Chapter 129: The fiancé.

July 30 2026, 10:01pm.

The breath left Nyx’ara’s lungs so quickly that it made her chest start to hurt, and this was mostly because the words that Flynn had said to her had hit her with enough force to have her staggering backwards.

She should not feel anything at the news, or so she thought. Still, the more she thought about Tristan’s possible involvement in Princess Leilani’s death, and the fact that he was still her brother despite their estranged relationship who was now about to be under the quadruplets’ fire, the more her heart raced.

She blinked up at Flynn, her voice barely steady as she rasped; "T-that’s a lie!"

At that, Flynn paused.

For a moment, he simply let his eyes glide up her body like he was accessing a funny-looking specimen. His eyebrows were shooting up to his balding hairline— he was not balding, his hairstyle is just bad bad— and his eyes held a tinge of something akin to surprise as his lips quirked upwards.

"You know Nyx’ara, you’re one strange person..." he drawled softly, calmly, "...and this is totally why you always get used by everyone." He hissed, his voice slightly cold.

Something about those words rubbed off on her the wrong way. It made her cheeks heat up and made her nostrils flare as a torrent of memories came crashing down on her in waves.

She had remembered the first time she caught Flynn cheating on her with Elara. Heavens, she had literally seen him pounding his meat into her sister, yet in some twisted part of her mind, she had hoped that there was a possible explanation... that he did not mean it... that the both of them would not hurt her in such a manner.

God, she had always been very stupid.

"W-what do you mean?" The words rasped out of her sore throat, sounding as though her windpipe had been scrubbed clean and hard.

Deep down, she knew what he meant, yet she could not bring herself to acknowledge it. She could not bring herself to admit that she was a weak pushover whose only purpose was to be loved by everyone.

And that is why Elara had been able to steal everything from her.

It was the reason why she had allowed herself to rot in jail for three whole years... and why she had taken the fall this time, knowing fully well that it could lead to her death.

The realization made her skin grow cold. It made goosebumps spread across her skin and made her tongue and lips too heavy to speak.

When her eyes met Flynn’s sharp piercing gaze, there was a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. And fear.

Maybe not fear.

"You know what I mean," Flynn hissed quietly, his eyes darting around to make sure that no one was paying any attention to his discussion with Nyx’ara. But someone was...

Elara was.

However, he did not really notice her staring at them with a dark frown so he leaned close to Nyx’ara— so close that his lips brushed against the tip of her ear and sent warmth down her spine— and drawled;

"Tristan would seize any opportunity to throw you under the bus. Yet here you are panicking because you just learned that he might be involved in the princess’s death... might. We are not even sure that he is."

His words hit her like a freight train, making her knees wobble slightly. She fell backward, almost tumbling into the table behind her but he was quick to catch her. His arms wrapped around her waist possessively, and while warm sparks settled on his skin, Nyx’ara’s skin crawled with disgust.

She hissed; "T-take your hands off."

But he did not respond at first. Instead, his arms grew tighter. Firmer. Goddess, he pressed her closer to his chest.

When he spoke up again, something in his voice had changed. It sounded muskier. Thicker. It was so easy to imagine that he was flirting with her instead of warning her with the way he sounded. He murmured;

"I will find out what really happened that night at the rooftop, and when I do, I’ll be the first to come here with enough proof to get you out of this loveless marriage. I’ll vindicate you, Nyx’ara, even if it is the last thing I do before I die."

"Flynn—"

"You may not want my help right now because you’re still very mad at me for putting you in this situation in the first place... and I understand you perfectly. However, I have decided that I will help you anyway. All you need to do in return is to promise me that you will not try to get in the way of justice when you find out that Tristan is involved."

Nyx’ara gulped. She wasn’t sure she could do that because Tristan was her brother. Her only sibling. He had been kind to her before Elara and her mother joined their family. He had been the perfect example of a doting brother all those years until everything went sour.

Just as this thought hit her, another one— harsher, louder— slammed into her head. It whispered;

And he watched you go to jail for three years because he was screwing Elara.

He beat you up countless times when you had been framed because he wanted to remain on Elara’s good side.

If he was indeed involved in the Princess’s death, then he had watched you take the fall, knowing the truth, without remorse.

He was not worth pitying.

She smiled. "I w-won’t."

For a second, Flynn stared at her as though he did not believe her but then he shrugged and let her go, taking a few steps back as if to create space between the two of them.

"I want to trust that you’ll do that. Please, let me right my wrongs."

He had just said that when the sounds of approaching footsteps filtered into Nyx’ara’s ears. Elara came forward, hooking her arm around Flynn’s as she glared at Nyx’ara with irritation written all over her face.

"What have you been saying to my fiancé for over five minutes now?" She asked coldly, "...or are you trying to steal him now that you’ve lost favour in the eyes of your husbands?"

There was a mocking grin on her face, one that would have made Nyx’ara feel smaller if she were the same girl from a month ago.

But she was not.

So she met Elara’s smug smile with a grin of hers and drawled coolly; "Oh no, w-welcome sister, I-I was only telling him about h-how stunning you are! Be-besides, I had already begun to fear th-that you would keep y-your fiancé waiting for too long. That is n-not good, is it?"

The way the words slid off her tongue like they were covered in honey made Elara’s face turn crimson. She glared hard at Nyx’ara until her eyes turned bloodshot, and then she screamed;

"You!"