Chapter 8: Ragnor's Betrothed

Laura took money from a man and tried to give Clara to him for his pleasure against Clara's will. Ragnor arrived at the scene and took Clara away. While Laura was standing outside wondering who Ragnor was, a mysterious lady got down from a car which almost hit Laura on its arrival. 

"Who is the woman in the car that just drove off?" asked Princess Siku, her gaze fixated on the golden ring on her middle finger on the left hand.

Laura turned to look behind her and around, realizing she was standing outside alone with the strange woman, she pointed to herself.

"Are you talking to me?" Laura asked a bit terrified.

"Do you see any other puppy around?" Princess Siku asked, fixing her gaze on Laura.

She looked at Laura for a while and smiled.

"Huh! Are you calling me a puppy?" Laura said and laughed mockingly.

"I know you didn't part those pretty lips of yours to call me a puppy. Anyway, you sure do have a pretty lip. What lipstick do you use?" Laura asked with curiosity instantly getting confused about what was going on in her mind.

The lady took two steps and was now in front of Laura

"Chanel, I use Chanel. What do you say, you and I go inside one of your private rooms and have a little chat?" Princess Siku said and stretched her hand with her palm open towards the direction of her chauffeur.

The chauffeur immediately put a 5000 dollar bundle in Siku's hands.

"Does this pay the f*e for your private room?" Princess Siku asked showing the money to Luara.

"Gee, Lord, this Clara sure has some luck around her. First, she attracted a strange man who gave me 100,000 dollars in one night, and now this lady is here, offering me how much now?" Laura thought and squinted her eyes trying to figure out the amount in Siku's hand.

"It's 5000 dollars and you can have much more, provided you are good to me," Princess Siku informed her.

"O la la, fiiiiiiivvvvvvvvve thooooousaaaaand dollars" Laura screamed in her head and did a backflip in her mind twice.

"Sure ma'am this way leads to one of my private rooms" Laura announced with lots of excitement. 

She led the lady into the club and took her to one of the private rooms.  The club was busy, but Princess Siku caught the attention of some people due to her extremely expensive appearance

"Are those real diamonds?" someone asked from the dancing crowd. 

Soon Princess Siku and Laura were alone in one of Laura's private rooms. The chauffeur stood at the entrance of the door to the private room with arms crossed over his chest. The two ladies sat opposite each other on the semi-circle sofa. 

"Now tell me, who is that girl in the limo?" Princess Siku asked the same question again with no expression on her face

"Oh, that is Clara Hughs, she is an orphan. She lost her parents in some murder issue, I don't know all the details, but she has been living under my care" Laura said smiling like she had done something that deserves an Oscar award. 

Seeing that the lady she was with was neither smiling nor reacting to what she said, she cleared her throat and continued.

"I found her when she was 16 years old, that was 3 years ago. She was trying to steal from me. Since I have been taking care of her. That is all about her." She smiled and curiously asked "What did you say your name was again? I am Laura by the way"

"Princess" Siku responded avoiding giving Laura, her other name which may raise questions.

"How long has she been with the guy who picked her up?" Princess Siku asked.

"A couple of weeks, I guess. I didn't keep a tab on those two" Laura replied. 

Princess Siku took another bundle of five thousand dollars from her bag, added it to the one on the table and got up to leave. Laura was just looking at the money on the table paying no attention to the woman walking out of her private room. 

The chauffeur followed Princess Siku out of the club, he opened the car door for her before going to sit at the driver's side.

"Where should we go to, my princess?" asked the chauffeur.

"Let's go see my love" Princess Siku replied.

She opened a compartment in the car and brought out a bottle, poured its contents into a glass and drank it. She closed her eyes and lay back in the seat after putting the bottle and glass away. 

Meanwhile, Ragnor has already arrived at his mansion and has taken Clara to her room. Clara was lying in bed with Ragnor sitting on the bed beside her. She had stopped crying, but she still had a sad look on. Ragnor's heart ached more seeing her sadness. He wanted her to smile but was not sure how to get her to smile. 

"Are you okay now?" Ragnor asked in a gentle voice.

Clara nodded yes but still with a sad face.

"It's late but do you want to go sit on the swing? and watch the fish in the sea?" Ragnor asked hoping it would make her smile and it worked.

Clara smiled and nodded like a little girl. He offered her his hand, and Clara accepted it and they both went out of the mansion to the garden behind the mansion. Clara sat on the swing and Ragnor gave her some push.

