The Royal Alpha's Destined Bride

Chapter 12

It took only a few minutes for me to fall into a deep slumber. I wasn't in the best position, with my legs dangling off the bed, my daytime dress still on and the lights so bright that it seemed as though it were still daytime. In simple terms, I was so depressed that I couldn't care much about anything other than sleeping. I wanted to end that day so that a new one would come. After a full night's rest, I would wake up in the morning ready to tackle that day. Or so I thought as I fell asleep.

During the banquet, Iris left the dining hall when she didn't hear from Ven since she asked him to keep Fleur company. She was elated when she went to search for him because she knew that if Fleur was not in the dining hall, then she was with Ven. The two of them were not anywhere in sight and that meant that they were together in a private place, preferably his bedroom in the prince's apartment. She wanted to confirm her suspicions and that she had succeeded with getting rid of the human weakling whom she had a dislike for and went on the prince's apartment.

However, when she reached his door and saw that it was wide opened, her mood soured and she was filled with disappointment. It was too soon to feel hopeless though because there were many other places where they could be. With a sly smirk, she went to Fleur's bedroom to see if they were there, and sure enough, they were. The door was wide opened and when she peeked to see what was taking place inside, she was shocked to see Fleur laying on the bed, her leg stretched out and it's foot in a cast. Ven was seated in a chair beside her.

"Dear, what's the meaning of this?" Iris asked as she rushed into the room, holding the bottom of her dress so that it would not get in the way as she walked in a hurry. Ven turned his head to face his mother for a moment, then sighed lightly as he stood up.

Upon seeing Iris, Fleur dropped the smile she had playing on her lips and contorted her facial features as though she were in pain. Her ankle did hurt but she had a high tolerance for pain that she was not willing to disclose to anyone so that she could take advantage of the predicament she found herself in.

"I tripped and I broke my ankle!" Fleur called out to Iris, taking away Ven's chance to explain. He looked back at her from the corner of her eye to see why she had decided to cover up for his mistake.

"Silly me. I'm so clumsy today. I wasn't careful enough when I was wearing heels," she finished with a light giggle to emphasize how clumsy she felt. This feeling resonated well with Iris and she sighed as she walked closer to the bed.

"It happens. It's the price you have to pay for beauty," Iris said, glancing at Ven from the corner of her eye. Fleur may have failed to seduce Ven that night but she got something better out of it instead. The injury was not anticipated and it had happened purely on accident, but Iris saw this as a chance to get Ven close to Fleur. He wouldn't dare to leave an injured woman on her own, especially since she longed to see him.

"I don't supposed you're going to leave this poor woman in here on her own?" Iris asked. Ven had been about to leave the room because he hadn't found someone to take the medication to my room. He figured he would do it himself and now that Iris had arrived, he had some time to leave for my bedroom to give me the medicine himself. It was a good excuse to see me as he couldn't bear the thought of leaving me ill and alone.

"I want to take some medication to Odette. Fleur seems to be fine. When I'm done, I'll head down to the banquet-"

"Absolutely not!" Iris called out when Ven turned to walk towards the door. He stopped abruptly and turned around to face her.

"You've seen her enough for the day. If you spend any more time with her, you might catch what she has. We don't need two bedridden rulers in this kingdom. Not before the wedding," as she spoke, Iris walked around Ven and stopped at the door. He didn't dare to move because he knew that she was right.

"I'll take the medicine to her. Stay in here until I return," was the last thing she said as she walked out of the room. To ignorance of Ven and Fleur, though the latter suspected it, Iris had formed a plan in less than a minute when she was in the room with them. Both Fleur and I were injured, thought Ven was not aware about my injury. She wondered how I would feel if I saw Ven providing such care to Fleur instead of me.

She went to the doctor's office and retrieved some medication she thought would be right to treat an ill human, then she made her way to the princess' apartment to my room. I was already fast asleep and the sound of the door opening made me open my eyes wide. I thought that Ven had returned to see me and was disappointed to see Iris walk across the room to the bed.

The first thing she did was to lift up my legs and place them properly on the bed. She then reached over my body and pulled on the bed covers so that it was covering my body from the cold of the night and snow outside. She walked across the room where a pitcher of water and a glass were kept, poured the water into the glass with an admirably steady and well-trained hand. Before returning to the bed, she pulled out a handkerchief which she had wrapped the medication in and sat down in a chair by my head.

I was surprised that she would even bother to show some care towards me. If anything, I expected her to leave me as I was. I was confused, of course, but I sat up when she asked me to and drank the medication when helped me to drink it. Once I was done, she placed down the glass and reached out her cold hand to press the back of is against my forehead. I flinched at how cold it was. It reflected the soul that was hidden away in her being.

"You caused a problem for us today when you ran away," she began, looking down at me with a frightening eye. I couldn't keep eye contact with her so I placed my head down on the pillow and looked across the room.

"Imagine! A queen behaving so childishly. You should be glad that you caused only a minor inconvenience," she said next. She had in mind to ask me why I had done that, though she already suspected it had something to do with Fleur, and refrained from it because I was in the right state of mind or health at the time. Ven would blame himself if my health worsened and she couldn't have her son do that over a human who was already weak to begin with. It would be disgraceful.

"I'm sure you've heard that Fleur broke her ankle? You must be elated," she continued by smiling a bit, "Or maybe not since Ven is spending more time with her than with you as we speak." I was prompted to abruptly sit up on the bed, but if I did, a surge of pain from this headache would just force me down again. I was shocked by what I heard. Ven told me that he would head down to the banquet when he left me alone but he went to visit Fleur instead.

I felt all of the trust that had formed in the last few hours since he found me in the chapel slowly begin to disappear. Why would he keep it a secret from me that he was visiting Fleur unless he wanted to see her from the bottom of his heart? I attempted to sit up on the bed but the queen grabbed my arm and pushed me down on the bed, standing up in the process.

"I doubt that you can even walk properly right now. Do you expect me to carry you there? For what? Just so that you can confirm what I said? I would never lie to you, Odette. I made it very clear from the first day that I do not like you and that you aren't right to be the queen. I will not hold back any truths when it comes to you," she said, walking to the door. I couldn't believe that I had to lay on the bed and listen to her tormenting words because I couldn't get up. I couldn't even go to where Ven and Fleur were because I couldn't get up.

Somehow, I found myself believing Iris' words. I knew that she would never lie to me because she never did before. She never lied about her feelings towards me or about her views on how the kingdom should be ruled. That meant that Ven really was with Fleur at the time. My chest tightened painfully and a lump formed in my throat as tears welled up in my eyes.

I buried my face in my pillow and sobbed my sorrows away for a long time until I fell asleep without realizing it. That could have been the start of the end of my relationship with Ven and I couldn't do much to stop it. Not while there were many women who were intent on getting in the way of our love and not when he loved those women more than he did me.