Chapter 8 Protective Brother

Regina’s POV
Gray and grandpa came into the dining room half an hour later.
Grandpa looked preoccupied. Didn’t his talk with Gray go well?
I peeked at Gray as he sat down by my side. Contrary to grandpa, my brother seemed at ease.
I wanted to know what they talked about. I would feel terrible if grandpa blamed Gray for bringing back.
“Hey,” I lowered my voice and whispered with a voice only the two of us could hear. “What did you and grandpa—”
“Regina.”
Grandma called and interrupted me. Looking up, I found her smiling at me warmly and she pushed a plate of deserts towards me.
“This is Chestnut Chocolate Cake, your favorite. Go ahead and have a try,” she encouraged.
Grandpa frowned, “she shouldn’t have desert before the main course.”
Yet grandma gave him a glare, “Regina can do anything she wants when she is at home.”
“Grandma is right.” Gray agreed and handed me a dessert fork.
I looked down hiding the stupid grin on my face and took a large bite. It was delicious, even more delicious than I would imagine. I hadn’t had a taste of that in ages.
Did Chestnut Chocolate Cake use to taste this good?
“It tastes wonderful.” I beamed at everyone around the table, “I really miss it.”
“Did you ask the kitchen’s maid in Nigel’s house to make this for you?” Grandma asked.
There was a lump at my throat.
What should I say to this question?
The kitchen’s maid in Nigel’s house was me! I was responsible for all the house chores from cooking to dusting to scrubbing the toilet.
“I…” I murmured evasively. “I didn’t…they didn’t have the recipe.”
Grandma seemed suspicious still. But fortunately, a group of maids filed in and started serving main courses, rescuing me from this painful interrogation.
Maya was among these maids as well. She opened a bottle of wine and placed it next to my hand. Subconsciously, I picked up the bottle and started pouring wine into Gray’s empty glass.
Yet a large hand grabbed my wrist the next second.
Gray stared at me with a shocked look on his face. And he asked deeply, “What are you doing, Regina?”
Grandpa and grandma both seemed stunned.
“I—I was going to do that, my lady…” Maya stammered. Her round eyes were full of perplexation.
My body froze.
Shoot, I forgot about it again.
I was not a lowly wife in Nigel’s house anymore. I was back to being Princess Regina again.
But I couldn’t shake off my old habit, which was basically etched in my mind.
The first time I had dinner in Nigel’s house, I didn’t lift a finger to pour Nigel and Melany wine. So Nigel smashed the body against the edge of the table and threatened to scratch my face if I didn’t know how to be his wife.
Since that time, I never dared to sit down during their meals. I served them carefully, changing their plates and pouring them wine, and waited them to all finish eating before grabbing a quick bite of their leftovers.
These old habits were rooted so deeply in my body that I couldn’t act properly now.
Pressing my lips together, I handed the bottle back to Maya and sat down quietly.
A desperate feeling rose in my heart.
I wanted to go back and be Regina again. But could I after so many have happened?
For a time, nobody said anything on the table.
Till Gray broke the silence eventually.
“The doctor examined you and he found many bruises on your body.” he said icily. “Some are new, some are old. Where did you get those, Regina?”
I held my breath nervously.
I wasn’t dared to look up. Because I knew that if I looked up, I would meet with Gray’s sharp and intimidating gaze, and he would see right through me.
I didn’t want him to know what a terrible year I had been through. I also didn’t like to admit that marrying Nigel was a total mistake.
“I…”
My throat was dry. So I cleared my throat before continuing.
“I got those while doing house chores. It was nothing.”
I tried to keep an easy tone and sweep it under the rug.
But Gray refused to let it go.
“Why can’t maids do it?” he asked sharply.
“…We didn’t have many maids. Nigel wasn’t a prince or anything.”
“Then why didn’t you use your dowry to buy new maids? Was Nigel aware that you hurt yourself? He—”
“That’s enough!” I cried, clenching my fists.
