Chapter 27: My wife?
"Fine," she said, agreeing without hesitation, which gave Hezekiah a brief moment of relief.
"As long as you uphold that promise, I will also keep things strictly official between us," he assured her. Belle simply smiled and walked out of the garden.
Once she had left, Hezekiah’s personal bodyguard appeared, kneeling before him.
"Your Majesty, the Duke and Lady Belle were once seen together in the corridor, but nothing suspicious occurred," the guard reported.
Hezekiah frowned, unsatisfied. He was convinced that something far more questionable was happening, though he had no evidence to support his suspicions.
"And he hasn’t been seen entering her room at night?" He pressed.
"No, Your Majesty. I have kept close watch on him since his arrival in the castle. He hasn’t gone near Lady Belle’s chambers," the bodyguard responded.
"That only makes it more suspicious," Hezekiah murmured. "Never underestimate the man who trained you. He can slip past your sight without you even realizing it."
Quinn had been personally enlisted into the army by Hezekiah’s father at a young age. Ambitious and fearless, Quinn had grown into a man who fought for his people. But his troubled upbringing had left deep scars.
If not for his emotionless biological mother, he might have been a good husband to Belle. Quinn’s view of women had been poisoned by his mother’s actions, leaving him incapable of trusting or loving them.
Hezekiah had once believed Belle might be the one to heal him. When Quinn first met her, Hezekiah had seen a rare peace in his old friend. But now, it seemed no one could mend Quinn’s fractured soul.