"No, that's impossible! Why wouldn't my daughter want to see me?" Maria found Austin’s reasoning hard to accept. "I bet she must be in some kind of danger."Austin shook his head. "She's now under the embassy’s protection. Also, she's a danger to others, not the other way around.""That's a lie!" Maria shouted and glared at Austin. “Rhea is very well-behaved and smart. You guys only took her away because you're jealous of her!"Austin was at a loss for words. He glanced helplessly at Alexander and saw him frowning at Maria. She looked as if she hadn't rested for several days—not only was her hair disheveled, but her clothes were a mess, and her eyes were bloodshot."She's not with us," Alexander said blandly. To him, Maria was just an ignorant and rather pathetic woman. She wasn't aware of the many things Rhea had done behind her back and Rhea's resentment toward her.When Maria realized what had happened, she blamed herself and indulged Rhea’s wishes. Maria wanted to make amend
Austin craned his neck as he gazed at Maria lumbering away. "Has she gone insane?""Perhaps." Alexander let out a gentle sigh. Instead of resenting her, he felt she was just a pitiful woman. Although she was responsible for what happened to his family, it wasn't entirely her fault. Besides trying to comfort her, Alexander could do nothing for her now. Austin said sadly, "I wonder how Rhea would feel if she were to find out what happened to her mom.”"I doubt she would care." Alexander turned and got back into the car. After all, he had seen how coldly Rhea had treated her mother. "What a piece of work Rhea is, huh?" Austin sighed, thinking Alexander was right. 'Would a cold-blooded and selfish woman like Rhea care? I don't think so.'Alexander sat in the car and looked over his shoulder at Mike. The latter asked curiously, “What happened?”"Do you still remember Rhea's number?" Alexander asked thoughtfully. Mike nodded. "I do." He worried about losing his phone, so he m
The man didn't do as Yasmin said and turned to place the tray on the nearby coffee table. His gentle voice seemed out of place with his sturdy frame, “Your Majesty, if you don't eat, your body won't be able to cope."Yasmin frowned and continued to stare out the window, saying, “I said I don’t want to. Are you defying my orders, too?”The man turned and walked up to her, his large body blocking the moonlight from outside. Upset, the queen looked up at him. "What are you doing?""Your Majesty, you know I'll never defy your orders. However, I'll stay here to keep you company until you eat something," he spoke stubbornly, remaining where he was. Yasmin glared up at him, but he didn't even look away and stood placidly with his arms crossed. After a while, her eyes grew sore, and she looked down, rubbing them. "Just go. I'll have the dinner later." The man didn't budge. "I'll take the tray away when you finish the food."In other words, he wouldn't leave until she ate.Yasmin grew
No one except Dominic knew Yasmin had insomnia. In fact, she sometimes worked until midnight only because she couldn't sleep. Her condition was too unbearable for her. Worse, she had to guard against any attempts to seize her throne constantly.Unable to share her agony with anyone, she could only keep it to herself. Rick noticed the queen had stopped moving. He raised his brow but said nothing. Yasmin thought for a moment and looked up at him, asking, "Rick, are you afraid of dying?" Rick hesitated. "Forget it. I'm sure you're going to say no." Rick said, "It would be my honor to die for you, Your Majesty." "Please. Fred also said that before." Waving it off, she had grown numb to such claims. After all, regardless of what people said, they were all selfish. Rick fell silent, knowing how much Fred had hurt her. Although Yasmin had long guarded against the duke, what he did was cruel. Rick still remembered how astonished he was when Yasmin asked him to spy on Fred. As
Due to the previous drama, no one could enter the laboratory without permission except Rhea. She was able to impress Queen Yasmin, who had given her the privilege of conducting experiments there.Rhea shared Yasmin’s belief to a certain degree. Or rather, Rhea pretended to do so. She needed no help finding all she needed in the laboratory. Although it wasn't a huge place, it had everything. She wondered how long Fred took to gather these materials. Experimenting in excitement, she grew oblivious to her surroundings, let alone notice someone coming in. The visitor stood at the doorway momentarily before clearing his throat.Startled, Rhea jumped and took two steps back before turning toward him. "It's you?" She was surprised to see someone she knew. Rick asked blandly, "What are you doing here?""Experimenting." Rhea calmed down and turned to resume her experiment. "Not everyone can come in here. I suggest you leave as soon as possible." Since she was officially part of the o
“Me? I have no master." Rhea shook her head and chuckled. "I'm different than you people. I only have working partners."Possessing such cutting-edge know-how, she was reluctant to serve anyone, not even the queen. If the invisibility potion worked, Rhea no longer needed to fear anyone, and she could choose who to work with. "Such arrogance!" Rick snorted, upset by what she said. He couldn't tolerate anyone so rude to Queen Yasmin, no matter who the person was. Rhea didn't know how he felt. Or rather, she didn't even bother. "I deserve to be arrogant, okay?" Rhea said as she cocked her head to see the changes in the liquid inside a container. "All right, stop disturbing me. If you're bored, go talk to Lily." "Why do you bring her up?" Rick asked. "Why can't I? You brought her here, didn't you?" Rhea looked over her shoulder at him. "Hey, why are you still here?"She was somewhat curious. "Why can't I be?""Because Fred's plan has failed, and he's been imprisoned. How com
Rhea didn’t bother reading so many messages. However, she saw the most recent message about how her mother had missed her.Maria informed Rhea they had lost their house and that she would wait for her daughter to return. Still, Rhea pursed her lips and closed the app. Although she had no patience to read the messages, she had an indescribable feeling.She had always wanted her mother’s attention, but she never got it when she was young. No matter what Rhea said, her mother would always prioritize Anastasia.As time passed, Rhea grew accustomed to not saying anything to her mother. She thought it was unnecessary since Maria didn’t care about her.When Rhea no longer needed her mother’s attention, Maria tried to make amends. To Rhea, it was too late. She felt restless and tossed her phone aside before continuing with her experiment.Only experiments could bring her joy and an endless sense of accomplishment. She didn't need anyone to wait for her or miss her. She just wanted to over
Austin felt Ross didn’t completely understand what was going on, so he explained, “No. Based on the conversation, Fred has failed and been imprisoned. It sounds like Rick and Rhea haven’t been punished.”“Fred failed?” Ross knitted his brow and thought momentarily before saying, “So he has started the experiment? Then, my mom—”“She should be fine now,” Alexander quickly said, “Based on the conversation, Fred has failed, and the one in charge now should be Her Majesty."“My mom’s in charge?” Ross was surprised. “But didn’t Fred hold her captive?”"Her Majesty is a smart woman. Perhaps she was only playing along," Alexander said solemnly. Although the conversation didn't seem like much, it provided the crucial information. The group discovered the queen had taken control of the situation. "You're saying my mom purposely led Fred to believe that he had the upper hand?" Catching on, Ross said, "I was so worried about her. Looks like I've underestimated her, huh?" 'If even I mana