Chapter 186 New scandal
_Author’s POV_
Kaelen arrived at the hospital on Wednesday morning, he came alone to see Alaric. He couldn’t even understand why he came here instead of sending a heartfelt message through the email, maybe send a package.
The receptionist directed him to Alaric’s floor and he made his way there. When he arrived, the guards confirmed who he was first before they let him in.
Alaric received him without warmth but without hostility either. It was more than Kaelen had expected and less than he had hoped for. He had once disrespected Alaric after all.
They spoke briefly about the courthouse attack, about the legal proceedings, about the things that two leaders discussed when they were in the same room, neither of them wanted to address the more complicated things underneath.
Politics was the only things they talked about for now because the visit was short.
Kaelen left Alaric’s room after about twenty minutes and found Rowena in the corridor near the elevator.
She was on her phone reading something, she looked up when she heard his footsteps and her expression settled into her usual neutral version.
“Kaelen,” she addressed him first.
“Rowena.” He stopped a reasonable distance from her. “I was hoping I’d see you.”
She said nothing and just let him talk.
“It’s about Thomas,” he began. “What you did for him, arranging the transfer, the specialist, all of it.” He paused, and she could see him trying to find the right words. “You didn’t have to do any of that. He’s not......you have no obligation to my family anymore. But you did it anyway and he’s doing much better because of it.” He looked at her directly. “Thank you. From me and from my family.”
Rowena looked at him for a moment and responded in a calm tone, “He was in pain,” she said simply. “That was enough reason.”
Kaelen nodded slowly, like that answer was exactly what he had expected, Rowena never talked much, he already knew that expecting more from her was useless.
“Let me take you to dinner,” he said. “To say thank you properly.”
“That’s not necessary,” she declined.
“I know it isn’t necessary,” he said. “I’d like to.”
“Kaelen,” she said in the tone that meant the answer was no and had been no before he finished the question.
He accepted it without pushing, Rowena turned toward the elevator.
“Rowena.”
She stopped without turning around.
“I’m in love with you,” he blurted out.
The corridor went quiet instantly, this corridor was the one that led to the garage of the hospital so they were alone. Or so they thought.
Rowena turned around slowly to look at him. Kaelen was standing there with a tired expression, he really wanted his wife back.
He was looking like the words had cost him something big and he was still paying for them.
She looked at him for a long moment and said, “Kill it.”
He blinked in shock at those words.
“Whatever that feeling is,” she continued anyways, “kill it. Find somewhere to put it that isn’t me, because I told you a long time ago and I’m telling you again — there is nothing between us and there won’t be. Not now, not later.” She held his gaze steadily. “I mean that kindly, Kaelen. But I mean it completely.”
He laughed, low and short without any humor in it. It was too painful to accept and he didn’t even know what to do anymore. “I know,” he nodded. “I know you mean it. I just....” He stopped and shook his head slightly. “I regret everything. Every single thing I did or didn’t do when I had the chance to do it. I need you to know that.”
“I know you regret it,” she said. “That just doesn’t change anything.”
“I know it doesn’t.”
She had nothing left to tell him so she turned toward the elevator again, but Rowena didn’t walk far before something shocking happened.
She heard him move before she could process why he was moving, his arms were around her from behind, it wasn’t aggressive or forceful in any way that was meant to harm, but it was a hold of desperation. It was like she would vanish and he didn’t want that.
Rowena went completely still, her first response was not anger, It was stillness in shock.
Soon, the processing finished and she put both hands on his arms and pulled it off.
She turned to glare at him, “Don’t touch me ever again, Kaelen Varkos. Not my hand, not my shoulder, not anything. Don’t touch a single hair on my body again. Do you understand me?”
At least he had the decency to look ashamed. “I’m sorry,” he hurriedly said. “I shouldn’t have.....”
“No,” she cut him short. “You really shouldn’t have.”
Without waiting for a response, she walked to the elevator and pressed the button aggressively.
She almost groaned in frustration. Now she was irritated by hugs, thanks to Kaelen.
........
By evening, Rowena found out something shocking that left her speechless once again.
There were photographs of she and Karen hugging each other, it looked so wrong that it felt painful to look at.
Worse wad it was posted on social media. People already shared several hundred times from the look of it with the numbers climbing.
The photographs were taken from a distance, it was a bit blurred but clear enough.
How on earth didn’t she notice that there would’ve been a reporter around?
She should have been more careful, now she regretted standing still when Kaelen had hugged her.
The caption underneath was a question that wasn’t really a question
*Alpha King’s lover and ex-husband Alpha Kaelen Varkos, seen in intimate embrace in the corridor of First hospital. Could there be more to this story?*
Rowena looked at it for a long moment and just closed the app.
She put the phone face down on the bed beside her and pressed her fingers against her closed eyes. She stayed like that for a while because she was genuinely tired of one scandal to another.
If the ship wanted to sink, then so be it. She was drained of it all already.