Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1155 - 66 : Not the Man I Knew

Chapter 1155: Chapter 66 : Not the Man I Knew

*Daphne*

This way. That way. Every which way I turned, I felt the lumpy cave floor poking into me through the bedroll. This was impossible.

Groaning, I turned on my back and looked up at the damp, moldy cave ceiling. The delicious scent of dinner had faded a while ago, and I was left with nothing but mildew and dense earth in my nostrils.

I was grateful for the shelter of the cave, but how was I supposed to sleep like this?

My back started aching and I sat up, rubbing my back as best I could. I gave it one last try, resting my shoulder and head on the wall of the cave.

The rough, coarse rock rubbed against my skin. It was cold and a shudder ran through me.

I pulled away from the wall and rubbed my sore shoulder. Where was Rion? I saw him talking to Eva earlier, but she was on the opposite side of the cave now.

I’d figured Rion would join me after and thought it would be nice to have a warm, comfortable person to rest against.

Sighing, I stood up and stretched a little. My sore, achy muscles eased and my whole body relaxed. That was better.

I glanced around and saw Rion sitting against a distant cave wall. He had his back against the stone, his arms crossed. His head was slightly bowed, bobbing like he kept drifting to sleep and waking up again. His eyes were closed.

I headed to Rion’s side and plopped down on the cave floor beside him. Just before I leaned against him, Rion opened one eye.

His lips turned down in a frown and he sighed. It sounded annoyed.

What was his problem?

I leaned away. “Is something wrong?” My own lips tugged downward.

“You should go back to your bedroll and get some rest.”

“I can’t sleep over there. The cave floor is uncomfortable and I’m cold.”

“Did you think the cave over here would be any different?” He arched a malicious eyebrow at me. His tone was harsher than I’d heard it before, even when he was telling me how his life had been with Eva.

“I thought it would be more comfortable with you....”

Rion scoffed. He turned away from me slightly and crossed his arms tighter, closing himself off.

“What’s wrong? Are you mad at me?”

“Daphne,” he spoke my name with a gruff harshness. My stomach dropped. “Did you try to convince Eva to turn herself into the palace as a fugitive?”

“Oh.” I bit my lower lip and worried my hands in my lap. I could see why he’d be upset about that. “I did. But it’s really for the best. My parents–”

“That’s not your call to make!” Rion snapped.

My eyes widened and I leaned away from him even more.

“Rion, please. Eva could be an al–”

“Stop. There’s nothing you can say to justify what you did.” He held a hand up in front of my face, palm toward me. “Eva’s been through enough, don’t you think? Do you really want her to be imprisoned after everything?”

“No. I–”

“Then what was your motive? Is this all an attempt to trap me into being part of the palace, in being closer to you?”

“Rion!”

He glowered at me and snarled, his upper lip rising over his teeth. He looked like a feral animal, ready to pounce on me and attack. This wasn’t the Rion I knew.

“You can’t just get into people’s heads and try to manipulate them for your own means. Eva would end up in prison, and we both know your parents would never forgive her.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it? I saved you countless times, and all they saw when they looked at me was a criminal.”

“But my father still made a deal with you....”

“Yeah, in order for me to capture Eva and to keep me away from you! He doesn’t have that leverage over Eva.”

“What...?” I gasped.

All the air rushed out of my lungs like two deflating balloons. I knew my parents didn’t want me to see Rion, but I didn’t know my father’s deal to free him revolved around keeping Rion away from me.

“Do you still think your parents would show leniency to Eva? No! They’ll see her and think of her as nothing more than a criminal, just like Hestia!”

I opened my mouth to tell him how her powers would be beneficial to protecting the Dark Realm. I stopped myself and clamped my mouth closed, biting my tongue.

There was no way I could betray my family secret, not even to Rion... not even to convince him I was thinking of the bigger picture and Eva’s powers, not trying to trap him.

A lump formed in my throat and I swallowed around it, holding back my words and the tears that sprang to my eyes. If Rion only knew about our need for allies like Eva, he might see things differently.

But if he found out that the White Queen was no more, he was too mad to see things rationally. He’d probably be even more pissed that my parents were lying to the entire realm about having the White Queen’s protection.

“So, you don’t have anything to say. That’s what I thought. Your parents wouldn’t trust Eva based on her good deeds. They’d look at her and see Hestia’s daughter, nothing more.”

