Free Web NovelChapter 20: Faking A Cough
Arianna watched Maria leave the room quietly while Kane’s gaze remained fixed on her. It was difficult to tell if he was angry or not. His jaw was clenched tight and his hands were clasped behind his back as usual.
Her heart kept kicking inside her rib cage, beating almost too hard for a human not to notice—let alone an Alpha like him.
"You haven’t answered my question, Arianna," he said. It was the first time she had noticed him call her by her actual name.
"I-I was just discussing something with my maid and it had nothing to do with you," she said, unsure if it was the right thing to say at the time. Arianna placed her hands over her stomach to keep them from trembling so noticeably.
As her gaze slowly observed him, she wondered if he had heard enough to piece it all together. "I met Ragnar two hours ago, and he was traveling to the west... to my father’s palace, King Kane."
"So?" His brows twisted in confusion as he looked down at her.
Arianna was surprised that he didn’t seem afraid now that she had found out about his investigation. "You didn’t believe me when I told you I had nothing to do with Ethan. You didn’t believe me when I said I wanted to marry you of my own free will, so you sent someone to investigate me."
Silence stretched across the tent, and no answer came from him. She felt her chest relax slightly, the thick tension easing just a fraction.
If he was unable to answer, then surely he wouldn’t go ahead and demand to know what she had really been discussing with Maria.
"It shows how much you trust your wife. Doing such a thing behind my back."
"Of course I sent Ragnar to investigate but I didn’t hide it from you," Kane told her. "The reason I was quiet just now is because I am wondering why Ragnar would tell you, when his mission is simply to do his work."
"Ragnar didn’t tell me. Rumors are flying through the tribe," Arianna said quickly, hiding the fact that it was actually Eira who had told her.
"Even if I had hidden it from you, I owe you no explanation, Princess," Kane began. He took a step forward, and then another, until he completely closed the gap between them.
He ran his fingers across her cheek, sending a cold shiver down her spine before lifting her chin with his index finger. "The king has the authority to investigate anyone who has not been honest from the beginning."
Her chest kept rising and falling so rapidly that she felt like disappearing from the room entirely. The king still thought she was lying about Ethan.
Arianna wondered how she was ever going to convince him. Of course, she had lied about Ethan and their past relationship but only because the king might not have agreed to their marriage if he knew she had been involved with his son.
And even if Kane had wanted to go through with it regardless, Ethan’s permission would have been required—and that bastard would do anything to keep her from being with anyone else.
"What makes you think I am lying to you?" Arianna lowered her gaze, fighting to keep the tears from spilling over.
"A lot of ways and one of them is this," Kane said, tilting her face back up so she was forced to look at him.
As soon as their eyes met, he felt a wave of weakness he had never experienced before. This princess would get away with a lot of things if he let her get inside his head.
Quickly, he let go of her and stepped back. Kane faked a cough, placing a hand over his mouth but what she did next left him completely speechless.
"Bless you... Oh my," Arianna rushed over to where the jug was and picked it up. She grabbed the cup, poured the water quickly, and handed it over to him. "Drink, and you will feel better."
Kane looked at the cup, unable to help but wonder if she was truly this sweet or if it was all just a pretense.
From her eyes, he could see how worried she truly was until he finally drank the water and told her that he was fine.
Arianna sighed heavily, running a hand through her long black hair. She took the cup from him and pointed toward the bed. "You should sit down and make sure you are fine."
"I am fine," Kane told her.
"No, sit down and rest," she insisted. It didn’t look like she was making a request; it was a command.
His lips curled into a brief smile before he sat down on the edge of the bed. He could not help but admire her beautiful, flawless face, wondering if all the kings and princes in her world had been blind. Why would they not propose marriage to her quickly and do everything to please her?
"I got so scared," Arianna said, walking back to the table to set down the jug. It felt so stupid of her to do all of this for him, because he was bound to think she was just pretending in order to dodge the question that still remained unanswered.
But it didn’t matter right now, did it? Not now that he was fine.
"Why? Was it not just a cough?" Kane asked curiously. He noticed the sudden shift in her expression. There was an untold story behind this, and he wanted to know what it was.
"Coughs are not ordinary," the princess answered.
"It seems there is a story behind that. Would you mind sharing it with me?" Kane watched her closely. "Your hands have been shaking since I walked into the room, but your entire body trembled when I started coughing. Your heart beat increased. Your focus changed entirely."
She blinked in disbelief. Did he notice all of that and simply keep quiet the whole time?
"Do not be scared. If you don’t mind, I would like to know."
"M-my brother had a cough one morning, and he couldn’t stop coughing no matter what I did. I was with him and a few servants. Before my parents could arrive with the physician, my only brother was gone... my..."
She couldn’t control the tears that came rushing out. The memory was still perfectly intact in her head. He was just a child of four, and he didn’t deserve such a death.
Kane hadn’t expected that to be the reason. He stood up from the bed, walked over to where she was, and wrapped his arms around her, almost swallowing her whole.
She was so small and delicate, yet he hadn’t forgotten how sharp her mouth could get sometimes. Her attitude never cared about her height or size before saying whatever was on her mind.
"Sorry, you went through that," he gently whispered, unsure if they were the right words to say to anyone at a moment like this.
Her sweet, cherry-rose scent caught his nose—so strong that he knew it had nothing to do with artificial perfumes.
"Thank you," Arianna said, trying to control her tears. She didn’t know why, but she loved what his arms were offering at this minute... warmth and comfort. If it were up to her, she would never break away from it, but no. She had to come back to her senses and not get carried away.
Stepping away from him, she wiped the tears from her face and took a deep breath, fighting back the catarrh building up in her nose. "I am fine now. It’s all in the past."
"No, you still react when someone coughs, so I will take precautions from now on. With time, we will work through your trauma," Kane told her.
Arianna almost smiled at his words. She couldn’t help but look at the man they all claimed was a monster. Of course, he had his bad side, but what if they had exaggerated?
No one had really cared about her like this before except her mother. Ethan never cared whether she was sad or had a phobia, but this man? He noticed the smallest details about her and made sure that she was fine.
Or was she the one exaggerating? Was she falling in love?
