Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 464: Old Scores Laid Bare I

Chapter 464: Old Scores Laid Bare I

"Daphne, I will swear on my life, I did not lift a finger to harm our child," Atticus said, immediately kneeling to his feet so that he could reach for her hand. Daphne flinched away from him, huddling closer to the blankets, leaving his hands lonely. Yet, he still kept them there as he continued to speak.

"I wanted nothing more than our first child to be safely delivered into this world. But then I got the horrific news that you lost the baby while I was out with Jonah and King Calarian in the iron meteorite mines."

Daphne’s fingers twisted themselves in the blankets so tightly they almost turned white from the lack of blood flowing through them. This was it; she was finally going to get Atticus’s version of the truth.

"By the time I came back, it was too late― our child was long gone, and you had lost consciousness. We weren’t even sure if you would live," Atticus confessed after a long breath, recalling the terror he had felt when Daphne refused to stir.

He felt like a ship that had lost its mooring, drifting out into the wide open sea with no compass in hand. He had the best healers in the kingdom helping her, yet nothing seemed to work.

"And then, I got the news that it was because of Jean Nott." Atticus’s eyes flashed with hatred. Even in death, Jean could not escape Atticus’s ire― that was his legacy. He would forever live on thanks to Atticus’s perennial hatred for him. "He had snuck into Xahan’s royal palace and injured you gravely, causing our child to leave us."

Daphne closed her eyes, heartache filling her at the thought of their lost child. If nothing had happened, her belly would have swelled bigger by now, since she would have been past the first trimester.

Then her eyes flew open when she realized she had another bone to pick with Atticus. "Leaving aside the matter with Jean Nott, why did you take Zephyr’s wing from him when I was unconscious? That’s hardly something a loving husband would do."

A steely glint entered her eyes.

"And don’t think I didn’t know about what you and Sirona did to Nereus when we were both unconscious," Daphne added. "He was missing an eye, and now Zephyr is missing a wing. Isn’t it an awful coincidence that you keep harvesting the body parts of people I hold dear when I’m unable to defend them?"

Since matters have already got to this point, she might as well bring all her past suspicions about Atticus’s behavior to light.

For better or worse, this was the state of their marriage, and she would sooner stab herself with a shard of glass from the water jug than endure a second longer in a marriage with Atticus if she found his character to be an utter lie.

"Tell me Atticus, do you have some sort of fetish for the organs of magical creatures?" Daphne demanded angrily, nearly tearing apart the blanket in her rage. If she had the claws of a cat, the fabric would have been shredded to pieces easily. "How can you claim to love me if you go behind my back to hurt the ones I care about?"

"They’re alive, aren’t they? I would consider that a blessing in itself. Besides, without our interference, the kelpie and that griffin would have died a long time ago, let alone live long enough for their organs to be harvested," Atticus pointed out patiently as though Daphne was the unreasonable one.

He had not forgotten the trouble they had gone through to save Zephyr from that stupid maze, in addition to the trouble of raising him.

She grew more livid at his words. "You’re telling me they should be grateful to you?"

"They should consider it as a price they need to pay to stay by your side. Besides..." Atticus’s eyes darkened, and his lips curled up in distaste, "While I’m sorry that Nereus was inconvenienced, Zephyr deserved every bit of pain he got."

"Why?" Daphne demanded, her voice nearly coming out in a scream. "Why would you do such a cruel thing to him?! You knew he liked flying! You knew he loved the skies―"

"Because it was him who caused you to lose your child― our child!" Atticus burst out hotly, his voice echoing in the sudden silence. "He should be on his goddamn knees thanking me for forgiveness that I didn’t rip his fucking empty head off his neck!"

Daphne reeled back in shock.

"I was already merciful enough to take only a wing; I could have left him completely wingless and headless too," Atticus seethed, and for a moment, Daphne could have thought she was listening to a stranger speak.

"Didn’t you say Jean Nott caused me to miscarry? How on earth did Zephyr enter the picture?"

"That fucking griffin told me himself. You tried to stop that fat bird from falling so the both of you went down together." Atticus got up and paced the floor irritably, his footsteps making loud thumping noises with every step.

"Jean Nott may have hurt you, but you and the child would not have been so severely injured if not for that blasted griffin! To think you raised him from a chick, only for him to repay you like this! We should have left him to be eaten in the maze! Never flying again is a punishment he deserves!" Atticus roared out.

If Daphne could muster enough strength to slap Atticus, she would have. As it was, she could only glare daggers at her husband, hoping she could somehow make him catch fire from the furious look in her eyes.

"My dear husband, have you taken leave of your senses?" Daphne asked, balling her hands into fists. "So you’re telling me that after you found out that I had lost our child, you somehow thought I would take kindly to having Zephyr, a griffin I have raised from infancy, maimed and mutilated? Atticus, I might have lost the baby, but I certainly have not lost my wits about me!"

"Don’t try to push the blame on Zephyr, when I know you’ve wanted his wing since he was sick in Reaweth!"