The Banquet

*Chapter 66*

As soon as the evening came, the assembly hall was filled with nobles to attend Reginald and I's fourth wedding anniversary. The banquet was full of food delicacies to ease their stomach and some refreshment to fill the void of their quench.

Throughout the whole night, I was so bitter that I had to keep socializing and acting pleased with my guests who had come here to the Crescent Moon Oceanfront. My lips felt like they had been frozen as I couldn't cease smiling.

I really hate this.

Take me away from this party. I never even wanted to celebrate how long Reginald and I were married.

"This shall levitate your reputation more, Novalie. You must be at ease."

I held tightly the flute glass I was holding upon hearing Father's voice. I turned my head seeing him approaching with a smile on his face. I didn't smile back and remained with my stoic expression.

"Why can't I just have the title, Father?" I asked, sounding impatient.

Father simply sipped on his wine before his eyes glued to our guests who were busy chit-chatting and laughing. "I just want to make Reginald at ease about this passing the inheritance, Novalie. We have already talked about this." He glanced at me. "Also, you just need to get pregnant with his pup. Before I will pass down my title, you must assure us that the pup you are going to bear also has Reginald's blood," he added. "Might as well, you must cease and discard all your concubines if you wish for this to happen."

I secretly gnashed my teeth at Father's response before my eyes landed at Alpha Denzil and Luna Helen who were at the dance floor to dance with each other. They looked at each other lovingly like there was no one would ever interrupt them from loving each other.

"Alpha Denzil expressed his disagreement about me conceiving Reginald's pup," I said out of nowhere.

"He is not your father, Novalie. I am." There was bitterness in his voice. "Why would you always have to mention Alpha here when you have the chance?" I could tell that his nose was flaring right now.

I looked for Reginald and saw him socializing with the noble ladies. I smirked seeing how he flirted with them and the other noble ladies were trying to flirt with them back.

Keep it up, Regy... Keep it up and die.

"Alpha Denzil is a better father figure than you, Father." I couldn't help retorting so bitterly at him.

I didn't hear anything from him. When I glanced at him, I saw his knuckles getting white from clenching his hand while holding the glass where he was drinking.

"No matter what you say I am still your father. Your mother entrusted you to me since she knows that I can take care of you."

I snorted. "Mother made a wrong choice this time."

Before Father could retort again, I immediately moved out to socialize with my fellow nobles plastering my oh-so-sweet smile. While I was there, I tried to look for Frederick, who I thought was here because I could smell his scent lingering in this hall. But I wasn't certain if he had already left which must be why the scent was faint.

"Everyone, let's make a toast."

I flinched when I felt a calloused hand on my back and saw that it was Reginald who was holding a drink for himself. I was about to bark at him but Reginald drew his lips closer to my ear.

"Act lovey-dovey, Novalie. Pretend that despite you being a harlot, we still love each other even though we are not each other's mates," he whispered.

I mentally rolled my eyes and coerced a sweet smile. "I am going to kill you later for doing this act, Reginald," I said in a sweet tone before I placed my hand to his back and pinched it.

Reginald stiffened as he pursed his lips to halt himself not to shout in pain. But I could feel his hand trembling in annoyance that was behind my back.

"Bitch..." he spouted in a low tone before he did the same thing of smiling sweetly.

We had a toast and after that, Reginald and I had to share a kiss which disgusted us. I even wanted to puke at that time but I couldn't do so because of the eyes we have here.

The nobles were watching. I had to keep myself together because I knew that the only goal they were invited here was to prove that Reginald would never divorce our marriage and would always *forgive* me to show that he cared for this marriage—more likely, he cared for his image only.

That night, he and I had to consummate this ugly marriage even if I wanted to say I wanted to divorce this.

I was at the balcony, wearing my nightdress when I saw that Reginald fell asleep.

I hissed softly when I felt sore down there.

"That bastard... He's always rough and couldn't even make me wet..." I said through gritted teeth as I drank the glass of whisky I had in my hand. "Bullshit..." I murmured under my breath.

I decided to stand in the railings and balanced myself as I looked up in the starry night sky.

"Mother... How many times must I suffer?" I murmured, looking at the sky with a cold, fathomless expression. "You really like to put me in a dire situation... I do not even deserve to be alive anymore..."

I just wanted to kill myself.

My plans once I divorced were slowly drifting away from me. Father couldn't even support me from divorcing this loveless marriage. He wanted to pursue continuing this...

Until the day I die.

"I swear..." I inhaled sharply. "Once I become a matriarch of the House of Argerich, I shall banish you from the household, Father..." I clenched my hands. "Remember that."

My eyes automatically lowered down to the ground when I felt someone was staring in my way. Sighing softly, I came to see Frederick from afar who was also looking in my way.

I stared back, suddenly missing him already. It was slowly killing me that we were also drifting apart because of this setup. I couldn't even bestow him an assurance that I wouldn't get pregnant with Reginald's pup.

I really have to do this for the sake of inheriting Father's title. I must get pregnant, even if I didn't want to if I want to have it.

I felt my insides clenched when Frederick turned around to leave after staring at me with such a melancholy expression lingering on his face. I could even feel my eyes getting stung, wanting to halt him from leaving.

Halt... Halt, darling... I want to say but my voice suddenly became silent. It felt like nothing came out when I opened my mouth to halt him.

Ever since that day, at the rooftop, Frederick had been begging me not to accept Father's condition. But I only remained silent and watched him sobbing my name—yes, my name, not the one he used to address me.

Indeed, he was hurting.

Just by looking at his eyes, I could already see the suffering in them. His eyes that were always shining whenever he saw me had suddenly gone.

It wasn't the same anymore.

"Frederick..." As soon as I murmured his name, I knew by then that everything wouldn't be the same for the two of us.

I watched as he went to the other side of the direction, not looking at the balcony anymore.

I could feel my heart breaking right now but I looked away and returned to the chamber. I woke up Reginald and held his cheeks by squeezing them.

"What—"

"I'll teach you how to please me, Reginald. Mind you I am going to do this only once so you must better catch up," I said darkly before I released his cheeks and stood up to undress.

Reginald creased his forehead and rubbed his eyes. "We can just do it—"

"I don't care. You must satisfy me or else I shall ruin your morning by gossiping to our fellow nobles how suck you are at fucking a woman," I threatened him and sat on top of him.

He frowned and dug his fingers to my waist, enough to inflict pain on it. "You witch... You always know how to make everything play under your hands!" He growled in annoyance as he switched our position to remain me underneath him.

I only smirked. "If you cannot keep up, then you are such a loser. You suck at everything and want to keep up when you cannot even do—"

My words were cut off when Reginald suddenly choked me. His face darkened, evident that he was not liking how I talked back to him anymore. I could already tell that he wanted to kill me right now.

"Do it," I urged him coldly. I even put pressure on his hands so he could choke me more when I found out that he wasn't choking me properly. "This is how you must choke me, Reginald." I even taught him how to do it properly only to earn a disgusted expression from him.

"Damn it!" He moved out of the bed and shook his head. "You're insane. I cannot stand you after all!" he said through gritted teeth before he decided to storm out the chamber. "Prepare one of the guest's rooms. I do not want to stay in the same place with that woman there!"

I grinned.

I knew that he couldn't stand me teaching him how to make everything was nasty. It was for his learning anyway but he refused to learn somehow.

Shaking my head, my hand reached for my cunt which was way more useful than Reginald's cock and hands. But while pleasuring myself, I silently wished that Frederick would be the one doing this to me.

However, it seemed impossible now...