Chapter 43 Jealous
Chapter 43: Scarlett
"Everything is fine..."
I could hear Fiona's voice but my mind was somewhere in the flashbacks of my memory— with Asher.
"...You just need to take enough rest and you will wake up as good as new..."
—Asher had been so caring. I could still see the fear in his eyes as he brought me to the room…
The way he held me... It was almost as if he never wanted to let me go.
The way he had yelled at Fiona... My heart was soaring with hope— Hope that everything was finally going to be alright.
Yet when he came just now, he looked irritated again. It was as if he had become a different person all over again.
Why did he get so moody after seeing me awake? Was something wrong with me?
"Scarlett..."
—He had been so worried for my well being and now that I was fine, he looked... Angry. Why? What could have happened? What could have changed—
"Scarlett!" Strong hands suddenly nudged me back to reality and I blinked, finally hearing Fiona's words.
"I am sorry... I— I zoned out." I stuttered, trying to catch up with everything she had said that I could remember.
"You need to get out of your head Scarlett." She sighed, moving to sit on the bed. "I understand the misunderstanding you are having with the King but you can only get through it with a focused mind. Thinking has never solved a problem."
My eyes widened as I stared into her face. Even my heart skipped as if this was what I had been hoping for all along— someone who could understand what was going on in my troubled mind.
Like she had heard my thoughts, she took my hands and offered me a small smile. "I was once privileged to see you and the King, before all of this madness started. So I can say I understand how you feel."
My eyes lowered to our joined hands as pain flashed into my heart at her words, which were right. Before all of these, Asher was such a cute partner.
He always did goofy stuff and made me laugh... Now, I could barely remember what his smile looked like... Or the sound of his laughter.
What exactly happened to that man? The Asher I fell in love with, what became of him?
"The King adored you once, Scarlett. And now every sign points to how he continues to adore you now." Fiona's voice echoed through my thoughts. "That much is true... He still loves you. The man barely knows what to do when he is around you. Forget the anger, King Asher loves you."
A sad smile covered my face as her words sank into my head, colliding with what I now lived through.
"Most times, I want to believe that too, Fiona. I really do..." I whispered, meeting her eyes. "But the reality is painful and it can't be denied."
"No, Scarlett. Don't think that way." She countered, squeezing my fingers in hers. "Do you remember when his playfulness always got on another level whenever you two were together? No man will let his guard down like that, except they love you."
A bitter smile formed on my lips and I shook my head. "A man who wants something in return from a woman, will do anything to get to her, Fiona. Even if it means he has to do the goofiest of things."
Anyone who knew Asher before could have easily classified him as an angel from the goddess. But the truth was, I didn't even know him.
"Scarlett, you can't win this, if you don't even believe it." She insisted. "Okay, let's assume that he doesn't love you. Why is he keeping you?"
"That's simple Fiona, it's because he wants a child." I said in a bitter tone. "An heir is all he wants."
"I believe this is different from his true intentions. Wanting an heir might be what he wants to tell himself but have you thought about his wolf?"
Again I could only shrug. "Asher's wolf hates me..."
She was quiet for a while as she stared at me. Then she nodded. "If you feel giving him an heir is all he wants, why don't you give him one then? It could help end this coming war."
My eyes slowly rose to her face and sadness clutched my throat. "I can only hope that my womb is still in good condition after all the medication Luciano made me take."
A frown settled on Fiona's face as she got off the bed. "About that," She hissed, moving to her bag of herbs. "I did more tests when you left the other day. I found out the drugs you were taking were not contraceptives."
My eyes instantly narrowed as I straightened up. "W—what do you mean? If they were not contraceptives what were they?"
"Just vitamins... Bee and I got to analyse that maybe the bastard just wanted to play around in hopes that you'll love him instead."
"What?" The thoughts clustered in my head and even as I asked the question, the answer stared back at me.
This was truly Luciano's plan. All of the advances he sent my way were surely because he wanted me to fall for him and probably carry an heir— that would have been his heir.
"How could he be so wicked? Why trick me in this manner?"
"It's just a thought that came to mind. Nothing serious but the actual point is, your womb is perfect," Fiona added but I couldn't push away the thoughts.
"But... Luciano—"
She pulled out a fresh bottle of herbs from her bag and returned to my side. "Forget about that loser and focus on the King. Right now, you are healthy and all you need to get an heir is enough sex."
Her wiggling brows made the thoughts I was having about Luciano pause as what she was implying settled through me.
"Forget that Fiona, I don't think Asher would even speak to me now. Sex is too far fetched... You saw him yourself, he barely stays in the same room with me for a minute longer than necessary."
"Oh come on, don't be a spoilsport. He is your mate. He can't resist you even if he wants to," Fiona sang excitedly.
But I couldn't even bring myself to smile. My entire body just felt weak.
"I don't know, right now... Maybe I want more than just forcing myself and the mate's bond on Asher..."
It was killing me inside each time he refused me. And yes, I knew that the goal was to make him stop his crazy plans about taking over my father's land but the emotional turmoil attached was starting to feel too heavy...
Fiona let out a sigh, slowly pulling me out of my thoughts as she placed the new bottle of herbs on the table.
"King Asher is your mate. You are not forcing anything on him that the goddess hasn't already forced on both of you."
Pain flashed through my chest and I slowly shook my head. But I chose to remain silent. There was no point, no one could understand how I felt...
"Now that I think about it—" Fiona suddenly paused; "Maybe all the King needs is someone to remind him of who he is and the only person I could think of is his cousin..."
My brows raised. "You have met Violet, my brother's mate?"
"Yes, Lady Violet. I haven't met her. I only watched her from the shadows. The King couldn't stop smiling around her." A smile also danced on her face. "I think that lady will be your best bet."
"Hmm, thank you..." I mumbled, even offering her a small smile as she walked out of the room. But the moment the door closed behind her, the smile disappeared.
There was no way I was going to invite Violet over. She would definitely find out what was going on and I wouldn't be able to stop her from telling my brother and escalating the whole thing.
My best bet was handling this on my own. And I could only pick one thing that Fiona said that could work, the mate's bond.
Maybe if I kept pestering him, he would give in. I just had to be persistent. I just had to find a way to bring back that part of him that I saw when I got injured.
"Yes... That's what I will do..." I whispered as an idea slowly formed in my head.
Quickly, I got out of bed and changed into a free silk dress that was just short enough to rile any man up. I sprayed a bit of perfume and hurried out in search of Asher.
The first place I thought to search was his study but as my legs started heading in that direction, the echoing sounds of a familiar sweet laughter tore through my ears, stopping me on the spot.
"Was that Asher...?" A frown settled on my face as my first thoughts were that this was only in my head. But as the sound echoed once more, I knew I had to see this for myself.
My heart began to drum as I ran in that direction, eager to see what was happening. Was he back? Was the old Asher back?
Excitement started bubbling inside of me, paving way for hope as I followed the sound to the reception hall.
The moment my eyes took in the scene as I stepped into the hall, the excitement starting in my heart instantly faded.
Asher was sharing a laugh with the same girl he had fucked at Luciano's party...