Chapter 8 Misunderstanding

Ivy’s POV

It’s a little after afternoon when there is a slight knock on my door. I inhale sharply, wondering if Alexander is back, bracing myself once again for his icy wrath. However, my jaw drops open when instead of my ruthless husband, a tall woman walks in.

Immediately, the sight of Eliza makes my eyes water.

My half-sister looks as put together as always. Her hair made up in a neat bun, her lips stained with a bold red tint, and her sharp eyes trained on my face. My heart lifts as I take her in.

“Oh my God, you have no idea how happy I am to see you, Eliza!” I rush towards her, slightly extending my arms for a hug, desperate to feel her familiar warmth around me.

However, Eliza stands rigid. She doesn’t reach out to me, nor does her face light up. Instead, she gives me a curt smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.

Shocked at the dismissal, I gingerly step back, wrapping my arms around myself.

I don’t understand.

Eliza has always been nice to me. In my entire family, she has been the only one who I felt cared about me. The idea that she didn’t any more threatens to pierce my already battered heart.

She steps inside, glancing around the room as if appraising it. Her eyes land on me, and this time her smile widens slightly, but something about it still feels... off.

“Wow, Ivy,” Eliza says, her voice light, but with a lilt I can’t quite place. “You’ve really done well for yourself, haven’t you? Marrying the Lycan King and all. Who would’ve thought? Father always thought I was the one who was going to do that.” She chuckles.

I stiffen in response, my fingers clenching together.

“You know it wasn’t planned,” I mutter, offering her a strained smile back. “But, I guess things turned out... differently.”

I feel confused at the way she looks back at me, slightly perusing me up and down. Almost as if she is sizing me up. She has never looked at me like that, and it leaves me feeling rattled.

“Differently? That’s one way to put it.” Eliza strolls across the room, her heels clicking against the floor in a way that echoes through the silence. She eyes a vase on the table, her fingers tracing the edge of it.

“Must be nice, though, going from... well, what you had before, to this. I am happy for you.”

Even though the words seem harmless on the surface, I know Eliza and I feel the sting she is hiding in her words.

“However, it doesn't matter how. Now that you are here, remember to help dad.”

For a moment, I am forced into shocked silence. I lower my head because I can’t bear to look her in the eyes. She has gotten it all wrong. She probably thinks Alexander married me for love. That he would listen to me. That I would have the king’s ear, and it would help my father’s politics.

It was all so absurd.

Especially the fact that she was saying all this to me, knowing that I would never set out to use my marriage for my family’s political influence even if I could.

After taking a deep breath, I look back at her. My eyes fill with tears as the words pour out of me.

“You think I can do that? King Alexander hates me. He thinks I left his wife to die during the bridal shop robbery. That I saved myself and left her in danger. This is all a part of his revenge. He married me only so he could destroy my chances with James, just like he thinks I did with his fiancée!”

I say miserably, fat tears now openly falling on my cheeks.

“No matter how much I tell him, he doesn’t believe me. This marriage is a sham. I am trapped here in this cold, cold mansion like a prisoner!”

Sobs come out of my mouth as my shoulders shake. I beg her to understand with my eyes.

For a while there, she just stares at me, taking in my haggard appearance. There is an unreadable expression on her face, and I know it must be because she is not used to emotional breakdowns. She likes to always be composed and in control, unlike me, who can’t hide my feelings no matter how much I try.

Finally, she relents, and her eyes seem to soften.

“Oh, poor darling.” She murmurs and steps forward, enveloping me in a hug.

The moment her arms come around me, I break down. Heartbreaking noises leave my body. It feels like it’s been so long since I was able to find comfort in someone.

“There, there.” she says, awkwardly patting my back. “Listen, you know your mother is in the hospital where I work, and if you’re trapped here, you can’t visit her. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her for you, okay?”

She says in a soft voice, and I nod gratefully.

After a few minutes have passed, I feel her trying to pull away, but I hold on to her tightly. I feel like I have no one in this world but her, and the idea of losing her as well destroys me.

A brief image of her hard eyes as she stepped in the room flashes in my mind, and I squeeze her tighter, trying to do away with the unsettling feeling.

I already feel so alone, I can’t have her misunderstand me too.

If she is here for only a bit, I might as well emotionally recharge in her presence. However, as I tearfully stare at the open doorway over her shoulder, I feel a strange kind of dread form in my stomach.

The air around the doorway feels thick, blanketed by a vicious kind of energy. Almost as if someone had been there and left their anger behind.

I shake my head, doing away with the stupid paranoia, and bury my head in my sister’s shoulder, finding solace after being in the storm for so long.

____________________

Alexander’s POV

Anger licks at my spine, and darkness threatens to shroud my vision. Even back in my office, I still feel rage threatening to consume me.

A bitter chuckle leaves my mouth.

Of course, what else did I expect from the little liar?

The infuriating scene plays in my head once again; her sister congratulating her for doing well for herself, telling her how happy she was for her, telling her to use this marriage to further their father’s interests.

And what did my treacherous mate have to say in response?

Nothing.

She looked down, the picture of obedience. Her silence gave her approval.

I shake my head as my smile twisted into a resentful thing.

This marriage was supposed to be her punishment and yet, ever the opportunist, she was trying to turn this to her advantage as well.

I had to physically force myself to go away as quickly as possible, not wanting to hear anymore. All I wanted to do was burst in and tell her exactly what I thought of her idea to exploit this marriage but, if there was one thing I had learned, it was to play the long game.

To lie in wait. To flush out your enemy’s weakness and then, when the time is right, to completely and utterly destroy.

The thought of destroying her brings both pleasure and a stinging feeling in my chest. There is a disturbing itch of sorts.

For a strange reason, I feel disappointed.

I almost curse the fact that I had gone to seek her out again. I had heard the news of her sister coming, and it irritated me that she was entertaining guests even as a prisoner.

Still, I should have sent someone to convey my thoughts. Instead, I had gone myself.

In hindsight, it had been for the better. I was once again able to see her true filthy colors and push aside the constant haze my wolf’s attraction to her caused.

I scoff.

After all, I should have seen this coming. This was exactly the kind of length a woman like her would stoop to.

A woman who left another to die in cold blood.

My phone buzzes, and I distractedly open up the email. It’s from my father. An invitation to a banquet happening a few days later. There is a guest list attached to it and a short message.

“Dear son, don’t forget to bring your wife. You have yet to introduce her to society. I am sure everyone would love to see you two together.”

The polite words hide the venom breeding under those words. Of course, my father would want this. My plan for revenge played right into his hand. Ivy’s father’s political allegiance lay firmly with my father’s. They both wanted my younger brother, the favored son, on the throne. Short of killing me themselves, they’d try everything.

Lucky for them, now I have a snake residing in my own home. The perfect spy for both our fathers.

As if I would make it so easy.

I briefly glance at the guest list, already planning to shut the invitation down, when something catches my eye. My eyebrows raise slightly as I see a familiar name snag my attention.

James Alfonso.

Ivy’s fiancé.

With a plus one, already. So soon after their break up.

Rachel Hale. One of the noble girls in the kingdom looking to marry.

Oh, this just got very interesting.

A slow smile full of dark promise forms on my lips as I accept the invitation.

Ok, little liar, two can play this game of hate.