Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Xandar made sure he held his mate’s hand tighter to intensify the sparks for this next phase. He cleared his throat and began, “The Kyltons are a distinguished family. And they have been a close friend of the royal family for generations. But for the longest time, their heir was a male. When the most recent Kylton was an heiress, my father had this insane plan to…pair u
Lucianne shifted in her seat and averted her gaze. Xandar kissed her fingers while still holding on to her hand as he continued, “My mother, being the doting wife that she was, supported it without question. When I went up to my father about the…issue, he told me that I’ll grow to understand why he was doing what he was doing. It was all about saturating as much power as possible for him. When I went up to my mother and begged her to persuade m y father to change his mind, she just…told me that everything was going to be okay. That the… engagement was not going to be a bad thing, that things would eventually work itself out.”
Lucianne was biting her bottom lip at this point to cope with the feelings of unworthiness, and Xandar stroked her hand tenderly, trying to assure her that his heart had only ever been given to her. “Baby, hey.” She still couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
She felt uneasiness tingling in her chest and subconsciously placed her free hand over her heart, like she was shielding it from getting hurt. The sight made Xandar’s animal whimper. I t felt like she was shielding her heart from him. He felt the helplessness from the previous night all over again.
Cautiously, he kissed her fingers deeply as he linked, ‘Lucy, I don’t agree with what they did. I never have. It felt wrong from the very start. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. Please, baby, look at me.’
Lucianne took a moment, and swallowed the lump in her throat before meeting his pained gaze as she whispered, “So what happened next?”
He managed a sad smile when he saw how strong his mate was trying to be. “Grandpa Brock threatened to cut all Blackfur ties with the Claws if my parents kept insisting that I was to marry someone I didn’t want. The Blackfurs dominate many industries, mainly shipping and
transportation. So to keep the amount of power and influence that my father already accumulated, the late King grudgingly gave in.”
Xandar’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked at their hands. “But things were never the same between my father and I after that. He never masked his anger and disappointment when we were in the same room. Christian and Aunt Reida were the only people I turned to at that time. I even stayed over at their place for a while because my own home became too… hostile. The Blackfurs supported me and looked out for me when even my own mother couldn’t see, o I didn’t want to see, that what I wanted wasn’t what they wanted for me.”
He watched Lucianne and gave her a moment to take it all in before she asked in a small,
doubtful voice, “So, after that, the Kyltons just…left?” She recalled Christian saying that the family hadn’t been in contact for over two decades.
Xandar nodded ominously, “But not without throwing a lot of curses at the Blackfurs, especially at Granpa Brock, saying how much they were going to regret destroying their
plans.”
Lucianne nodded in response before she whispered in worry, “Did anything bad happen to Granpa Brock or Aunt Reida after that?”
Xandar chuckled at how Lucianne was more concerned with the well-being of his cousin’s family than her own state. Humour filled his eyes when he said, “Nah. It was an empty threat from the start. Granpa Brock died a peaceful death from old age. Aunt Reida passed on from cancer. On Granpa’s most
boastful days, he would even flaunt how his threat to my father was the best thing he had ever used his power for.”
Lucianne managed a smile, “That’s good.”
He returned her smile and said, “He would’ve loved you. Aunt Reida was his favorite daughter because she always spoke her mind, exactly what you do. Well, you do it with more poise and grace. Aunt Reida couldn’t care less if she threw remarks like a madwoman.” Lucianne chuckled, making Xandar’s animal wag its tail in glee. He then added, “Granpa Brock himself was very merciless with his words when he was moody, calling my mother ‘mindless Vera’ even after she became Queen.”
Lucianne’s smile faltered and her back shot upright in shock at what she just heard. Xandar chuckled lightly and said, “Like I said, babe. He would’ve loved you. I can imagine the grin on his face if he had the chance to watch you take down Greg, the Cummings, Whitlaw, Caunterberg, Langford and even the Kyltons, all three of them at once. You would probably be the next thing he’d boast about to the people around him.”
Lucianne’s posture relaxed and her lips curled upwards. She gave a slight shake of her head a s she said, “Well, it’s comforting to know that I would’ve been accepted by one of the late elders of the family.” Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
Xandar knew exactly what she meant so he firmly insisted, “You really don’t have to think about my late parents, Lucy. If you saw what everyone sees in you, you’d realize that the late King and Queen are not worthy of your acceptance. You’re too good for them. You’ve done more in your years than they have done in both their lifetimes combined. I’m rather relieved that you don’t have to meet them, to be honest. They wouldn’t have respected you or treated you well. You might have rejected me after you’ve met them, and I don’t think I could blame you for that.”
Lucianne chuckled. “It’s impressive how well you know me when it comes to that.” She teased as she emptied her cup.
He grinned, and got up to lean across the table to peck a kiss on her cheek before declaring in a deep voice, “I love you.”
She looked at him shyly and said, “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, baby. Tell me you know that I love you.” He insisted as he pressed their foreheads together.
Lucianne blushed under his stare as she uttered, “I know.”
His smile widened as he pecked a kiss on her forehead and said, “Good.” He then went around the table to her side before holding out a hand for her to take. “Come, we should move on to our next stop.”
When he was helping Lucianne up, she asked, “Where’s that?”
There was a glint in his eye and he whispered into her ear, “It’s a surprise.”
At the opposite end of the café, a man wearing a cap and sunshades looked up from the newspaper he was pretending to read. He watched Xandar and Lucianne as they left through the doors. When they were out of sight, he sent out a text message to his comrade, and finished up his coffee before leaving five minutes later.