Husband With Benefits
Chapter 768: In Shock

Chapter 768: In Shock

Kael stared at Dora in disbelief, his mind reeling. Lately, it felt like shock had become the new normal in his life, especially where Dora was concerned. How had everything spiraled so quickly? Today alone, he had endured enough surprises to last a lifetime. The fact that he could still string together coherent thoughts was a miracle in itself. First, she’d gone behind his back to confront his master—my master, of all people—a move so bold it had nearly knocked him off balance. Though why he was still shocked he had no idea. It wasn’t as if she was shy of taking the bull by the horns, but he was still shocked.

Then she’d found out about the old man’s illness and even helped him get through it and have a word with Lord Rupert. In all his time in the world, no one had handled Lord Rupert better than her as far as he was concerned. And her compoure had remained unshakeable when she’d learnt about Anna being alive...Then she’d handled the father-daughter reunion like a pro that he’d almost been forced wondered why he’d been hesitating coming clean to Master all this while.

And now, the most astonishing moment of the day had arrived: Rafe, who had almost gone inside guns blazing before master’s arrival into the room had now waltzed out of the room and casually announced his engagement to Anna, as though he were reporting the weather.

Meanwhile, Kael felt like he was barely holding on. The room seemed to be spinning in the aftermath of all these revelations, and when he looked at Dora, sitting serenely across from him in the room, it made him wonder: How is she not shaken by all of this?

Rafe and Anna. Together. Engaged. And the news of their engagement had already started to spread. Did he enter some parallel universe by any chance. How could this be possible? He’d expected that braking through the rumors about her and Rafe woudl be difficult. That there would always be comparisons in the media and hints about him possibly stealing his brother’s love. And instead, he was now suddenly being praised as helping protect Prince Rafael’s love interest and helping in the royal engagement.

Kael swallowed hard, "This... doesn’t bother you?" he finally asked, his voice low, trying not to sound as bewildered as he felt.

Dora glanced at him, "Why would it? It makes sense, doesn’t it? This was actually the best way to get rid of the rumor. With Rafe’s announcement that Anna has returned to take her place as Lort Ruper’s heir and as his fiance’ then any speculation about Rafe and me would be useless

"Sense?" Kael repeated, incredulous. "Nothing about this makes sense, Dora. Rafe and Anna... they’re engaged. While just a few hours ago, you and him... were practically in the middle of a scandal!" He gestured vaguely, as if the very air was thick with the absurdity of the situation. "Did you see the netizens flocking to the various agencies to come out and support your relationship with him. And now, the entire tune has changed."

Dora giggled. "Of course, it has changed. The Prince is gerring married and the love story he has spun is really interesting. His PR is saying that he’s indeed been in love with Anna and had been waiting for her to return. So, the moment she returned, they are getting married. Everyone is going to eat that story up."

"But that is not the truth of it... Anna.. isn’t he forcing her..."

"They are getting into an arrangement for marriage, but you don’t need to worry about that. Rafe will handle it."

With a sigh, Anna wound her hand through Kael’d and placed her head on his shoulder," I’m just glad that everything in resolved and we all are finally at peace."

***

Anna sat by her father’s bedside, her body trembling with a cold she knew wasn’t just from the room’s chill. She stared at the frail figure of her father, asleep and unaware of the storm that had turned her life upside down. Engaged. She was engaged. The one fate she had fought so hard to escape, the one she had sworn would never be her reality—a marriage born out of duty, out of manipulation—had finally ensnared her. A bitter laugh escaped her lips, though there was no humor in it. How had it come to this? She had run so far, tried so hard to carve out a life on her own terms, only to be dragged right back into the same nightmare. And Rafe... Rafe. The man who had driven her to flee in the first place. The man she loved and hated with equal intensity, each emotion feeding the other until she could barely tell where one ended and the other began. She knew why of course. She’d been so shocked by Rafe’s rumors with Princess Dora that she’d lost all her sense. She clenched her hands in her lap, the fabric of her skirt bunched between her fingers as her mind raced. Rafe had been playing her from the very start. She had been such a fool to believe him, to let him into her heart. How many times had he toyed with her feelings? Pretended to care? He had masqueraded as Kael for months—months—deceiving her into thinking she had finally found someone she could trust, someone she could love. And all the while, he had likely been laughing at her behind her back, enjoying the spectacle of her misplaced affection. She had confessed her deepest feelings to him, bared her soul, believing she was speaking to Kael, only to find out that it had been Rafe standing in his place. Her hands shook as the memories resurfaced and she looked away. Why. Why did he come to her again? Why was he doing this? Did he want her to be foolish again? Why was her fate so cruel to her? The moment she returned to the country, he had found her, trapping her in a contract she couldn’t refuse. The terms were simple: marry him, or spend the rest of her life in prison. The choice wasn’t really a choice at all. Rafe had seen to that. And yet, she did not know whom to ask the reason for it.

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