Tyranny of Steel

Chapter 697 - Taking ownership

Linde stood in the door-way of Adela's quarters. She gazed upon the scene of the young woman sobbing profusely after realizing that her husband had slept with her sister. If the relationship was more cordial between the two siblings, then perhaps she would have been less wounded. However, things were complicated between Adela and Ava. Not only was Ava's Berengar's first fiancee, but she was someone who had always looked down on Adela.

Berengar did not sleep with Ava to hurt Adela. It was not a deliberate act of cruelty. To him, it was a matter of retribution against Wolfgang. Had Ava not come onto him, he never would have considered it a viable option. Alcohol played its own part in his neglectful thinking.

Though Linde enjoyed playing with Honoria and Adela, she was committed to her relationship with Berengar, and though he had played the part of the fool with his recent actions, she desired nothing more than to reunite Adela and Berengar, and thus she had come to smoothe things over with the girl. After all, she could never expect Berengar to apologize for his behavior.

Linde approached the petite figure of Adela, who had her head face down on the pillows and patted her back gently. The sudden action caused the girl to react in shock, where she turned around and saw Linde smiling warmly at her. Immediately Adela buried her head in the woman's bosom and cried even more.

"Linde.... Berengar slept with my sister!"

Linde shushed the girl as she stroked her silky golden hair. She sighed heavily before trying to comfort her oldest rival in her time of need.

"Yeah... I heard... Berengar is an idiot, but he had his reasons..."

Adela gazed up with a hint of fury in her sapphire eyes as she scolded Linde for taking their husband's side.

"Why are you taking his side? You know what he did was wrong!"

Linde did not deny that she felt conflicted over choosing Berengar's side, especially after having such choice words for the man. However, she did not hesitate to respond to Adela's statement.

"Do you know the full story? Your sister's idiot husband struck Hans in an act of petty rage. He has since been arrested and is now awaiting his execution. Ava became hysterical after her husband's arrest, and Hans, fearing for her safety, convinced her to beg for Berengar's forgiveness. You know how Berengar is with his fury. If Ava did not do anything, she was likely to suffer as well.

Of course, the moment this news reached his ear, our dear husband resorted to drinking. After all, that seems to be his method of coping with stress. Taking advantage of this fact, your sister forced herself on him. Believing it to be an opportune moment to further punish Wolfgang before his execution, Berengar did not resist.

I don't believe there are actually any feelings between Berengar and your sister. It will probably be a one-off thing. I can tell he deeply regrets it now that he has had some time to think through the situation. You should take some time to sort through your thoughts and come to realize that this is the price you have to pay for being with a man like Berengar.

Our husband is the most wealthy, and powerful man in the world, and is handsome to boot. Women around the globe will inevitably throw themselves at him, and sometimes he will fail to resist the temptation to take advantage of it. I'm not mad that Berengar slept with your sister. I'm angry that he did not take the time to think about what effect it would have on you.

If there is one thing that keeps getting in the way between yours and Berengar's happiness, it is your jealousy. If you want to keep him by your side, I suggest you take a more lax attitude on how he handles his relationships with other women. As you know, under German law, he is permitted another wife, and a man like him won't leave that slot open.

I'm not saying that woman is going to be Ava, but you need to realize that being jealous of the next woman he brings home is not going to do you any favors. I hope the two of you can move past this, and if you need a shoulder to cry on, I am here for you."

After hearing Linde's long-winded speech, Adela wiped the tears from her eyes. It was true she did not know the whole story. Ava had just blatantly said the words "I slept with Berengar" to her. Naturally, Adela denied it at first, but based upon the love bite on the woman's neck, she knew it to be true. Afterward, she just flipped out, not even listening to reason. Not that Ava had the brains to properly explain her actions to her sister.

Upon hearing Linde explain the full situation to her, and also add in her personal advice. Adela was able to calm herself, at least to the extent that she was not overflowing with tears anymore. Still, she was angry at Berengar.

That idiot did not even take a moment to think of how his actions might affect his loved ones. She was beginning to think there was something seriously wrong with the way the man's brain worked. It was as if empathy was an alien emotion to him. Something that did not register in his brain.

Upon seeing that Adela had calmed herself to some extent, Linde hugged the woman tightly in her arms. While the two were enjoying the moment, a knock resounded on the door to reveal Berengar standing in the doorway. He had chosen the opportune moment to enter. Still, Adela was glaring daggers at him. He had a tray of blended drinks in his hands as he realized the best way to get through their troubles was to talk about it.

Linde was quick to accept her drink and decided to stay out of whatever Berengar had to say. Adela, on the other hand, was hesitant but after some insistence by the others, she sighed and took a sip from her drink, allowing Berengar to say his piece. Once the three of them had some alcohol in their blood, Berengar sighed heavily before making his statement.

"I'm not going to apologize for what I have done, simply because I don't believe it was wrong. Under the same circumstances, I'm certain I would do it again."

Adela was just about to pour her drink on his head when Berengar waved his finger and stopped her before continuing on with his speech.

"However, I will say that I lament the fact that my actions hurt you. I know the relationship between you and Ava is strenuous, to say the least. I should have informed you of my decision before doing it. Wolfgang did something unforgiveable, something not even his life could truly pay for. Ava approached me, and I knew the best way to get back at him was to steal her from him before his death. Then, and only then, would I have been satisfied.

I want you to know that I have no intentions of seeing your sister long term, nor do I plan on raising her children. I'm sure somebody else can fulfill that role. Since things have become so strained between the two of you, I will move her into the old family castle, where she and her family will be properly looked after, until a time where she can meet a man who will provide for her.

So long as I can remember, I have never had feelings for your sister, and that hasn't changed. She has always been and will always be a pain in my ass. However, I feel justified in what I did, as once your sister's infidelity is revealed to her husband, he will be in incredible pain, and then, after he has lost all hope, I will take his head.

This also will serve as a warning to all who seek to do harm to my family. If you dare to touch a hair on my children's heads, I won't just kill you. I will fuck your wife before doing so. That's all I wanted to say. Take as much time as you need to get over this. I'll be waiting for you when you are ready to come back into my arms."

After saying this, Berengar stood up and left, leaving Adela in a conflicted state. She honestly did not know how she was going to get over this. Meanwhile, Linde gazed upon her husband's back as he left the room with a smug smirk on her pretty face, muttering under her breath a single phrase.

"You sly dog..."

She was amazed at the man's ability to simultaneously take ownership of his actions while still refusing to apologize in a way that seemed somewhat endearing. He was an asshole for doing what he did, there was no denying it. However, he was a charming asshole, and the man she loved. Had he actually bowed down and grovelled to Adela in order to gain her forgiveness, Linde would have been internally disgusted by his actions.

However, Berengar had exceeded her expectations, and because of this, she was quite turned on. If only Adela wasn't in such a miserable state, she would have taken this opportunity to run after her man and see how much stamina he had left over after his little affair.