Cassy pov.

My heart thudded like crazy as I stared at my birth parents without blinking. Okay. I thought I was ready to face them. I guess I wasn’t ready to be caught red-handed by them. Fiddling with my icy fingers, I stole a glance at Elliot. He, too, stared at them. I knew he was anxious, however, his face remained expressionless.

Gulping, I glanced between mom and dad. Both of them were clearly confused and perhaps shocked.

“I think we need to talk…..in private,” Mom murmured.

Dad’s eyebrows were knitted in a deep frown. His expression was stern and scary. I had never seen him like that during the time I was in the Palace. He was either fun and jovial or serious while dealing with the royal duties. I had never seen him that angry. He was fuming. His jaw clenched from time to time and I noticed that his fists were balled up tightly.

“Both of you! To my study! This instance!” he practically growled. With each syllable, I felt that I might faint. It was as though it would be easier to get swallowed up by the ground or to disappear into the thin air.

The long coat he wore swayed with the wind as he took angry steps towards his study, which was on the same floor. Mom sighed and followed him after giving us a little glance. Her face was solemn when she did. I just hope that they aren’t mad at us.

“We’re doomed,” I whispered. Where was Izzy? I needed her then and there! Hoping that she would come back soon, I motioned to Elliot to follow them.

“Hey, we got this. “ Elliot whispered back. I felt him intertwining his fingers with mine, giving them a little squeeze. Taking in a deep breath, I nodded. I had him beside me. Why should I worry, right?

We walked hand in hand. As soon as we entered, I felt father’s glare burn into our connected hands. However, he didn’t comment. Instead, he heaved a shaky breath and pointed at the seats in front of him. Mom was seated beside him. Her frowning face told me how worried she was. Was she worried about Dad losing his anger? Or was it the problems that might arise due to our relationship that was her concern?

We sat down. I tried my best to look dad in the eye, but it was hard. I feared that he might be disappointed in me. I didn’t want to see that in his eyes. I sat at the table, my gaze fixed on my lap. My cold hands were placed on my knees while I continued to try my best to breathe calmly, hoping that it would bring some kind of serenity to my hysterical heart.

“Sir Elliot. What is the meaning of this?”

Dad’s voice was surprisingly steady. I suppose it was part of being a great ruler.

“Can you explain?” He added after a short pause.

“Your majesty. I want to choose Cassandra as my mate.” His statement was firm. “I love her, Your Highness.” He added.

His words made me a little better. If he was courageous enough to face the king, I too must be strong to face my father and tell him the truth. After repeating my resolution in my head, I looked at my parents. Their deadpan look gave me the creeps, yet, I gulped, strengthening my determination.

“And why didn’t any of us know about it before?” Mom asked.

“We wanted to wait until my Lycan woke up,” I replied, after mustering up all the courage left in me.

My parents exchanged glances, however, their faces remained the same. Solemn and void of any kind of emotions. I hated dealing with this side of my birth parents. They had always been so friendly from the start.

“We?” father asked, with his eyebrows raised. Mom too continued to stare at me, as though she was searching for answers to her unasked questions. I gulped. Well, here goes.

“We are in love,” I whispered.

“God!” Dad mumbled and leaned against his seat, covering his face with his hands, in exasperation. He remained like that for a while. All that time, I kept praying silently that they would let us be. Or else, things might get a bit dirty.

“How long has it been?” mom asked.C0pyright © 2024 Nôv)(elDrama.Org.

“Three months.” We answered in unison. I smiled internally. It was sweet that our answers coincided. However, the atmosphere of the room was too tense for me to be too happy about it.

“I wish you had told us,” Dad muttered and leaned forward. “What are we going to tell the duke of the south?” he asked, looking at Elliot.

He shrugged. “I would just tell him that I have chosen someone as my mate already.” He stated as a matter of fact.

“You could have just told us, Carina.” I was surprised when mom addressed me using that name. Perhaps that means we are not in trouble now?

“I wanted to…… But mom. We were kind of scared and Elliot was worried that it wouldn’t be okay to date me since I was……. you know….. your relative.” I admitted, feeling relieved that the tension had lightened up. Father was visibly relaxed, albeit he still looked as though he was worried. And mom was no longer giving me the ‘look’. She smiled at my answer and dad too chuckled at it.

