Chapter 42 Rumors

Chapter 42 Rumors
Cassius,

I leaned against the car, the metal still warm from the late evening sun, though the air was turning colder by the second. Maybe it was the shift in temperature, or maybe it was just me. My blood was already simmering, and staring at this woman standing in front of me was pushing it into a full boil. She opened her mouth twice before closing it, like every single word she had rehearsed had just vanished. Earlier she stormed toward me like she was ready to burn the entire world down, but now she looked like a cat that swallowed its own tongue.

Her eyes darted to the ground, then to my hand resting casually in my pocket, then back to my face as if she was trying to decide which expression of mine would spare her life. Too late for that. My patience had already run out.

"So are you here to waste my time with your stupidity?" My voice came out cold enough to make her flinch. I didn't raise it. I didn't need to. My tone alone was enough to make grown men sweat, and she was definitely not an exception.

The wind picked up and brushed past us, but she stood there rigidly, like if she moved even an inch I would snap her neck. After a long moment of hesitation, she finally graced me with her words. Or whatever she thought counted as such.

"Her Highness, the Queen Mother has already announced our engagement to the Pack. I am your fiancée. You know that, right?"

The nerve.

My eyebrows knitted slowly, not because I didn't understand, but because she had the audacity to stand in front of me with that tone. As if she owned me. As if my life, my decisions, my choices were something she could demand an explanation for.

"Yeah, so?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest. My voice stayed flat, and her throat bobbed when her eyes went to the tension in my jaw.

"Then why are you with that woman?" she asked, breath hitching. "Everyone is talking about you being so close to her. It's disrespectful to our relationship!"

Relationship. The word dropped like sludge. I stared at her, really stared, and she visibly shrank under my gaze. Her eyes tried to hold mine for half a second before she looked away as if she had been burned. She should be thankful. If she looked any longer, I might have considered it a challenge.

I couldn't believe the audacity. Not only had she dared to look into my eyes without permission, but she was questioning my relationship with Faustina? She dared to act like she had rights over me?

"You got the audacity," I chuckled, but there was nothing warm in it. It was a dark sound, a warning. She took a half step back instinctively, but she wasn’t fast enough. My hand reached her neck, fingers wrapping around her throat with a grip that wasn’t tight enough to harm but firm enough to shut her up.

Her breath trembled.

"Listen, woman," I said quietly, leaning in just enough that she couldn't escape the ice in my voice. "I don't give a fuck about my parents' decision. So even if she announced that you are my fiancée to the entire world, you are nothing to me. Nothing. So know your place."

Her lips parted, but no sound came out. My words cut deeper than my grip. The sharpness of them was intentional. I wanted them to stay in her mind, to echo every time she so much as thought about stepping out of line again.

No one dared to talk back to me. No one dared to push limits with me. But she had tried to force a relationship, a title, a status that she didn't deserve.

I finally let go of her neck, but I didn't step back. She stepped back first, stumbling slightly on her heels. Her face had drained of color completely.

"Leave, Ms. Foxbrown," I said, straightening my posture. "Tell my mother that I will have a very serious conversation with her."

She swallowed hard, nodded quickly, and forced herself to breathe normally again. She knew she couldn't bear the level of ruthlessness I had shown her, and she understood. She was dismissed. And when someone like me dismissed you, you didn't linger.

She walked away with shaky steps, clutching her bag like it was the only thing holding her together. But the moment she disappeared behind the parked cars, the environment changed.

Lots of cars that belonged to different media platforms started pulling over. People who had no business being here at this hour.

Murmurs turned into clamor. Flashlights sparked through the darkness. Cameras lifted. Someone shouted, mentioning me. Another yelled something about Faustina. Unwanted attention was spreading fast, and this place was turning into a circus.

" Your Majesty. Is it true that you are here with a lady? What's your relationship with her?" One of them asked,

" Your Majesty. Please respond!"

I clenched my jaw.

Thankfully, Julian was quick. He shoved his way through the crowd with two guards, his face tense, his eyes scanning every possible angle that might turn into danger. He knew I wasn't in the mood to deal with media leeches or gossip-hungry fools.

"Your Majesty, this way," he murmured, barely audible as he kept his head down.

They moved me through a side route, past a narrow alley, avoiding every camera lens. Within minutes, I was inside the armored car. The doors shut, trapping the rising noise outside. Finally, Silence.

But my mood didn't improve.

Because even though I escaped the crowd, I knew exactly why they gathered.

Some idiot must have seen me taking Faustina to the hospital and assumed something dramatic, and that was enough to cause chaos.

People were always ready to misunderstand.

I closed my eyes and rested my head back, counting breaths in an attempt to calm the agitation crawling through my skin. The car moved, but the irritation stayed.

By the time we reached home, I didn't bother speaking to anyone. I instructed them to leave me alone, went straight to my room, and locked the door. My mind kept circling one thing like a predator stalking prey.

Faustina! I should have stayed there. I wonder if she would be fine with this mess I recklessly created.

Around 3 a.m., I finally drifted off, the weight of exhaustion pulling me down. But sleep didn't last.

The next morning, the air buzzed with tension before I even picked up the phone. It rang again and again. The moment I answered, Julian's voice shot through the speaker.

"Your Majesty, you need to wake up. Right now. It's urgent."

I rubbed my face, already feeling the tight pull in my chest. "What happened?"

"Someone posted pictures of you and Lady Faustina last night," Julian said, words clipped. "And they're spreading like wildfire."

I sat up instantly, muscles tensing.

"What pictures?"

"You taking her to the hospital twice. You meeting her in your mother's gallery. A few more shots that we didn't know about. It seems like someone is following you two's movements."

My jaw clenched so hard it hurt. "And?"

Julian hesitated. "They're accusing Lady Faustina of trying to ruin the engagement between regions. People are calling her a homewrecker. Reporters are making stories. The public is attacking her online."

The room went dead silent for several seconds before my voice came out low and lethal.

"Who posted it?"

"We don't know yet," Julian said. "But... it's spreading like fire. You need to see this yourself."

I didn't respond immediately. I couldn't. My pulse was pounding like a beast waking up. The idea of anyone dragging Faustina's name through filth made something feral unfurl violently inside me.

People were twisting the narrative. People were attacking her. People were dragging her reputation to the mud because of a relationship she had absolutely nothing to do with. And they dared to blame her?

My vision sharpened. My breathing slowed. Every muscle in my body locked into cold clarity.

This was not a misunderstanding. This was sabotage. Someone wanted to hurt her. Someone wanted to use me to do it. But who would dare to do it in my own territory. Seemed like I had been pretty good with them. They forgot who I was.

And that was the last mistake they were ever going to make.

"Julian," I said quietly, the storm gathering in every syllable. "Get the car. Right now."

Because I was done letting people run their mouths. One way or another, this entire Pack would understand exactly who they should be afraid of.

And why they should never let any rumors blind them.