Chapter 200
Julian
I don’t know what time I got back to the palace but I knew it was late because the sun was already beginning to rise.
For several long minutes I just sat in my car, my hands closed tight around the steering wheel and the note that had been left for Megan clutched tightly.
The message on it was a disgusting tirade of what the person planned to do to her. It was so graphic that it had made me feel sick just reading it. Megan was understandably distraught and it had taken me hours to calm her down.
How was I going to explain this to Cassie? Telling her it was an emergency was only going to work for so long. My hands tightened. Why did I have to lie to her at all? A small voice seemed to whisper in my ear. There was nothing but friendship between me and Megan. Nothing else. And as a mature adult Cassie would understand. Only I knew she wouldn’t. She still thought Megan was the bad guy. The woman she had been five years ago when she didn’t have a choice.
I knew differently.
I just had to make Cassie see the truth, that's all. That meant not running off in the middle of our time together to go and see another woman. I had to put some boundaries up and Cassie would never accept Megan , if I kept running off to her.
What a mess, groaning. I let my head fall until it hit the steering wheel.
Hopefully Cassie would be asleep and I could slip into bed without waking her. It would give me a few hours to think about an excuse as to why I was gone for so long and why I had left her so abruptly.
Getting out of the car as quietly as I could, I found the front door opened for me and Cathy waiting inside. Still in her nightdress she watched me approach with wary but accusing eyes.
Clearly she thought I was a fool, which was fine because I thought I was one as well.
“Good morning.” Schooling my face into a smile , I swept past her. “You’re up early.”
“We all have.” She said as way of a greeting. “Young Noah was sick in the night.”
I froze, my jacket half shrugged off and my stomach flip flopped. Turning I stared at her but she didn’t give me a chance to speak.
“Cassie tried to ring you. So did I . Several times. Your phone was off.”
I frowned. I didn’t remember turning my phone off but maybe the battery had died. I hadn’t really checked it after putting it on Megan’s glass coffee table.
“It must have died.” I said quickly. “Is he ok? What’s wrong with him?”
Cathy shook her head. “A pretty bad stomach bug. We thought at first that it was because of all the sweets at the movie night. But one of the footmen came down with it as well so it’s most definitely a virus of some sort.”
I blinked at her. But only a few words of hers seeped through my tired brain.
All the sweets.
“I’ll deal with it.” Not waiting for her response I walked up the wide curving staircase. My jacket still on and headed towards my bedroom suite.
The door was open so I could see in without having to peek. Cassie was there, Niall fast asleep on one side of her and snoring softly. She was half turned towards Niall. Her hand smoothing back his sweaty hair and she sang a low soothing lullaby to him. He was falling asleep, comforted by his mother and it should have been a sweet scene.
She’d only been awake a few weeks really and they were already so bonded but I couldn’t think about anything but the utter disrespect she had shown me.
“I’m home.”
Her eyes flicked up to me before falling back on our child.
“Can I speak to you in private for a second?” I asked.
“He needs me.” She mumbled without looking up.
“He’s survived four years without you Cassie. He can sleep by himself for a few minutes. Or is this because you feel guilty for filling him up with sugar when I expressly told them no.”
Her head shot up so quickly that I heard something in her neck pop. “What? What did you say?” Cassie’s voice shook with anger.
I didn’t answer instead I stepped back out of the room and waited for her to join me.
The moment she did , I gripped her elbow and pulled her down the hallway.
“What the fuck is your problem Julian.” She hissed , snatching her arm back and glaring at me.
“You are.” I growled. “I love you Cassie but you can’t go against the rules for me with the boys. They are my sons, and I won’t have it.”
For a heartbeat she stared at me and then she blinked. Once slowly. “They are my children as well.” She said through gritted teeth.
“Yes I know and I want us to work together to raise them. I don’t want us to be at war with each other over them.” Reaching out I touched her cheek. “Please don’t go against my wishes anymore.” Just the touch of her skin was like a balm to my anger. “The boys should sleep in their own room and not in our bed. They shouldn’t be eating candy before bed or be rewarded for loss of control.”
“He isn’t sick because we had a movie night.”
I shrugged. “Maybe not Cassie. But they are still in our bed.” And I wanted to fall into that bed with her and pick up where we had just left off a few hours ago. That couldn’t happen now.
“And whose bed are you sleeping in Julian?”
Cassies question took me by surprise. “What? I have been dealing with an emergency.”
Technically that wasn’t a lie.
“Where have you been Julian?” Her hands curled into fists.
“Dealing with a security threat.”
“Ok, so you haven’t been with Megan?” She pulled herself up. “You have your rules Julian and I’ll respect them but I expect the same back. I won’t have Megan in our lives. She is a non negotiable.”
Closing my hands around her waist I pulled her into my body and wrapped my arms around her. “I haven’t been with Megan, she isn’t in our lives.”
That was definitely a lie.
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