Chapter 92: Bold Mrs. Miller.
In the meantime, Sienna was sitting across from her husband, having figured out pretty much the same thing as Elder Sebris. "You knew they would not take her back today, didn’t you?"
Elias nodded, sipping gracefully on his fifth cup of tea since he woke up. "I am driving a hard bargain and it is not a decision they can make on their own. White-Fang needs to be involved personally. I knew they would go before the king."
Sienna briefly closed her eyes, opened them and laughed. "And you plan to use Numia’s beating as leverage to make the King stand on your side."
He shook his head.
She frowned, wondering how she had been so wrong. It made sense that way.
"It is our side." He corrected. "Not just mine. You are my wife, remember?"
She dragged her nails across the table gently. "Well, as your wife, I would appreciate a heads up next time. You can’t just bring snakes home and keep me in the dark about it."
"You were asleep, I planned to tell you about it in the morning." He replied.
Her eyebrows shot up quickly. That was not what she meant, and he knew it.
"But next time I kidnap someone, I will give you a heads up." He put his cup down, smiling an innocent flower.
She snorted rose, and left.
As soon as she left, Mrs. Miller came running and she took Sienna’s place. "Leave us," she commanded the guards and servants on stand by.
They looked to Elias first. When he nodded, they did as she said.
Mrs. Miller sat stiffly, her gaze sharper than a blade. In her mind, the scene of the fingers holding an empty cup across from her, wrapped around her daughter’s neck came to life. She even remembered Elias’s eyes. They had been dangerous. That image burned in her mind like fire. No matter what Sienna said, she refused to let the matter drop.
"Lord Veythar," she began, voice low but steady. "What happened this morning? I have not received a proper explanation for it. Now Sienna tells me not to worry, but, I am her mother. Of course I am going to worry and I am going to protect her. Know this, even if you are one of the strongest Lords among beast men, even if your power chills others, I will stand against you."
Elias’s eyes flickered, his expression unreadable. His aura was the same as always; cold enough to chill the air. Yet he didn’t lash out. Instead, he exhaled slowly, as though releasing a storm her too long.
"My actions were not those of a husband that enjoys turning his fists on his wife," he said, voice like winter wind. "She blocked my mental probing. Somehow, your daughter has a mind shield! I don’t know any human with that ability. She has changed too much. Too suddenly, I feared...she is not her."
Mrs. Miller narrowed her eyes. "Not her? She is my child. What do you mean?"
Elias’s gaze softened, though only slightly. "Sienna was once a glutton, now she is on a diet. Her biggest desire used to be draping herself around me like a scarf, now she insists on keeping a distance. She was once timid, hesitant, always giving in to the demands of others and afraid of conflict. Now, she wields a pan, talks back boldly, even dares to call me a bastard to my face. She cares for our children and grows plants that mature overnight. I could ignore other things but the mental strength! It is questionable. So when I discovered it, I thought....perhaps another had taken her place somehow. That is why I grasped her neck, to tear off a mask. Not to harm, but to question and test. To see if she is truly Sienna."
Mrs. Miller’s lips tightened. "You call that a test? To me, it looked like violence. Don’t think I will excuse it. Are you an expert on mental strength. What does anyone truly know about why some children have beast genes and others don’t? At the end of the day, even we humans descended from beast men. Lacking a beast gene does not necessarily equate to lacking mental strength. I know my daughter.
I know she is Sienna. Her selfishness, arrogance and greed for money is still the same deep down. And I love her anyway. The difference between then and now is that she is willing to work for the life she wants. She woke up because she knows you won’t support her forever. And the mental strength issue, she has been having headaches often so she takes naps. Maybe something is changing inside her.
You should have thought of calling a doctor first, before pinching her neck."
Elias’s silence stretched, heavy as snow. He had not heard anything about headaches. But, he knew about the daily naps which everyone attributed to laziness. Was something truly changing inside her? Mrs. Miller was right about one thing: nobody truly knew everything about beast genes and how they worked. For now, it was better to believe Sienna was her, and she was undergoing changes.
Until he found proof that maybe, she was not who she appeared to be. "I apologize, I was anxious. I have many enemies and some are not afraid of using my family to harm me. I thought that she had been kidnapped and replaced."
Mrs. Miller leaned forward. "Next time, use your mouth first or come to me and tell me your suspicions. I will be the first to raise an alarm if something is wrong with. My daughter has suffered enough in this world. She told me got a disease called depression after living on your estate for five years.
She explained what she went through. The slander, mistrust, over dependence on food, hating herself and her children, changes to her personality. All this caused her to change. She didn’t change because she wanted to, it was because she had to. And I--her mother--am glad. Glad that she is no longer weak and at the mercy of your mother. Glad that she can stand tall. Glad that she can guard her mind from manipulation. Even if her sharpness unsettles you. Also, beast men are not allowed to probe the minds of others unless they are under attack. What you did was criminal. Sometimes I understand why Sienna is willing to divorce you. It is because you are lacking as a husband."
Elias’s eyes lifted, crimson meeting her steady gaze. "You are as a bold as your daughter. And here I thought you were as weak as a sheep beast woman. Maybe even weaker."
Mrs. Miller’s lips curved faintly. "I used to be. But when Sienna told me how she had been living, and when I saw how she had changed, I started thinking of my own life. If I continue to live as a coward, I can’t protect my children. Word of advice, if you even have the smallest wish to remain by her side, the prove you can protect without harming. Otherwise, sign those divorce papers today, take the children and your people and get out of her life forever."