Chapter 175- I Owed Him

Arabella:

I didn’t know what was wrong with me.

Since morning, tears had been running down my face, and all I’d done was wipe my eyes and nose with tissues. I wasn’t even crying. At least, I didn’t think I was. But every time I thought I’d finally stopped, my eyes filled up again.

Lucien had an important meeting to attend, but he hadn’t left my side. He’d already sent Bradley a message asking him to handle things for now. I felt bad about keeping him here, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask him to leave, either.

He pushed his sleeve up, exposing the black ink winding around his muscular forearm.

"Arabella, can you please tell me what’s going on?" he asked, sitting beside me on the bed. "You’ve been upset since we came back yesterday. Why won’t you tell me what happened?"

I shook my head and reached for another tissue. What was I supposed to tell him? I didn’t even know where to begin.

I didn’t want to leave this room. I didn’t want to face Maya and answer her questions. I certainly didn’t want to see the Queen, not when I was already considering accepting her ridiculous offer.

If I could, I would have flown somewhere far away, where nobody knew me or cared who my parents were.

"Darling." Lucien gently moved my hair away from my face. "Whatever it is, you can trust me. You know that, right?" The muscles in his tattooed arm flexed as he leaned forward to kiss my lips.

"I know," I said, wiping my running nose.

"Then talk to me. I can’t help you if you won’t tell me what’s bothering you."

I closed my eyes for a moment. He was right. I trusted him. But how could I explain something I hadn’t even come to terms with myself?

And then there was the Queen’s offer.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. "Lucien, wh... what if... if... I drop the investigation?"

He went quiet. For a few seconds, he simply looked at me, as though he was trying to understand where that question had come from.

"You want to stop investigating Anika’s murder?" he asked me quietly.

When I nodded, he sighed and leaned back slightly. "Alright. Then we’ll stop."

I blinked at him. "Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"But Lucien..."

"Arabella, if this investigation is making you this miserable, I don’t want you doing it anymore." I sat there, completely taken aback.

Was it really that easy? He had been so determined to find his sister’s killer, and now he was willing to drop everything simply because I asked?

"Aren’t you going to ask me why?" I asked quietly.

"Do you want to tell me?" I looked down at the tissue in my hands.

"Not yet." Another tear slipped down my cheek when I closed my eyes.

"Then I won’t force you." He cupped my face in both hands, making me look at him. "Listen to me, Arabella. Nothing is more important to me than you. Not this investigation, not anything else. We’ll do things your way, alright?"

"Anika was my sister, and I loved her." His voice grew gentler. "That hasn’t changed. But I won’t make you suffer just to find the person who killed her."

I didn’t know what to say.

"Now, can we please forget about this investigation for a while?" he continued. "I’m not interested in chasing a murderer if it’s going to cost you your peace." I nodded slowly.

"Thank you, Lucien." He kissed my forehead before reaching for the glass of water on the nightstand.

Well, that settled it. I had my answer, and now I needed to talk to the Queen.

If Lucien was willing to put the investigation aside for my sake, the least I could do was find another way to help him.

There had to be a way to learn the truth about my mother without giving up on finding Anika’s killer. Besides, I wasn’t convinced the Queen was telling me everything.

She had been far too eager to make me drop the investigation. Why? What kind of mother would be willing to let her daughter’s murderer walk free?

Unless she already knew something about the murder, and that was exactly what I intended to find out.

***

A little while later, I stepped into the Queen’s office.

Theodora was sitting behind her desk, going through some papers. The moment she saw me, she put them aside and stood up with a big smile.

"Arabella! I knew you’d come." She walked around her desk to greet me. "So, tell me, what brings you here? Or perhaps I already know."

She gestured toward the chair in front of her desk and waited until I sat down before returning to her own seat. "Well?" she asked, looking rather pleased with herself. "What have you decided?"

I gave her a small smile and shook my head.

"I still don’t know, Your Highness. I’m a little confused, to be honest. I thought finding out about my mother would be easier, but after the way my father behaved when I met him yesterday..." I shrugged with a helpless smile. "I’m not so sure anymore."

The Queen watched me for a moment before nodding. "I understand, Arabella. It’s always the people we love and trust who have the power to hurt us the most. And when that trust is broken, it’s difficult to know what to believe anymore."

I nodded, although I wasn’t sure I’d ever loved Rick enough to feel betrayed by him.

I told you. He isn’t Rick. He is a dick. And this woman sitting before you? She’s a bitch!

My wolf was already pissed off by what Rick did to me.

"Anyway," the Queen said, leaning forward slightly and drawing my attention back to her, "have you given any thought to my offer, Arabella?"

"Yes, I have." I looked at her for a moment before answering while chewing my lower lip, "I’m... ready to drop the investigation."

Her eyebrows rose, and a smile spread across her face. "Wow! Are you sure?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I’ve thought about it, and I’ve made my decision."

"Well, I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses." She settled back in her chair, looking thoroughly satisfied. "You won’t regret this, my dear. I’ll do everything I can to help you find out what happened to your mom."

"Thank you. But there’s one more thing I need from you." Her smile faded a little.

"And what’s that?"

"Jasmine." I rested my hands on my lap. "She was the one who gave me that bottle of poison when I was living in the palace three years ago. The same poison I was supposed to put in Lucien’s food."

Theodora didn’t interrupt me. "I want you to have her arrested for what she did."

"Arrest Jasmine?" she repeated.

"Yes." I looked directly at her. "I’m willing to stop investigating Anika’s murder, but I won’t let Jasmine get away with trying to poison the king."

I might have agreed to stop investigating Anika’s murder, but I wasn’t going to let the woman who killed Zorro get away without punishment. I owed him that much.