Betrayed By The Hero, Loved By The Lord-Chapter 29: Enjoying your company (2)

"Would you like a chair?"

"Thank you but I do not need one. I won’t be here much longer," Selene said, looking away from the window to the butler. "I was only looking to see if his carriage was there. It must be a long ride to see his parents."

"It is but the lord has his ways of being quick," Harold replied.

Selene stepped away from the window to get closer to Harold. "I am curious what his relationship with his parents is like now. Is he close to both of them?"

"His parents, mostly his mother, frequent the estate when they can. He is close to his mother but it isn’t the same with his father. You must speak to the lord about his relationship with his father. I do not want to tell you the story wrong," said Harold.

"I will. I am waiting to ask if the visit went well. You have been around Xavier and his family for a long time. Who will present the greatest challenge in welcoming me into the family? I will not speak of this to anyone to get you in trouble. I just need to know," Selene said, hoping to get an opinion aside from Xaviers.

"I have some memories of his mother. She was always a kind woman when I saw her but that was long ago when I was a young girl. I have seen his father but was never around him much to know what he is like. I need to know what to prepare for," said Selene.

"In all honesty, you might be able to win Lady Josephine for the mere fact Xavier is getting married but she will not go easy on you. She will expect you to be the perfect lady. I must warn you that the lady doesn’t like anyone who will tarnish Xavier’s reputation though it mostly consists of people fearing him. As for his father," Harold stopped, hesitating to tell the truth. freeweɓnøvel.com

"Tell me," Selene urged him to continue. "I can take the truth."

"Nathaniel will be less accepting of you. He has laid out a plan for how he wants Lord Blackthorn to be and who he will marry. There has always been talk of Xavier marrying one of the ladies from the other families. He has always declined but his father continues to push it. They clash because Lord Blackthorn refuses to follow his father’s plans," Harold shared.

"I see. I thought his mother would be my greatest challenge but it turned out to be his father. Thank you for what you have told me," Selene said, grateful Harold decided to share what he knew.

"I am sorry that I could not tell you more. It seems you have missed the lord returning home," Harold said after noticing the carriage returning.

"Oh," Selene turned around to look at the window. "I will go down to greet him."

Selene was curious about how the talk with Xavier’s parents went. Did they care more that he was still awake or were they disappointed with his choice?

Selene tried not to run too fast to startle the maids but she tried to be quick enough to beat Xavier to the door. He was normally fast so it surprised her that the door wasn’t opened already by the time she reached it.

When she got to the first floor, Selene reached for the door but stopped since she sensed someone outside. "Why is he just there?" She muttered.

The door opened, revealing Xavier who was standing right where she sensed him. There was something off about him but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

"What a pity. I was looking forward to you running outside to hug me and tell me how much you missed me. It is not too late for it to happen. Should I close the door and pretend it never opened?" Xavier asked, a sly grin starting to show.

Selene noticed the mischief in his eyes and opted out of playing pretend. "Do not be silly. I came to ask how it went. You came back far earlier than I expected and you went for something?" Selene asked, noticing boxes in the carriage. "What did your parents say?"

"They said exactly what I knew they would say which is why you shouldn’t be so concerned about them. You don’t need to get them to love you," Xavier said once more. He didn’t need them to love him so why should Selene need them to love her?

"That isn’t my intention. I will admit I would like to be near your mother to get advice on certain women in town but other than that, it is not my plan to make them love me. I am a bit tired of trying to please my in-laws. I only hope we can be cordial when in the same space," Selene replied but she knew it wouldn’t be as she wanted it.

Her only fight these days should be against Gabriel and Cassandra to get revenge for what they did to Elsie. She didn’t have time to spare for other people at the moment.

"We have done our part of letting them know about the wedding before the town will find out. That will be all. If they show then it is wonderful but if not, the wedding will go on. Still, I am curious what they said. I’m sure they were disappointed not only because I am newly divorced but also for what is said about my parents,’ Selene said, knowing not to be delusional.

She continued, "I am not bothered by it. It is expected so whatever they say, I can take it."

"Regardless of whether you can take it or not, I won’t tell you. You will only think about it until it bothers you. Allow me to shield you from foolish things at times, Selene. Why hear what they said to ruin the good mood?" Xavier asked, hoping she would move on from it.

"Very well," Selene replied. "I won’t ask about it again. I- Why is your shirt different?"

Selene noticed something was off about his appearance and now she knew it was the shirt.

"A bit of blood was spilled on it so I changed into another shirt. Nothing gets by your eyes," Xavier said, finally entering the front door to get closer to Selene.

"It must have been a lot of blood if you changed your shirt. Did you spill it or did someone spill it on you? It seems to be too much of a coincidence that when you go to see your parents, your shirt is ruined. You should have just stayed home and we would have sent an invitation. I’m sorry," Selene apologised since it felt like her fault.

"What are you apologising for? I recall you suggesting we send a letter and I was the one who decided to go there whilst knowing how they would be. You don’t have anything to apologise for. It will bother me if you apologise for something you did not do. Still, something about your face now excites me," Xavier said, tempted to touch her face.

"You are excited over the silliest things," Selene said, looking down to hide her face from him.