“That’s not true, Rion. They’d just need time.”

“Well, they won’t get that time. You need to return to the palace. That’s where you belong, but it’s not where Eva and I belong.”

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean you have to run off and live as fugitives.”

“Oh, don’t worry. We won’t be doing that. I’ll get Eva somewhere safe, and the palace will never find us. We’ll live very comfortable lives away from this drama.”

I blinked back my tears and unconsciously set a hand on my stomach. Rion’s words were so harsh. I felt them like a thousand needles stabbing my skin, each one sending a prickle into my eyes where tears pooled. I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to hold them back.

“Wh-what about the baby?”

“What about it?” Rion sneered.

“Are y-you going to be part of your child’s life or are you going to disappear?” My voice trembled with every word and I couldn’t look Rion in the eyes. His gaze burned into me like a hot laser, and I knew I’d break if I saw the anger in his eyes.

“I plan to be part of my child’s life, yes.”

“And how will you do that if you and Eva are off in some distant, private place?”

“Well, I can come back to the capital. As long as I don’t have anything to do with you, I’m not going back on the deal with your father. I can visit my child whenever I want.”

My heart cracked like a shattered window, hundreds of shards exploding through my body. I moved my hand from my stomach to my heart. So, Rion’s plan was to be part of his child’s life... but not mine.

Had it always been a fanciful dream to imagine the three of us as a family?

“That’s your solution? Being an absentee father with sporadic visitation?”

“Well, it is better than thinking Eva or I will be welcome at the palace. Sure, I’d rather be there for my child on a more permanent basis, but that’s a world that doesn’t exist. I can’t be there for my sister and for my child.”

“Not the way you see things,” I argued.

“Look, I’m not going to abandon Eva. She needs me. She’s my family. She deserves peace and quiet after all she’s been through. I’m not letting her end up in some dark dungeon just so we can play the happy family.”

“It wouldn’t be like that!” My voice rose and I finally lifted my eyes to meet Rion’s.

He looked taken aback, eyes wide, lips a thin, expressionless line.

“You’re torn between being a father and protecting your sister. I just offered a solution that might fix both problems. Instead of seeing that, you’re accusing me of trying to trap you and coming up with insane solutions that wouldn’t make anyone happy, not even Eva!”

“Right, because being locked up in a dungeon would make her happier than living a quiet, peaceful life.”

“A life away from anyone in society–as long as she remains a fugitive, wherever the two of you settle down, she’ll have to be housebound and isolated because if anyone recognizes her, it’s all over. You think that’s better than being in a dungeon until she can clear her name and live a free life?”

“Yes. Because she’d already be free.”

I stood up and looked down at Rion. My tears from earlier brimmed my eyes but now, they were tears of anger. My hands trembled at my sides as I glared at him.

“Free to be alone and isolated, having no friends or anything meaningful in life.”

“She’d have me, and that’s all that matters.”

“You’re such a child! You won’t even consider the possibility of forging a better life for your sister, for yourself, or for your own baby.”

“I already know–”

“No, you don’t! If you’re too much of a coward to even consider the possibilities, then you can go screw yourself! Maybe you shouldn’t be part of your child’s life at all!”

I turned on my heel and stalked back to my bedroll. I lay down, back to Rion, and thought about everything he had just said.

It hurt that he chose Eva over me and his child. It didn’t hurt as much as him thinking I was trying to trap him. I wanted Eva to have her freedom just as much as Rion did, but his idea of freedom wasn’t free. He wouldn’t even consider the possibilities, or how beneficial she could be to the realm.

It hurt that he shut me down at every turn. I shouldn’t have gone after him in the first place if this was the kind of man he was turning into.

I wrapped my arms around my stomach and closed my eyes. The tears I’d been holding back finally began to fall, dripping down my cheeks. I held in my sobs and sniffles, my shoulders shaking slightly.

Even after everything he said, I still hoped Rion would come over and try to talk to me more. Maybe he wouldn’t be ready to apologize, but it would be nice to have a discussion without him shutting me down.

He didn’t. I didn’t bother looking to see if he was still against the wall. I squinted my eyes shut tight.

It was funny how the lumpy, cold cave floor didn’t hurt nearly as much as the aching in my heart.

I sighed heavily and felt sleep creeping in a the edges of my mind.

I didn’t fight it.

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