Enough!

VALERIC pressed his eyes almost closed and took a deep breath. "Right." He turned around to leave with Nix, however, 

"You want to delay, thinking you would ever find an omega that you truly want. An omega that will accept you thoroughly, despite your reputation, the kind of man you're known to be, and the fact that you can't ever feel a spark or have a mate," Selena seethed in a whisper, looking back into the light with twitching eyes. "You are nothing but a taint to our kind. The only value you have is your rank as the only existing supreme alpha and your title as the alpha's first prince. Nothing more." 

"You think any omega would ever want you genuinely?" 

Nix glared at her with cruel eyes. "Enough! Selena, it's enou-"

"They will never want you, not a man like you. And most definitely not when they lay eyes on what lies beneath that mask. Hiding half of your face, hah. I'm the only option you have in the end, Valeric," she said. 

Nix glanced at Valeric, knowing the man was definitely fuming at her words. He expected a reaction from him and was ready to stop him if he attempted to end Selena's life right there. 

However, Valeric turned to look at the woman. He didn't say a word, but his lips lifted like the cruel curve of a knife. The curve of his lips taunted her, the deepened corners, the mocking dimness in his eyes—even the one framed by the mask, ripped through her mind in an instant, making her stagger on her foot. 

How dare he? 

How dare he look at her like that, as if she were some kind of fool spitting nonsense without knowing anything? 

She watched him turn around and leave with Nix, who didn't bother closing the door after them. Her chest rose and fell in pure range, and she covered her ears, screaming to herself in frustration. 

….

"What is wrong with you, Val?" Nix yelled at him, concerned for him. "You need to get your temper in check. Don't say things you aren't meant to say just because you're frustrated and angry." 

Valeric couldn't say a word, but he followed his eyes. "What is it?" 

"I am worried for you," he said. 

"Because-" 

"What do you think will happen if she finds out you are married?" he asked. "She will not only tell our father, but they will bring you down together, Valeric. They will take that woman you so much want and break you apart so you could never go against him, act without his permission, or use your freedom." 

"We have to be careful until you are ready to protect her, even if he ends up finding out. But right now, you have to be twice as careful. I'll help you, but there is a limit to how much I can do. You have more power than I do, you rule and own just as much as the royal family does, but even still, they are the shackles pulling you down. He holds you in the palms of his hand, and we have to do something." Nix breathed softly and took a step back. 

"The less frightened your wife is of you as well, the better." The man turned around and walked away. "Fix the both of you." 

Valeric studied his silhouette, and his brows shot upwards for a moment, something gnawing at his thoughts. His frustration was growing worse and worse. 

Nix was right.

———

The white door was curiously pushed open. Stella glanced from her left to her right before stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. She was clothed in denim shorts, a light hyacinth-colored shirt, and a pair of white shoes with high-ankle socks. 

Her footsteps echoed slightly in the simple empty room, containing only a grand white piano that gleamed under the soft lighting burning into the room through the opened curtain and the bright cream color of the entire space. 

Since Valeric left in the morning, she hadn't stepped out of the room and only did when she no longer heard the only maid in the mansion. For a house that huge that she even felt she might get lost in, one maid seemed...baffling. He had more butlers than he did maids. 

She walked over to the piano and paused for a moment to trace the curves and the glass-like surface of it. 

Must be very expensive. 

A smile tugged at her lips, and she sat down on the stool, her fingers dancing over the keys with a slight bit of reluctance. She wouldn't say she was good at pianos, as she had only ever played a few times. Mr. Ferguson wouldn't really allow her in the music room they had back at home. Her sisters were the exception, and to play, she would have to sneak in, otherwise, it was impossible. 

She pressed one of the keys and eventually went ahead to begin playing. With each growing second, her gaze went away, and so did her hearing as the only thing she could focus on was what she was playing. This prevented her from noticing the approaching footsteps towards the door of the room. 

One of the double doors was opened, and expensive Italian black leather shoes rounded the corner, stepping inside. That body, so full of strength and swathed in a three-piece black suit, hurtled into full view without the slightest warning. Valeric's lightly curled hair was coming loose from its band, and a few single strands fell over his forehead above those eyebrows that seemed to meet his temples. 

The man's gaze swept over to Stella, and for a moment, something like the hesitation of surprise flashed through the faint color of gold. His legs seemed to move and stop again, as if unsure whether to leave or move forward. But the surprise still lingered there, and the pounding in his chest grew worse. 

"Little wife," he called.