The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 166: Evangeline

Objectively, she was quite possibly one of the most beautiful girls Soleia had ever seen. Even though she was most likely a commoner, the woman was dressed neatly, and the aura that surrounded her could match several members of nobility Soleia had ever met before. Her hair was long and wavy, cascading down her back in fawn brown waves as she moved, and her wide hazel eyes looked at Ralph as though he was the one who hung the stars in her night sky.

She had a delightful smile, and if it weren’t for the jealousy that was quickly rearing its ugly head inside Soleia’s chest, the latter might’ve thought to smile in greeting.

Although to be fair, that smile the woman had was only directed to Sir Ralph. She didn’t show it too clearly, but when she looked in Soleia’s direction, she thought she detected the faintest bit of contempt.

"Evangeline," Ralph said rather awkwardly, taking a step back away from the woman when she stepped a little too close. "Yes... It’s been a while." He cleared his throat. "Allow me to make some introductions―"

"Indeed," the woman, Evangeline, said with a giggle.

She smiled and pounced forward, practically plastering her chest against his biceps as Ralph’s eyes went wide with surprise. Evangeline did not care, however, and turned her gaze to Soleia when Ralph was caught unawares.

"It has been too long since you’ve last visited me!" Evangeline said, practically shoving Ralph’s hand into the valley between her breasts.

At this, even Soleia’s eyes nearly bulged out. The woman’s breasts were basically spilling out of her collar at this point, and it was as though Evangeline wanted nothing more than that.

"My nights have been so lonely without you," Evangeline continued, completely ignoring the look of alarm that was written across Ralph’s face. "Why haven’t you come visit?" freewebnσvel.cѳm

Rafael immediately yanked his arm free, squirming away from Evangeline as though the latter’s body was made of scalding lava. Placing distance between them, he looked at Soleia, and without a second thought, easily hooked his arm over her shoulder. He even gave her a tight squeeze in a pitiful attempt to clean himself.

"We have never spent the night―" Rafael quickly turned to look at Soleia and in a calmer voice, as though he was trying to defend himself in the court of justice, repeated, "We have never spent the night together if that’s what she’s implying."

Soleia merely raised an eyebrow.

"I never said anything," she replied.

"But you ought to know," Ralph said. "I want there to be no misunderstandings between us. My conscience is clean― my body is clean."

"How cruel," Evangeline said with a pout. "After everything we’ve been through―"

"We’ve probably talked like three separate times at most," Rafael said, effectively cutting her off. "I would appreciate it if you would stop spouting nonsense, especially when in front of my wife."

"Your... wife?" Evangeline echoed. This time, she looked genuinely surprised. "You... You got married?"

"Yes," Rafael said. He puffed his chest and straightened with pride, practically gloating as he pulled Soleia even closer. She grunted softly, feeling choked for a second with how tightly he was clutching onto her. "Happily so. Now if you would excuse us."

Pulling Soleia along, Rafael quickly made a turn to curve past Evangeline. He wanted to get away from this crazy woman as soon as possible, but he had severely underestimated the tenacity of a woman on a mission.

"Now hold on just a minute," Evangeline called out. "I know you better than that, Ralph, and I also know that the man I met five years ago said that he wasn’t interested in marrying anyone!"

Soleia yelped in surprise when she felt a set of long nails dig into her wrist, tugging her backward. She stumbled a little, inadvertently dragging Ralph with her as Evangeline held her back. Her left hand was tightly held onto by Evangeline, and the woman stared at her fingers with a squint.

"Besides, she clearly has no wedding band nor an engagement ring," Evangeline all but declared. "How can you claim to be a lawfully wedded couple when you don’t even have something as simple as that?"

"I don’t see why I need to answer your questions regarding my personal marital affairs," Soleia retorted with a huff. She pulled her hand back, having to use much more force than should’ve been necessary, and glared at Evangeline.

"You might not think much of it, but Ralph has got plenty of female friends around town who have waited many long months for his return," Evangeline said with a scoff, her words implying more than the superficial. She then continued with gritted teeth, "All of us have heard him claim his disinterest in tying the knot. We just wish to know what changed his mind."

"It’s not a matter of ’what’, but a matter of ’who’," Ralph breezily replied. He then turned to Soleia, his eyes sparkling. "You entrusted your ring to me for cleaning, remember, my love?"

Then, from his pockets, Ralph produced a thin red band that looked awfully familiar. Soleia instantly raised her left hand to check, and to her surprise, the red bracelet that had been there on her wrist had magically disappeared.

She eyed the ring suspiciously, the dots starting to connect in her head as Ralph held out the ring. On his left hand, Soleia spotted a matching ring on his ring finger.

"Allow me," he said.

Without a care that Evangeline was looking at them with eyes filled with jealousy, Ralph slipped the ring onto Soleia’s finger. The ring glided on perfectly, as though it had never left in the first place― as if it was always meant to be there.

Even though Evangeline couldn’t see it, Soleia felt the ring’s size adjust itself to fit her finger perfectly, clinging on snugly enough that it wouldn’t fall off even if she were to wave her hands around like a lunatic. She had a feeling that even if she did try to yank it off forcefully, it wouldn’t budge an inch.

"There," Rafael said, smiling at his handiwork in satisfaction. "Right where it should be."

"That still doesn’t prove anything!" Evangeline suddenly cried out. Then, she raised her hand where Soleia and Rafael could see. Soleia’s gaze widened with surprise when she spotted a similar red ring on Evangeline’s finger, its color eerily similar to blood. "Did you forget? You gave me a ring too!"