“I’ve always liked Sir Elliot,” Dad stated. “He would be a great partner for you, Carina.” He smirked.

“He is perfect. He is already familiar with the royal duties and etiquette. Perhaps a few things are left to learn.” Mom added in agreement with dad.

“Wait…….. What?” Elliot suddenly asked after being silent the whole time. I looked at him. He looked completely confused. Of course, he was still unaware of my true identity.

“Carina? And why are you calling the queen mom?” he asked me, frowning deeply. “Royal duties? What….. I’m lost here……” he trailed off and looked at my parents. “Your highness.”

Smiling, my parents once again exchanged glances. “Elliot? This is Princess Carina, our real daughter. We found her recently and the DNA tests prove that she is indeed our long lost daughter. So you are dating the future queen.” Dad explained in a soft voice. I was watching Elliot’s face the whole time. I wanted to see what his reaction was.

I saw how his face suddenly went completely blank. His eyes widened and his lips paused in a thin line. He stared at my parents for some time. No movement was made and no words were said. He looked as though he was completely stunned.

Once again, I started to feel uneasy. What happened to him? Was he too shocked to move? Furrowing my eyebrows, I looked away from him and at my parents who were also watching his demeanour.

“Umm….I’ll mind link, Sir Harold. He should come here, I think,” Dad stated.

Suddenly, Elliot breathed out a huge gush of air and looked away from my parents and leaned against the seat. His face was still frozen as he stared blankly at the empty table in front of him. Worried, I looked at my parents. Mom frowned and nodded at me, as though telling me to call him.

“Elliot?” My voice was a mere whisper. He didn’t move. “Hey…” my frown deepened as I placed my hand on his stiff shoulder.

Just then, his father rushed into the study, panting and sweating. He looked as though he had run all the way.

“Your majesty…..” he gasped.

“Harold ……. Your son is in a relationship with Carina, our daughter,” Dad proclaimed. I watched him go rigid.

Wide-eyed and mouth hanging, he shifted his gaze to Elliot, who was still showing no emotions.

“Elliot….is she the one?” he gasped.

Instead of answering his father’s question, he slowly turned towards my parents. “Your Majesty, I would like to leave.” He mumbled. My heart broke a little.

There was a little pause. “You may.” Dad allowed, and Elliot left the room without delay. He didn’t even give me a little glance. His father also left after him.

“My girl finally gave in to the flirt.” I heard dad tease right after they left. However, I was now too concerned about his response to laugh.

Why did he leave all of a sudden? Was it too much for him to be with the heir to the throne?

Breathing in shakily, I turned towards my parents, who were both now smiling at me. I forced a smile, despite my worries. Oh, Izzy. I need you here.

“I….” I gulped. “I would like to go,” I told them.

“Sure honey.” Mom replied, smiling.

I hastened to leave. I wanted to think and perhaps try to contact him. Why did he leave all of a sudden without saying anything? I was frantic when I closed the door of my room and rushed towards bed to get my phone.

I saw that there were numerous text messages and missed calls from Elliot over the past twenty-four hours. Even Maya and the others tried to contact me. However, my priority was to try and contact Elliot.

I called, however, my calls went unanswered. Pouting and feeling completely desperate, I texted him after several attempts. I guess I now know how he must have felt when his texts and calls were unattended.

I ended up waiting for a reply. Minutes ticked by with no news from him.

“Got yourself in another mess?” Izzy’s voice made me jump.

“Izzy!” I exclaimed. “Girl….help me! I need you!” I begged.

“Aww. How sweet. You missed me!” she cooed, making me g***n.

“Izzy. This is serious. He is ignoring me.” I felt like crying as I complained.

“Pfft. Humans are so impatient. I’ll speak to Rex. Relax.” She replied. I could feel her rolling eyes.

“Will he talk to me ever again?” I asked, holding back my sniffles and sobs.

“Just trust me, honey.” She responded and retracted back to my mind. I guess she went to meet Rex. I tried to kill time until I got any news, either from him or for Izzy to return. After a considerable amount of time passed, my phone beeped. I jumped off my bed. He replied to me!

I don’t know what to say now. Didn’t you trust me enough to even let me know your real name?

I stared at the phone. I blinked and read the text again, re-checked the sender and read the message repeatedly. No. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. I felt my heart sink. Oh no!