Chapter 101
SEBASTIAN’S POV
Once the police vehicle dropped me off, everyone at the castle rushed towards me, hugging me like I’d been away for ages. They welcomed me warmly, overjoyed to have their king back.
“I knew you’d come back,” one of my right-hand guards, Khan said, looking at me with proud eyes. “Even when others did, I never for once lost faith in you. I’m glad you’re back.”
We greeted with handshakes and hearty manly hugs. I shared the same vibe with my guards and even gave some of the castle maids friendly hugs.
The head maid couldn’t contain her joy when she saw me. Rushing over, despite her petite size, she hugged me so heavy it almost knocked me off balance.
“I knew you’d return,” she said, her voice choked with emotion. A lump formed in her throat, and the next thing I felt was wetness on my shoulder. “You’re not a murderer. Those detectives should be fired for putting you through all that humiliation…”
She pulled away, held my cheeks and turned my face side to side, scrutinizing me.
“Look at what they did to you,” she cried out with a grimace as though she could feel the pain.
The police didn’t hurt me much. Most of my wounds came from their rough handling. They tossed me around like a kid’s toy, even with the handcuffs on, making me land in painful uncomfortable ways. The red marks around my wrists were from the handcuffs being used too much and for too long, irritating the skin there.
The head maid was right; those police officers deserve to be fired for what they put me through. I’ll make sure of it once I recover, probably in two or three days. I’ll call the executives of the Association of Alpha Kings and ask for their support as I file a lawsuit against the chief detective and her minions. Every single one of them will get a taste of my punishment. I’ll take the case to the kingdom’s court, where the jurisdiction will be more favourable for me since Catherine’s family had a lot of connections and could manipulate the entire process if it’s done elsewhere.
The head maid gently pressed my cheeks as if they were dough. I suppressed a groan, feeling some swelling there.
“You’ve shed a lot of weight,” she looked at me with pity, eyeing me like I was the frailest thing ever “I can see your bones through your skin,” reaching for my shoulders, she checked my collarbone area through the shirt I had on. “It’s obvious they didn’t feed you at all these past few days…”
I nodded, my expression bleak to show she was right. She glanced away, clearly angry and frustrated. “These people have the audacity to starve a king, ruler of two kingdoms for that matter. If only your parents were still alive, they would’ve shown them what real starvation is,” she huffed, then turned to look at me.
“Hurry, go take a shower because you smell like a garbage dump,” she breathed out sharply, trying to escape the odour. “We’ll have something ready for you to eat right away… and maybe consider doing some shaving and trimming too,” she suggested.
She gestured for me to go, but I asked for water. I hadn’t had a drink since I was thrown into that cell, and all the moisture in my body was drying up. My mouth was as dry as desert and my lips flaky. In a few minutes, I might end up with a serious case of dehydration if I didn’t get something to drink. Dehydration brought a lot of complications, including death, and I didn’t want to die like this.
“Fast!” the head maid urged one of the castle maids, who had been watching me with keen interest as if I were a character in their favourite show. “Fetch some water for your master. Put a pinch of salt and sugar in it.”
The maid zoomed off with a couple of others followed closely behind her probably for assistance.
As if she sensed my question about the addition of salt and sugar into it, she looked back at me and smiled dryly. “It’s to help replace the electrolytes you’ve lost. I can tell they didn’t give you anything to drink either.”
“Oh…” I muttered, now understanding.
“Gosh!” She gave me that pitiful look again, winced, shook her head and facepalmed.
My guards helped me settle into one of the dining chairs at the table while I waited for the water. I wanted to send them and the other castle maids gathered around away because I hated being seen in such a pitiful state. It was incredibly embarrassing. But the empathetic look on their faces makes me not do so.
Moments later, the maid came back with the water, appearing white due to the dissolved salt and sugar.
“Alpha Sebastian, I’m really glad you’re back. The whole castle felt like a graveyard without you…”
“Says the same girl who was more worried about her paycheck,” the head maid chimed in, and the maid lowered her head in embarrassment.
Not too concerned about that matter, I concentrated on the tall glass of water. I downed it in one go and handed it back to the maid for a refill. She looked a bit surprised before leaving. If only she knew how thirsty I was, then she’d bring back a whole gallon of water while coming water.
I watched the maid disappear into the kitchen. My focus shifted forward, and there, just by the stairs was Brianna. My breath caught, my heart raced with excitement, joy, and… love on seeing her. These past few days of living without seeing her, feeling her, and gazing into those beautiful glacial eyes felt like a crucial part of my life had been left out.
She gazed at me with the same emotions, tears of joy streaming down her rosy cheeks. Without thinking, I stood, keeping eye contact without a single break. Everything and everyone around us appeared to freeze, turning invisible. It felt like we were in our world, just the two of us – nobody else. She was all I could see, and I was everything she could see. It was a heart-stopping moment. One of the best feelings.
I wanted to close the gap, bring her near, lift her and spin her around until she laughed heartily. I wanted to tell that I was innocent, that I was back for good, and that no one was taking me away. I wanted to promise her that no one would ever separate us again.
I tried stepping forward, but she shook her head in agony as if she didn’t want to but had to. She bit on her lower lips and signalled for me to stop. It left me puzzled. My brows furrowed, and my excitement faded. Why?
She glanced around, and that’s when I realized what was holding her back – the people nearby, my guards and castle maids. She was worried that if we got too close, they’d see us being so intimate and assume the worst. Frankly, I didn’t care. As the Alpha King, the one in charge, I didn’t need anyone’s permission to hold her. They could think or say whatever, but it wouldn’t affect me. It wouldn’t affect us.
I was about to move forward to carry out my intention when the head maid blocked me.
“No, son. There is no way I’m letting you hug anyone without showering first,” she grabbed my arm. “Since you’re not willing to go on your own, I’ll have to pull you to the bathroom myself.”
She took the glass of water from the maid who arrived just in time, leaving her brows squeezed together in confusion as she wondered why she was pulling me like that.
I glanced at Brianna as we walked past her upstairs. She moved aside and smiled. It probably seemed funny to her, but I enjoyed seeing her smile. She looked more beautiful that way. If I couldn’t have her now, I’ll have her later. As I was pulled away, I whispered to her, “I’ll be back for you…” Before I could add “tonight,” we took a turn to the hallway.