Kitanna
Chapter 69: BROKEN VOW

Chapter 69: BROKEN VOW

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: MIRROR ~ DaNTe]

Khelan rubbed his hand on his hair, making it to look disheveled. He walked back and forth, cursing under his breath. He had already told his guards to stop anyone from coming inside his room.

The news about the maid having his child had already spread across the palace, so he couldn’t deny it. He did not have the confidence to face his mother and, most especially, his wife, Larel.

"How dare you stop me from going inside!" The queen dowager, who was also stopped from entering inside the room, reprimanded the guards in a harsh tone. Khelan turned to look at the door where the noise was coming from. He knew that he had to face his family no matter how long he tried to hide.

He finally stepped outside of his room; standing there was the queen dowager, Larel who looked at him sadly, and Bareea who bowed her face down in shame.

"Let’s all meet at the bigger room; this is an emergency meeting of the royal family." With this, Khelan stepped back inside his room.

Before he walked to the bigger room where the meeting was going to hold, he took the alcohol, which he only opened for special occasions, and drank a mouthful. The memory of the first time he had shared the wine with Larel flashed in his eyes. Khelan tightened his eyes shut in guilt. Larel had never done anything against him, even after he had hit her out of anger once. She never complained or treated him badly.

"I’m so sorry Larel, you deserve better." Khelan muttered to himself before stepping out of his room.

On his way to the bigger room, he saw Nix who was also walking in the opposite direction. Nix noticed it was the king; he stopped in his step and bowed slightly.

Khelan acknowledged by nodding. He started to walk when he suddenly stopped.

"What will you do if you were in my shoes?" he asked Nix in a low voice. Khelan never had the love from his father, the former king because the man mostly showered his attention on the princess, and he never had a male figure who he could call his friend but for some reason, he felt he could open up to this guard.

Nix stopped in his steps when he heard the question; it was obviously meant for him because they were the only ones walking through the passage. He turned to look at the young king who appeared to have lost half of his lifespan due to stress and worries.

"I don’t think the shoes will fit. But if you’re asking for my advice. You should own up to your responsibility. If the child is truly yours, take in both the mother and child." Nix said in a calm, calculative tone.

"What about Larel, what do I do? I have broken our matrimonial vow. I can’t face her," Khelan rubbed his hand on his face, before looking up to stare at the blue eyes which held no emotions in them.

Nix gazed at the king lazily, "You are in the wrong, but there’s no need to beat yourself over what you can’t change. If you are truly sincere in your apology, I guess she will forgive you, the Queen is a softhearted person. But it’ll only be foolish of you to repeat such and demand to be forgiven." he spoke casually. Nix spoke with authority, like he was the one in charge of the palace.

"I hope you don’t mind my use of words. My king," he finally said.

Khelan shook his head, "I don’t mind because if it’s by age you are older than me, in fact, I feel better now talking to you. We should do this often." the young king smiled.

"Are you not coming to the meeting?" He asked.

Nix turned properly to face the young king, his head tilted to a side. "The message was members of the royal family. I am but a guard who serves the royal family." His words were laced with sarcasm which the king failed to notice.

"Family is not always by blood. Please, I implore you to join the meeting, not as a guard but as my big brother. I will need strength in what I’m about to say, and with me being the only male I’m not sure if I can handle the pressure from the women," Khelan pleaded desperately.

"I will be behind you then." With these words from Nix, Khelan smiled happily and continued to walk to the bigger room. Each sharp sound made by the shoes of Nix on the marble floor gave him the confidence he needed.

Inside the room, the women in the royal family were already seated. Lady Deonisia was also present for the meeting.

Nix scanned the room; when his gaze fell on Kitanna. There was something off about her, like something in her had sparked. He moved to sit at the other end of the room where the candlelight did not cover. Because of the absence of light, it made it darker than other sides of the room. Nix sat there watching every member of the royal family.

Khelan cleared his throat and began, "I called this meeting today to clear the news about a maid carrying a royal seed." He tried not to look at anyone in particular.

"When you say clear the news? Are you saying is all a lie?" Almaria, who was the most impatient, asked.

Khelan moved his hand to his neck unbuttoning three of his collar buttons, which allowed him to breathe in properly. He raked his hand through his hair; the announcement was not as easy as he thought it would be. Khelan searched around the room looking for Nix for emotional support.

Nix noticed that the young king was looking for him; he stepped out a little where the light would shine on him, and he nodded for Khelan to go ahead.

"The truth is that, it happened. I spent a night with the maid and that was because I was angry. I didn’t know it would result in pregnancy." Khelan finally said the words which were very heavy for him. He turned to look at Larel.

Larel fell back on her chair when she heard Khelan confirm the authenticity of the news. It was like a huge blow to her face. She only agreed to marry a man she didn’t know, because it was arranged by her father and she trusted her father. And then she got to know Khelan and she decided to give their marriage a chance. Even when she realized that he only listened to his mother, she had tried to stand by him and maybe change him. Larel was not expecting such news.

"When?" That was the soft words that left the young queen’s lips. She tried to conceal her heartbreak.

Khelan blinked when he heard Larel speak; her voice was filled with sadness and disappointment. He couldn’t find the words to use in comforting her; he decided to ignore the question.

Bareea, who was standing close to the door, felt all eyes were now on her. This was not how she had planned to get Nix’s attention. Everything was just going opposite. Even if she wanted to have a baby, she wished for it to be Nix’s child. Now she was made to stand in front of the royal family as a tool that had helped to break a vow made during the couple’s wedding. A mistake and a reminder of infidelity, she touched her stomach. Bareea felt bad for her unborn foetus.