The Knight's Mysterious Maid
Chapter 79: Excuses and apologies (3)

Chapter 79: Excuses and apologies (3)

"You underestimate my feelings for you," said Delilah.

Rafael begged to differ. "I have not. I am aware of the extent of your feelings for me. It is why, time and time again, I have made it clear that I have no feelings for you and never will.

"What will it take for you to leave me alone and not argue with any woman who comes near me? It is not your place, and I’ve long been irritated by your behavior. You reached a new low with the dress."

"I apologise for how my actions painted me in your mind. I let my feelings get the best of me then, but I promise it will never happen again. I won’t try to steal something from your maid or hire another to take it," Delilah promised.

She would be a fool to do this again when it was costing her relationship with Rafael and her access to his home.

Rafael was also certain it would not happen again. He already had a solution to it. "Was that the end of your apology?" Rafael asked, still not viewing it as an apology, but he had to take what he got from Delilah and move on.

They’ll be having this conversation for the rest of the day if he tried to teach her how to properly apologise to someone. That was a matter for her parents to take care of. He was already acting like a father to grown knights who acted like children sometimes.

Delilah wanted to say yes, but she got the feeling that Rafael was not satisfied with what she had said so far.

"I will apologise to Annalise," she said, swallowing her pride. She would never apologise to Annalise if not for Rafael. Who was Annalise for her to apologise to?

If Delilah had her way and she could tell her parents about what Annalise did, Annalise would not be able to stay in this town. A few tears and her father would look to punish the person who caused them.

"No," Rafael replied, looking at the small red rock on his desk. Annalise had gotten back at Delilah with the beetles. An apology was owed to Annalise from Delilah, who started this, but he did not want the two to meet and emotions on Delilah’s end to flare up again. "You don’t have to meet with her again."

Delilah approached Rafael’s desk. "Then why did you let me through your gates? Wouldn’t an apology put what happened behind us? I should meet with her and let her know that I am sorry. We owe each other an apology."

Rafael didn’t think there was another way for this conversation to amuse him, but he was wrong. He wondered what the thought process was in Delilah’s head for her to think she was owed an apology from Annalise. "What does she need to apologise for?" He asked.

Delilah frowned, as it seemed Rafael was only focusing on what she did wrong. Annalise put beetles in the dress to scare her. His maid had stepped far out of line. Annalise always did, but Rafael did not scold her. "She placed beetles in the dress," she answered.

"It was her dress that was being stolen," Rafael reminded Delilah. "When you decided to steal the dress, you lost the chance to complain about the beetles. If she had put beetles in any other dress to scare you, then I would have dealt with her."

Delilah could not get angry with how someone decided to finish what she started. If she had not sent a maid to steal the dress, she would not have been scared by beetles.

Rafael only needed Annalise to stop scaring everyone with animals, not apologise to Delilah. "She is not going to apologise to you, Delilah. I have already taken care of the matter with Annalise. I already have to deal with the maids being at odds with each other. I don’t need someone who was a guest to hire a maid to steal something from another maid."

"If you had come here truly apologetic about your actions, I would have let you speak with Annalise, but this is going nowhere," Rafael said, finished with this conversation.

"I am sorry for my actions. That is why I have come here, even though I am embarrassed about what happened," said Delilah. It took a lot of courage for her to face him after he knew she was jealous of a maid and had seen her panic to get beetles off of her.

Delilah always wanted him to see her as a perfect young lady. She had a few moments of acting on her anger and jealousy, but the way she carried herself at other times should not be forgotten. If she could go back in time to when she heard about the dress, she would have acted differently.

Why did it feel like so much time had passed since Rafael was by her side at the party? It didn’t feel like everything had come crashing down in a few days.

"You’ve come here with excuses instead of an apology. You are lucky that I have not told your father about what you did. There is one thing that I am glad you are here for. I want you to clearly remember from my mouth that you are no longer welcome here, even if it is with your parents. I have let these silly games you play go on far too long-"

"Rafael!" Delilah cried out, wanting him to take back his words. "I regret what I did. I do not want to be pushed away from you."

That was the problem Rafael faced from the very beginning when he met Delilah, and this crush she had grew into what she believed was love.

Rafael did not hate Delilah. He simply did not love her the way she wanted to be loved. She was always like a little sister, and he cared for her since she would always be around to keep his mother company.

Delilah was like the daughter his mother always wanted, but it never meant he would make her become his wife to please his mother. A marriage between the two of them would be no different from how they were now. Her loving him while he was unable to look at her as more than a sister.

He had been kind in turning down her feelings compared to other women since he had spent a lot of time around her and her family, but now it was time to place a wall between them for her to stop acting as if she owned him and he could not pay any attention to other women.

"I do not hate you and I am no longer angered by what you did with Annalise. With these feelings that you have for me, it is best you not be around my home so much. I have too much to deal with concerning this kingdom to have to also deal with the aftermath of your jealousy," said Rafael.

"Then everything would be solved if I no longer love you. We could just be friends. I told you that I wanted to meet with the knight you introduced me to. I can move on from you," Delilah promised. She could pretend not to love him as long as she got to stay by his side.

"You will be able to move on when you are no longer walking around my home as you see fit," Rafael said, standing on his decision to ban her from his home.

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