing a bed with Lukas.
"Alright, let's get to work…" Lola spoke up after a hearty breakfast, pulling out the itinerary. "First, we're going to a salon for a hair treatment, I already booked you a schedule so we have to leave right now to make it there on time." She explained, getting to her feet.
-*-
What had actually happened was that Lukas spent the entire night working at his home office after leaving Claire. Alec had found him in the morning, stunned to see the Alpha King hunched over his desk with a dark scowl on his face
"Were you here all night?" He asked in disbelief.
Lukas outrightly glared at him. "Have a problem with that?"
Alec knew to quickly back off. "Not at all, you look like you're having fun after all."
Lukas muttered curses at this, getting to his feet to clean up. He had no intention of returning to his bedroom, he would shower in one of the empty guest rooms, he would also have servants move his clothes there.
Just as he got to the end of the hallway that led from his office, he bumped into his aunt and Lola, one of his secretaries tagging along with her.
"Well, well, someone's up early." Senite half smiled, surprised to find Lukas out of bed. Her smile faltered when she saw the scowl on his face.
"I could say the same about you." Lukas muttered grumpily.
"Goo-Good morning, sir." Lola blurted out nervously, clutching her clipboard and bowing.
Lukas swept his eyes over her. "Have breakfast with Claire, I don't have the time for that now." He directed, walking past them.
Senite turned around to watch him leave, a look of concern on her face. She couldn't ever remember Lukas looking so upset, it made her tongue-tied that she couldn't even ask the reason for his anger. It also made her slightly nervous, did Claire have something to do with his terrible mood? She had to go find Alec.
-×-
Lukas just marched right on with a dark expression, servants scurrying to get out of his way. What ruined his mood further was that he wasn't sure why he was in such a bad mood but he couldn't stop, it was a vicious cycle.
But being self aware didn't improve his mood, if anything, it worsened his already acidic temperament. For now, the best thing to do was to keep his distance from Claire. It was as much for his sake as it was for hers because the burning under his skin didn't settle down even after six straight hours of filing.
Lukas had never planned to take Claire, every one of their kisses had been a mistake but his body seemed to have other ideas because he couldn't trust himself to be in the same room with her without trying to eat her up.
It didn't mean that his hate for her had magical disappeared, it just meant that the Fated mate bond was stronger than his logical reasoning, it was truly a hassle. He cleaned up quickly and dressed up, returning to his office refreshed but in no better mood.
Alec was already waiting for him there, standing stoic and unruffled as always. "I suppose you intend to have your breakfast here." He noted.
"I don't mind." Lukas grumbled dismissively, firing up his laptop.
"Understood." Alec replied politely. "And how long do you intend to hide out here?" He asked bluntly.
Lukas whipped his head up, his dark blue eyes flashing. "What?"
Alec was unfazed by this. "I've worked with you for years, your Highness and you have never been this enthusiastic to attend to your duties before..."
"You're talking too much for someone that is supposed to be bringing me breakfast." He cut him off surlily, dismissing him with a wave of his hand.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