After a while they went down to the underground room, to watch the fish in the ocean. Ragnor placed a call to the mansion and ordered one of the housemaids to bring them some snacks.  The snacks were brought a few minutes after he had made the request, and Ragnor fed them to Clara.

Clara tried to feed him too, he couldn't say no to her, looking at the smiles and genuine joy in her eyes. He ate little and fed Clara the rest. Ragnor sat on the sofa facing the glass and Clara decided to join him happily after watching the fishes standing in front of the glass for a while.

Ragnor wrapped her in his arms and they both lay down on the sofa. He kissed the back of her head making her smile. He was happy because she was. They were in there for about an hour, and Clara fell asleep.

Ragnor carried her in his arms and watched her smiling peaceful sleeping face. His heart felt warm, and he smiled. He looked at her lips which were slightly parted. He wanted to kiss her. Every part of him wanted to kiss her on the lips. He has never known what love is let alone how to care for someone, yet this girl makes him feel different. She arouses an unexplainable feeling in him. He yielded to his temptation, lowered his head, and planted a gentle kiss on her lips making sure he didn't wake her.

At that same time, Princess Siku's car drove into his compound. In the car, her eyes opened immediately, and she sat up looking in the direction of the mansion garden. 

"Stop the car" Sike yelled at the chauffeur. 

As soon as the chauffeur stopped the car, Siku didn't wait for him to open the door for her. She opened the door herself, got out of the car, and walked hurriedly in a 5-inch heel towards the garden. 

Ragnor lifted his head with a smile. He wanted to deeply kiss her, not just plant a kiss on her lips but he also didn't want to wake her. He was smiling when he felt a bit uneasy. He lay Clara gently on the sofa and went to check the CCTV and saw Princess Siku. He frowned. 

"What is she doing here?" Ragnor thought to himself. 

He went back to the sofa and carried Clara in his arms, careful enough not to wake her and used a different exit back to the mansion. He took Clara to her room and laid her on the bed. Ensuring she was comfortable she activated the soundproof and a layer of the wall moved to cover the entire wall with a different shade of colour.

He locked the door on his way out, went down to the living room and fixed his gaze on the front door. Meanwhile, Princess Siku stopped in her tracks realizing Ragnor had left the underground building and was now in the mansion. She moved at lightning speed back to the mansion. She opened the door and came face to face with Ragnor who was standing in the living room with an angry expression on his face and a bloodshot eye. 

"What do you want Siku," Ragnor asked angrily.

"Is that why you left home? Left me? Is it because of her?" Princess Siku yelled. 

"You know why I left. I hate to be forced into things. This is why I left. She, I meet by chance" Ragnor retorted and Princess Siku laughed.

"Why haven't you killed her yet?" Siku asked with a serious face.

"Because I don't intend to," Ragnor replied his eyes returning to emerald green with the thought of Clara.

Princess Siku furrowed her brow staring at the change in Ragnor's expression with the talk of Clara.

"Do you like her?" Princess Siku questioned.

Ragnor was silent, he could not answer but rather, he started thinking. He could not understand why he always wanted to see Clara. He feels some calmness around him anytime she is around. He couldn't explain his feelings toward her. 

"Does he like her?" Ragnor thought after processing a whole lot in his mind.

He was still deep in his thoughts when Princess Siku's voice snapped him out of his thinking.

"I am your betrothed Ragnor," Siku announced and waved off the ring on her finger. "Your parents sent me to bring you back home. I got here and what did I see, you with a human girl?" She spat out angrily.

Ragnor laughed hysterically.

"Oh, you got betrothed? To whom?" Ragbnor asked still laughing with his gaze on her watching her burn with anger and pretending he didn't get what she said.

"I am betrothed to you," Siku repeated.

"Me? This is the best joke I have ever heard in my entire existence." Ragnor said letting out another laugh but his next words were said from a wave of extreme anger, "It takes two to be in a relationship. Now get out of my house before I throw you out myself." he ordered.

Princess Siku had no option but to obey him. She can't disobey her husband-to-be and the future king. So, she left the mansion. Ragnor was still angry when he left for Clara's room. He unlocked the door and deactivated the soundproof wall.

The room returned to normal. His anger subsided watching Clara hugging a pillow in her sleep. He smiled and climbed into bed with her and pulled her into his embrace, cuddling her. Clara unconsciously hugs his arms. Like that, he drifted off to sleep too.