CHAPTER NINETY EIGHT

My face went pale.

He was blackmailing me? How did he know about us? And what did he know? The beach or what we had been up to lately? He answered my last question by taking a break from packing to zip the back of my dress, giving me a gentle kiss on the nape of my neck. Fuck.

I was lost, swimming in my dreadful questions. Sella warned me about this. She told me to have control, but I fucked things up. And now I was going to have to go against my conscience and follow Rory's demands.

There was no way I would risk Bastion finding out about the affair. I couldn't! He would be even more heartbroken than if I were to run off with Rory, I was sure of it. Not to mention what he would try to do to Lysander.

Besides, there were worse things than following my royal to England... He would take good care of us, of that I was confident. I really believed he loved us. He was just confused. Maybe after a couple of months in the palace, I could make him see reason again. I could convince him to come back to the light side.

He slung the bag over his shoulder, turning to face me with a sickeningly sweet smile for someone who just manipulated me into obedience.

"Well?"

"I-I'll go with you." I conceded, hanging my head in shame. His face lit up and he leaned down to capture my lips, subtly taking the note from my hands and slipping it back in his pocket.

"I'm so glad, baby. You're going to love London. The people in the palace are charming and the rooms are stunning. I even got a room that connects to the nursery, so we can be close to the twins."

I forced a smile, seeing his obvious jubilee. This would be exciting for me, too, if I wasn't leaving my Kingdom and family behind against my will.

"Let me go pack my bags." I said, moving to the door, but he followed me closely behind.

"We'll come back for the twins once I get our bags in the Explorer." I cocked my head. Didn't he come in a sports car?

"I have a friend exchanging vehicles with me. He should be here soon." He replied to my unspoken question.

What friend? They must be close if he came with them.

Deciding it didn't much matter right this second, I proceeded upstairs, taking my suitcase from our walk-in and placing it on the bed. Rory helped me put together some clothes to take, assuring me that he had a whole new wardrobe waiting for me at 'home'.

Before I zipped it, I grabbed my picture frame from my nightstand, fighting tears as I included it atop my clothing. It was taken the day of our coronation, and included both of my Kings, as well as me, all donned in our crowns and smiling like the young fools we were. It was pathetic, but I couldn't leave it behind.

"Ready?" Rory called from the doorway, holding out his other hand for my case.

I handed it over, taking one last glance around the room I had shared with my mate, making so many joyous memories. I would miss him.

"Can I say goodbye to Bastion?" I asked, my eyes already overflowing.

He nodded, pity dancing over his features.

 "Of course, love."

Once we got to the sitting room, I called for him, knowing he was listening as closely as he could through the glass. He flew through the door, as if he had been waiting to spring into action, but his face fell once he took in the bags on Rory's arms.

"Aria?" His hazel eyes looked to me for answers, his posture sunken yet tense. "What's going on?"

"I-" I started, but an unexpected sob cut me off. After taking a deep breath, I started again. "I'm going with Rory. To London." I rushed out, willing myself to shut my eyes, but my body wouldn't listen.

I watched as Bastion turned from sorrowful, to confused, to angry.

"Wait, what? What the hell did he do to you?" He shouted, giving Rory a pointed glare.

At that time, Lysander appeared, standing between Bastion and I.

"Hell no, Aria. You aren't going with him. I know you don't want to."

"I do." I lied, biting my lip to stifle my crying.

Why did they have to make this so damn difficult? Couldn't they see it was hard enough?

Lysander stepped towards me, but Rory hissed, his eyes red with fury.

"You can stay the fuck away from her." His voice was deep and threatening, matching his glare.

I understood why. If he really knew about us, he had every right to be pissed.

Lysander squared his shoulders, his eyes darkening with challenge.

 "You can't just take her. What about her children?"

"OUR children, asshole. And we will be taking them with us."

Both Bastion and Lysander jerked their heads to me, their eyes wide with horror and disbelief.

"You've got to be fucking with me. Aria, you're just going to leave me all alone? What happened to loving me forever?"

If my heart weren't shattered before, it was after that. The thing was, I did love him. That's why I was doing this. I wanted to spare a worse heartbreak.

I wanted him to at least look back on our memories joyfully, not thinking about what I was doing with another man while he was at work.

Hell, I wanted him to love me, still.

It was completely and utterly selfish, but I needed to know he respected me.

Then, there was Lysander. The man I had just spent an amazing afternoon with. The man I had just pleasured and been pleasured by. The man who had stopped at nothing to make sure I was cared for and never lonely since Rory left.

How could I leave without giving him an explanation?

So I closed my stinging eyes, doing my best to clear my head just enough to send a silent prayer, begging him to understand.

"I'm sorry. I have to. He knows about us and if I don't go with him, he'll tell Bastion. Please, just let me go."

I opened my eyes to see if he heard me, only to be met with his furious glower. He was pissed. His hands were clenched in fists at his sides and he kept flitting back and forth between Rory and me. I knew he was angry that I was feeding into it, but I had no other choice.

I couldn't lose my mate's love.

"I'd better get going." I mumbled, casting my gaze to the floor so I didn't have to see the two extremes before me. I couldn't handle it anymore. I just wanted to run so I could stop hurting them.

But I hadn't realized that my final pleading would be my downfall.

In that next moment, to my utter horror, just as I turned to walk away, Lysander spoke.

"Bastion, Aria and I have been having an affair."