Kiss Me Not

As soon as she finished eating dinner, Brione excused herself from the elders to go first to check on her husband, Gavin.

"Sure dear, you go ahead and take care of him. I'm sure Gavin is exhausted," Lucas commented and signaled Brione to leave.

"I'm so glad that my son married a good woman," Lucas proudly said.

"Are you boasting, brother? You are indeed so lucky. You're finally free now from the crown's burden, having a reliable son." Leila seconded with a grin.

Then her face turned serious as she added, "And after so many years… That Duncan deserves what's coming his way for all his crimes! They will execute him in two days, and I will watch his doom!"

Leila had a crumpled face at the thought of how warmly she even hugged and gave Duncan a cheek-to-cheek kiss when Gavin introduced him as Damiel when he was the same man who gave her brother pain all those years!

"I will just stay here in the palace, Leila. Just tell me once they are finished executing him… Once he is gone…" Lucas weakly whispered. He felt like he was draining of energy just thinking of the man and how Duncan robbed him of his time with Gavin. Now he was old, and God only knows how long he could live still to spend it as a father to Gavin."

"Our Gavin is doing a great job, Lucas. I'm sure you're so proud of him. By the way, when will Cedric return? Why did he miss the coronation day? Those trolls in the media are making a fuss about it, saying Cedric is probably sulky about Gavin being King instead of him. Assuming that is the reason why he is not showing up. Are you sure he is safe and sound? Why can't we see him?"

"Yeah, he survived the kidnapping. Gavin said Cedric would return soon. I trust Gavin, Leila, so I'm just patiently waiting for Gavin's update on Cedric," Lucas said, and Leila only nodded in understanding. 

  According to the reports, Cedric was missing while Gavin assumed his identity. But according to Gavin, he already found Cedric, and the latter will return soon. Gavin did not disclose too much detail about it, saying that was what Cedric wanted. The people bought it knowing how Prince Cedric valued his privacy so much. However, the media had different interpretations about it.

****

Meanwhile, Brione was on her way to their bedroom when she saw Gavin rushing out of the door with Kevin.

"What is going on?" Brione asked. She was happy to see Gavin woke up already, but she felt worried while seeing the expression on Gavin's face.

Gavin pulled her and kissed her forehead as he whispered, "Sleep first without me, sweetheart. I will be back soon. I will just get my brother."

"Cedric is coming back?" she gasped. Gavin nodded with a smile.

Brione wanted to ask more, but Gavin was in a rush to leave, so she had no choice but to wait. She saw the excitement on Gavin's face, and she could only hope that the two brothers would have a good relationship despite not growing up together.

"How about father? I must tell him, right?" Brione unconsciously murmured as she still stared at the hallway. Her father-in-law would be ecstatic to hear the news, but she should control herself and wait for her husband since she had no idea the full details.

Brione went inside their room. She cleaned up herself and quickly slumped her tired body on the bed. She must be so tired that she fell asleep the moment her back touched the comfort of their bed.

***

On the other hand, Gavin could not help but have mixed emotions inside the royal car as they headed towards Raine's hideout in his country. 

"Stop the car there and wait for me here. I need to go alone from here, Kevin…" Gavin instructed Kevin. It was the place where Raine's men were waiting.

"But Your Majesty… It's not safe to go alone," Kevin answered.

"I am fine, Kevin. We can trust these people, so you don't need to worry about me. Just wait here," Gavin said as he went out of the car and met Raine's men waiting for him with another vehicle. Raine would not allow anyone in her hideout except people she trusted, like him.

Gavin went inside the car, and they headed to the exact place where Raine was. It was an underground place. The men escorted him to the room where Cedric was.

Raine was inside when he entered. She had bloodstains.

"Are you alright?" Gavin asked. He saw Raine get hurt during the fight since she tried her best for Cedric not to get hurt while he was coming in between to protect the woman Raine was fighting with.

"Don't worry about me. I am fine. It's your brother you should be worrying about. He is stable for now, but I don't think this is a good time to pick him up. That woman… she… marked him, and it will take time for us to clean his blood," Raine commented. 

She did not need to elaborate everything to Gavin because he was aware of what she meant. He knew everything that was going on in the underworld since he kept and continued writing the record of the group.

"How long will it take?" Gavin whispered while staring at his replica on the bed. It was like he was looking at himself in the mirror. He and Cedric looked the same that no one could tell the difference in physical aspect if they did not know them both. 

"I am not sure how long, but I will keep you posted on the progress. I'm sure it won't take long. I just need to get the woman's poison out of his system. Besides, I will do everything for Cedric to heal fast so he can replace you as soon as he can," Raine casually commented.

"What do you mean?" Gavin asked with a creased forehead.