Chapter Two-Hundred-and-Sixty-One
3rd Person POV
“Besides, I and Armand had an understanding when we got married. I knew what I was getting myself into. You, on the other hand, deluded Gabriella into thinking you were in love with her,” came Agatha's response. If she had her way, she would throw the bastard out of her house this very instance.
“I never promised she would be the only woman. She should know that…”
“You have no…”
“Mother! Father!” cried Gabriella as she walked into the room. She had not been informed of Ashton's presence and her face drained of whatever blood it had when she saw him standing there.
“Gabbie, you have nothing to be worried about. We are discussing the dissolution of your marriage,” said King Armand. The fear that was written on his daughter's face was enough reason to end the marriage. He could not fathom what she'd had to go through in such a short time. He began to wonder why he had not listened to his wife when she had insisted that Ashton was not a good man for their daughter.
“I will never divorce her,” said Ashton to Gabriella's parents, turning to Gabriella he said, “Stop this nonsense and let's return home. I will do whatever you want this time, okay?”
What he really meant though was that this time there would be no escape plan. He would ensure she was closely monitored round the clock so she would not be able to run away from his palace. It was only then that he could demand things from King Armand and have them fulfilled. Technically, he would be holding his daughter hostage. He had miscalculated, if he had known better he would never have given Gabriella the chance to escape him.
“I do not want to be married anymore,” Gabriella simply stated. She had been loved by her parents and siblings in her father's palace. Even as a princess, her opinions mattered and her father discussed important issues with her. The three weeks she had spent with Ashton however had been awful. There she was a nobody and Ashton cared nothing about her. In fact, after their wedding night where he had been an absolute beast, he had refused to sleep in their bed preferring instead the company of other women. But the last straw had been him taking a woman to the bed where they had consummated their marriage.
“We made a vow. We are bound by blood,” said Ashton.
“The way I remember it, we made a vow to love each other. You do not love me, Ashton. I know that now,” returned Gabriella.
“I made a mistake. I will right my wrong. I give you my word,” promised Ashton.
“Your words apparently mean nothing to you. All those years you courted me; you spoke of the sincerity of your emotions. They were all lies. I should have believed the rumours of what you did to your late wife,” spat Gabriella angrily. She hated more than anything else that Ashton had made her a fool.
“I am wrong and I am sorry but you cannot remain here forever. One day…”
“I will take my leave now,” returned Gabriella. She bowed her head slightly and walked out of the room. When she was out, she held her pounding chest. She could not believe that the sight of Ashton still made her lose her breath. She still cared about him and she had almost broken her resolve earlier. However, her mother's teachings about a woman first respecting herself had not left her.
****
There was also the issue of Drieden to discuss. Ashton demanded that he be given the body to take home and that he conduct the investigations himself. King Armand however was quick to reject this proposition.
“I cannot allow that.”
“He is a citizen of mine.”
“He has lived on my kindness these past fifteen years. More so, inquiries into his death have exposed the shady business he has with some werewolves. I do not have all the details but I certainly intend to get to the bottom of this,” said King Armand.
This was part of the reason Ashton had come. King Armand had begun to ask questions he had no business asking. He had started asking questions that could expose him and given Armand's sympathy for werewolves things could get nasty.
“He is my citizen. I will investigate his conduct by myself,” said Ashton. King Armand had had no business with the vampire’s business but since he had begun the investigation certain truths were beginning to unveil themselves.
“When we have caught the killer, I do not care what you do with his body,” returned King Armand.
****
Meanwhile all the way in the Shadowclaw pack, Dagen was getting increasingly tired of having confidential information leaked. He expressed this frustration with Lord Edvin and Lord Tyler. They decided that the only possible explanation for this was that they had a mole in their midst who was bent on sabotaging their best efforts.
They decided it was time to set up a trap to catch this mole.
****
Prince Ashton could not believe that he was being treated this poorly. This was the problem with having the werewolves around. He could not believe that King Armand had not only taken them under his roof but was currently taking care of one of them. He did not know yet who had shot at the one that was unconscious but he was grateful to that person. He could not believe especially how Gabriella seemed to care so much about the werewolf prince that lay so still because of his grave injury. He realised now that his friend was right and he had used the wrong approach with Gabriella. It may have been okay to treat other women any way he wanted without any repercussions but Gabriella had grown up in a palace where women had a voice. It was a strange concept to him, one he knew he would never subject himself to.
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