Now I finally dared to look at him. Because my vision was blurred by tears. I couldn’t see his face clearly now.
“What do you want me to say, Gray?” I growled, “Do you want me to say that Nigel treated me like a slave? That he tortured me? Is that what you like to hear?”
“Regina—”
“I don’t understand, Gray!” I said with a shaky voice, “—Why do you want to hear about my sufferings so much!”
Why couldn’t him let me have a moment of peace?
Why did he keep peeling open my scars over and over again?!
There was an awkward silence on the table. It was absolutely quite besides my small sobs. Then after a long pause, Gray spoke up again.
“I am sorry,” he said with a low voice. “Please excuse me.”
He stood up pushing his chair away and exited the dining room.
I thought he was going to scold me. But he didn’t. He simply left.
And it made me feel even worse.
“Regina, you shouldn’t talk to your brother like that.”
Grandma said with an accusatory tone. This was the first time she sounded displeased ever since I came home.
“Gray was heartbroken when you left home. Everyone kept telling him to let it go and respect your decision, but he couldn’t. He cared about you too much, probably even more than your father did.”
I felt my heartache. And tears streamed down my cheek.
“He loved you very much, Regina.” Grandpa sighed, “Don’t hurt him again.”
They were right.
I shouldn’t yell at Gray like that.
I was selfish enough to leave home and marry Nigel. How could I keep hurting him ever after I come back?
I suddenly stood up from my chair, “I—I’ll go find him.”
Then I turned on my heels and rushed out of the dining room.
I didn’t know where Gray had gone. I stopped a few servants and maids on the way and asked them where the Alpha was, but none of them knew.
The palace suddenly appeared very strange to me. It only felt like home with him by my side.
And then suddenly, something hit me.
I thought I knew where he was.
When I arrived at the fountain in the garden, Gray was sitting by the edge of the fountain with his elbows rested on his knees.
He was staring at a rose in a daze, deep in his thoughts.
My brother, the strongest Alpha in the world, seemed defeated now.
And it was all because of me.
He heard footsteps behind his back and was about to turn around. But I ran over to him first and wrapped my arms around his neck from the back.
“Gray…I—I’m so sorry…”
I cried, out of control, and wet his shirt with my tears.
“I didn’t mean any of those…please don’t be mad at me…You are the only one I had left now…”
I meant that.
My father adorned me, but he never loved me. My mother passed away a long time ago. My grandparents had a life of their own.
Gray was the only person who loved me fully.
I couldn’t lose him.
His back became stiffened when I hugged him. Then he turned around and cupped my face with his hands, and he bent down to kiss me on my forehead.
“Never,” he whispered hoarsely. “I can never be mad at you. And I’m sorry as well. I won’t push you again. I’ll wait for you to be ready to tell me.”
I wailed in his arms, venting all my frustration.
I knew he loved me very much. Nobody could love me this deeply, not even my father, not even Nigel. And I loved him just the same.
Sometimes I wished brother and sister could stay together forever. Just us.
I cried for a very long time. I even started burping in the end.
I heard Gray’s low chuckle and he wiped away my tears with his thumbs.
“Do you want to make me a crown with flowers?” he suggested.
This was his old trick: to ask me for a flower crown. Handy works made me concentrate and could get my mind off my troubles.
I couldn’t help but laughed through my tears, “You have a real crown now. You don’t need a fake one made by flowers.”
“I don’t care about any other crown.” He said with a serious voice, “I want one made by you.”
I giggled and stood up ready to pick flowers.
Yet just then, a guard rushed to us from the back and cried, “Alpha—”
Gray snapped his head around with an infuriated look on his face, “I don’t want disturbance. Leave us!”
“But Alpha…”
I placed my hand on Gray’s shoulder and turned to that guard, “It’s OK. What do you need?”
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Alpha, my lady. But a messenger from Shadow Valley has arrived…and he asked to meet with Alpha.”