Husband With Benefits
Chapter 746: Aiden and His Ladies

Chapter 746: Aiden and His Ladies

"Just how many women have you had?" Dora’s voice broke through the comfortable silence at the dinner table. She leaned forward slightly, her eyes locked on Kael as she played idly with her fork, before placing the little piece of salad into her mouth.

Kael, mid-bite, nearly choked on his food. He coughed, set down his fork and looked up at her in surprise. "Had? Where is this question coming from? And what do you mean by ’had’? Didn’t Master just tell you that you’re the only woman I’ve ever brought to meet him?"

Dora raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Yeah, I might be the first serious girlfriend you’ve had, but let’s be real—you were a playboy through and through before me. No way you’re some innocent saint, Kael. We both know you’ve been with other women. No need to pretend."

He leaned back in his chair, arms folding across his chest. "As far as I’m concerned, you are the only woman that matters. Anyone before you is forgotten and whoever came before doesn’t mean anything. You’re the only one I’ve been with—"

Dora cut him off with a knowing laugh, shaking her head. "I might have believed that... if it wasn’t for the woman standing behind you, glaring at me like she’s ready to tear my head off."

Kael’s body went rigid. The casual confidence he had moments before vanished, and his eyes widened as he slowly turned to glance behind him. His expression shifted the moment he saw her, his face draining of color. He whipped his head back around so fast Dora thought he might get whiplash.

"That was quite a reaction," Dora mused, biting her lip as she leaned forward, wanting to take this chance to tease him even as she felt she felt jealous of the woman already.. "Just what kind of time did you spend with her that makes you want to avoid her like the plague?"

Kael cleared his throat, but there was a tightness in his voice now. "Dora... it’s not what you think."

"Oh?" She tapped her fingers on the table, her amusement growing as she watched him squirm. "Then what exactly is it? Because she doesn’t look like someone you barely knew or have forgotten."

Kael girmaced and sent her a look. "I haven’t seen her in years! Of all the times and all the places, she had to be here. Okay, here goes, her name is Lily. And I have never slept with her or even considered sleeping with her."

"Then? She hates you because you didn’t put out?" Dora asked straightaway as Kael shook his head and opened his mouth to explain. But before she could Dora tapped her fingers at him, signaling him to be quiet as she smiled and murmured in a low voice," Someone has decided to come greet us."

Before he could even brace himself to come face to face with her, "Prince Kael," she drawled, her voice dripping with contempt. "Won’t you introduce your newest toy to me?"

Dora stiffened at this. Did people really have to lack basic manners. Her fingers curled slightly around the stem of her wine glass as she sent Kael a look. He was the one she was speaking to after all.

Kael immediately stood up, his chair scraping against the floor with a sharp sound, and stepped in front of Dora as if to shield her from the woman’s venom.

"Lily," Kael’s voice was firm, edged with warning. "Don’t start. This is beneath you. You’re a professor now, remember? Maybe you should act like one."

Lily’s lips twisted into a mocking smile, her gaze flicking dismissively between Kael and Dora. "Oh, don’t flatter yourself, Kael. I have no intention of acting anything other than how I feel. And I feel disgusted," she sneered. "Dragging around yet another little trinket like she’s something special. How long before you discard this one, hmm? Or maybe she’s different because she doesn’t know yet?"

Before Kael could respond, Dora cocked her head, studying Lily with a cool gaze. "Ahh. I was wondering where I recognized you from. You’re from Petrovia National University, aren’t you?"

Lily’s eyes flashed with irritation, clearly unimpressed by Dora’s attempt to cut in. "Oh, please," she scoffed in an acidic tone. "So you’ve heard of me? I suppose you’ve read one of my groundbreaking papers, or are you just pretending to be interested in things you clearly don’t understand? You’re wasting your time with him, sweetheart. Kael might look like the perfect catch, but trust me, he’s nothing more than a bored little boy playing at being important. You’re just the latest distraction, and trust me, he’ll drop you the moment something more interesting comes along."

"You’re right. Tell me, Miss Lily, how is your research coming along on the meta physical sources? I think it is stuck, isn’t it?"

Lily looked at Dora as if she’d just spoken in an alien language. "How do you know about my research?"

" I know. And I also know it is stuck. But I’ve only now discovered the reason. Its probably because you spent all your time being bitter or fuming."

Lily’s eyes narrowed, her sharp gaze cutting into Dora as if trying to make sense of what she’d just heard. "What are you talking about?" she hissed. "My research is going perfectly fine. You don’t know anything about it."

Dora smirked, her posture casual but her words sharp. "Oh, but I do. See, I happen to have a habit of digging into things—and people—when they catch my interest. And if you had done even a fraction of that kind of research on the people you were about to insult, you might have saved yourself this embarrassing situation."

"What are you even talking about? What sort of nonsense..."

Dora leaned back in her chair, her fingers lazily twirling the stem of her wine glass. "I’m talking about the fact that you’ve just insulted Princess Isidora of Estania," she said smoothly. "You know, the same woman who might very well be responsible for one of the largest grants your little research department has ever seen."

The silence that followed was deafening. Lily’s face drained of color, her mouth slightly agape as the realization hit her. She glanced quickly at Kael, who simply sat back down at this. Actually, he’d become used to Lily’s biting ways but Dora showing her her place was so entertaining.

"Princess Isidora...?" Lily’s voice faltered, the name clearly registering now as she pieced it together. "I... I had no idea..."

"That much is obvious," Dora replied, her voice still sweet but with a biting edge. "But that’s what happens when you walk around fuming, too busy holding grudges to bother doing proper homework. Had you looked me up, maybe you would’ve known who you were speaking to and if I was a toy or not. Now, why don’t you save us both some time and take your leave? You can thank me later when your grant gets approved, assuming, of course, if it does..."

It took her a few moments as she stood there, her hands clenched at her sides before she scoffed," Princess Isidora! You might be a princess but even then, that does not change the fact that you are sitting here with a man who has ruined the lives of countless women, not even sparing someone who’d looked upto him since childhood!" She then turned to glare at Kael," What? Do you not have the courage to tell her everything? About how you caused the death of your master’s daughter?"

After dropping that bomb, she stomped away, leaving a stunned silence in her wake.

Kael looked at his plate then, his hands clenched under the table. Dora looked at him carefully, but even as she wanted to ask him, she could see that things were not so simple.

Dora rose from her chair abruptly, pushing her unfinished plate away and ordered,"Lets go, Kael."

"Dora, let me explain," Kael began, his voice strained. "What Lily said, about—"

But she shook her head, holding up a hand once more. "Not here, Kael. Not now. Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it here. In fact, I don’t want to hear it at all, unless you’re ready."

Kael paused and looked at her then, feeling a bit shocked," Are you not going to question me?"

Dora shrugged," Not really. I know you’re not trustworthy and all, but I do believe that you are not capable of murdering. And that woman accused you of murdering your master’s daughter. I am sure that the old man would not have welcomed us if what she said was true. So...lets go, Kael. We’ll go somewhere else and eat so that we don’t get indigestion."

Amazed and totally in awe of the woman who was leading him forward, Kael sighed. Just what had he done to earn her trust? Nothing... But he vowed. Never would he give her a reason to not trust him...

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