Valerie locked the bathroom door and leaned her back on it. Everything Raphael said is revolving in her head. She is trying to make sense of what happened. She remembered everything that happened in that dark forest. Her run-in with the dark man and his vulnerable side. She thought he might be a part of Raphael like Hydra, who will only take control when Raphael allows him to. She never thought that the dark man will find peace and become one with Raphael. It took a few minutes to come to terms with everything. After the reality of the situation sank in, she felt like a fool. 'He is the same person, I know he accepted the darkness to help someone. Then why am I so shocked? Why didn't I tell him that she still feels protected whenever he is near? I should have told him that I love him the same. Why was I so tongue-tied? Why did I hurt him with my silence?' she thought feeling bad. She looked around the bathroom and took in everything. Nothing changed. Everything is as it was before.

"Are you done, Irina?" Raphael asked Irina coldly.Irina is stunned like everyone else at the table. He always used to address her as a mother or mom. He never used her name to address her. That came out as a huge shock to the people around them, and to Irina. Cadmus is tensed and Hector is worried about Raphael's safety. They both know how dangerous Irina is. This face-off is not expected. Even if Irina lost her cool, Cadmus thought that Raphael would subtly deal with her. But his cold attitude towards Irina is equally exciting to see and scares them.Irina stood up to her feet and glared at Valerie before directing her attention towards Raphael. "What? You are calling me Irina? You are using my given name? Did you forget that I am still your mother and the queen of this clan? She became more important to you that you are disrespecting your mother and your queen?" Irina demanded angrily. She is more angry than sad that her son is not calling her as a mother, which Raphael noticed.

"Are you ignoring me now?" Hector asked with exaggerated hand movements.Raphael did not respond. Instead, he is busily typing something on his laptop. He typed a response for the mail which needed his immediate attention. Hector looked at Raphael with a huff. "People these days are ignoring their best friends. I wonder what I might have to see in the future" he muttered with a pout.Raphael pressed sent into the last mail he had to answer, before lifting his head and looking at Hector. "I usually ignore idiots" he muttered and turned off his laptop. Hector gasped with mock outrage."What do you mean by that? Do you mean to say that I am an idiot?" he asked pretending to be offended.Raphael snorted sarcastically. "Do you want me to spell it out for you?" he asked calmly.Hector gave his best friend a squint eye. "Ok, Prince Raphael, I need an explanation for your unreasonable words" he demanded.Raphael stood up from his chair and rounded his desk."You still need an explanatio

"Prince Raphael, I came to congratulate you on your Coronation" Tasha greeted Raphael when he walked inside his office. She has been waiting for him for the last half an hour. The anticipation of seeing him again is heady. So finally when he walked inside, she greeted him with a big smile. But her smile dropped like a bomb when she picked up Valerie's scent. For a moment she is confused. She didn't see Valerie anywhere. But soon realization sank in and she became angry. 'He is bathed in her scent. Does that mean he was with her just now? Did he spend the night with her? He is a prince, how can he allow everyone to know that he was with her when they are not married? 'That thought made her angry. "Well, thank you, Princess Tasha. If that's all you came here for, then you can leave now. I have important things to do" he dismissed her not so gently.Tasha is shocked by his rudeness. She is also scared by his aura. He usually carries a very powerful and intimidating aura around him. Tha

In the Raven Palace, on the day of the coronation, Valerie is startled awake when she hears someone banging on her door. After Raphael left a couple of hours ago, she fell back asleep as she was too tired to get up so soon. But now she is fully awake, thanks to the insistent knocking. She is naked under the sheets. She quickly pulled on a t-shirt and shorts before rushing to open the door before they broke it open."Valerie " As soon as she opened the door, she was engulfed in a tight hug. When she registered who it was, her lips stretched into a big grin."Liliana" she hugged her sister. It's only been a couple of days, but she already missed her parents and sister. Liliana pulled back and walked inside the room and nodded with approval."Hmm, looks like your prince is taking care of you well. This room is double the size of your room back in the Ernest palace" Liliana admired the luxurious room of the Raven Prince.Valerie closed the door before joining her sister on the couch."He