Love and Chaos Series
The Alpha King’s Ugly Bride Chapter 87

Xavier stood beside the door of the court, holding a smile on his face as he watch her speak with the maidens. Not for once did he take his eyes off her majesty.

She was the walking, breathing definition of perfection. He didn't care how the trial would end; he didn't put his mind to it. He was only interested in cherishing his queen for the rest of the time he had.

As the maidens took their leave, Mia's gaze finally turned to him, and his heart skipped a beat. She smiled and made her way over to him. Every step made his heart beat faster.

The smile didn't leave her face as she approached, and he took a few steps forward to meet up with her.

"My king."

"My queen."

"We will win this."

Yes, that was very important, but somehow, having her with him for the rest of time felt even much more important. Staying with him, however, might not make her as happy as it would make him, and if he truly loved her, he had to consider her happiness as well. His hand came up to stroke her hair, and she leaned into his touch. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"Well, thank the moon goddess. You don't have to know."

He leaned in and kissed her lips softly. Her eyes fluttered, and she leaned into him to get more while her hands took hold of his face, deepening the kiss.

They heard someone clear their throat beside them, and they pulled away to replace Edward.

"You know the bedroom was made for this exact purpose," he told them, and Xavier rolled his eyes. "Do not let him corrupt you," he advised Mia, who smiled like an idiot while being held onto by Xavier.

Just to make him mad, Xavier leaned in and kissed Mia again, this time snaking his tongue into her mouth and deepening the kiss and she kissed back.

"Goodness!! I can't believe my nieces and nephews will be birthed by you two." he groaned and Xavier laughed out, pulling away from Mia.

"Thank you for what you did back there, Edward, for standing up for me."

"Always. You're my brother, but I don't think I did much. Elliott got in the way and discredited my testimony."

"It doesn't matter how the trial goes, I know I've got you. I also believe the kingdom will be in excellent hands if you become king." Xavier placed his hand on Edward's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

"I will never be king, but it's such a good feeling when you tell me things I already know." He grinned cockily. "Father will make the right decision. You were born to be king and you've done a great job of it so far." "Thank you, Edward."

Xavier caught sight of Elliott's approach and the joy his eyes held died off. Elliott stopped walking when he got to them, his hands behind him and his head held high.

"You all did great in there." he commended.

"No, thanks to you!" Edward scoffed.

"I was an interrogator in the courtroom. My job was to stay tough and thorough."

"There's a fine line between being tough and thorough and being vicious." Mia pointed out.

"You speak based on emotions."

.

"Do not speak to my wife in such a patronising tone!" Xavier snapped at him, "And she's right, there's a fine line between being tough and thorough and being vicious, and that was what you were in there. I am, however, not surprised. You've always hated me." He took a bold step forward. "I never hated you, cousin. You, on the other hand, have always considered me an enemy. And you have for so long that I think you believe I am."

"I do not believe that you are, I know you are." Xavier seethed, angry at his mind games and wanting to rip at him.

"All I've done, I've done to belong. My father died at war with the kingdom of Foth when I was younger and our father took me in. He cared for me as if I was his own, and that made me loyal to him. Everything I did since then was an act of loyalty to him. You hated me because of it, King Xavier, but I can't change who I am. I will always be loyal to your father and do whatever he asks me to do. That might make me the bad guy, but I don't care."

"So you came to tell us you're going to remain an a*s-kisser?" Xavier's brow rose. "We already know that."

He smiled, pained. "I came to tell you I'm not the enemy, just one following the commands of the one he loves." He bowed his head and took his leave.

"Why are the days so long?" Mia asked, closing the door to the study and keeping in line with Xavier who walked at a fast pace.

They would hear Robb Ainsworth's decision in a few days, and Mia's impatience was getting the best of her. They had kept themselves busy this last week with royal affairs, going out and paying visits to the temple, and the sites of The Capital 3. All this they did to take their minds away from the final decision of Robb Ainsworth. Xavier bothered less about the decision, already at peace with either, but Mia remained agitated with every day that passed. She clung to him like never before and he didn't complain about that. "It's not. You're just too eager for it to pass."

"I am, but you have to admit it has been slow these past few days! Right?"

"No, it hasn't," he chuckled.

She made faces, "Buzzkill." She stuck her tongue at him. "You can just say yes."

"Then yes, the days have been slow."

She rolled her eyes, "Too late," but a goofy smile came onto her face.

“Come, I have something to show you?"

"What is it?" her brow rose.

He remained silent and led her through the hallway and toward his chambers. Since the event of his birthday, she had lived in his room, so she followed behind without asking questions.

He closed the door behind them, and he pulled closer to gently caress her face. "No matter how the trial turns out, I want you to know that I love you."

"The trial will be in our favour. All the indications so far have said so as well," she assured him.

He brushed his finger down her neck, igniting the spark of desire in her and a smile he couldn't shake off dominated his face. "You're such an amazing creature, Mia, and I feel so lucky to have had you so far," he said, his voice dropping in its tempo towards the end. Mia picked up the change in his voice, and her brows narrowed. "Why do you sound that way?"

"What way?"

"Like you're about to say something difficult. I heard that tone in my father's voice just before he told me about the death of Ariel." Her hands took hold of his on her face and she stared up at him, desperation in her eyes. "Xavier."

He kissed her lips, "I love you and I know we will win. But in the case we don't, I want you to know I've got you covered."

"How do you mean?"

He released her face and moved to the side of the window a little behind his shelf and pushed the curtains aside to reveal about a dozen medium-sized bags on the floor there.

He turned to her. "Just like I promised when our agreement started. Here are ten bags of gold and in total five thousand talents of gold. With it, you can escape out of the kingdom." "How long have you had that?"

"I started collecting them from the first day of our agreement. I made plans earlier on because collecting them all at once would draw suspicion. I had nine bags when my trial started. I collected the last bag on the last day of trial. I moved them here two days ago when you were out with Luna Elena. With this, you can run off to chase the dreams you've always had."

"Why are you doing this now?" she whimpered and bit her lips.

He strode forward, "Because I love you and I want to make available all the options you will need in order to make your escape. If I am dethroned as King, I might never get the chance to do this for you."

A tear ran down her face and when he reached for her, she stepped back and shook her head. "Please stay back. We are in a war and you're already making preparations for your defeat."

"Isn't it the smart thing to do?"

"It is the weak thing to do!" she snarled, visibly furious. "This is why you never fought or continue your search for witnesses for the trial. You were hoping you would fail because you believed you didn't deserve to be king." "Mia, that's not it!"

"Then tell me what it is! Because this makes no sense."

He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't. The truth was he was afraid, not for the trial but of losing her. They had less than six weeks before their agreement ended and they were close to achieving what they always wanted.

She wanted freedom from the very beginning, and he wanted power to rule. Somewhere along the line, his need changed from wanting just power and the kingdom to wanting someone who he connected with physically, emotionally and all other aspects. Mia was that person and he wanted what she couldn't give, what she couldn't fulfil.

Gathering the bags every month at first was easy, but soon it became hard because each bag was the price of her freedom. He wanted to love her, to show her all the many possibilities life offered, but he had to accept that might not be what she wanted. He hated that the more he got to know her, the more his heartbreak would be. So, as often as he could, he kept his mind away from thinking about it.

Yes, he wanted her to love him, too. It was an honour to love her truly, earnestly, and he did. She loved him too, and that blew his mind. But he didn't think it was enough to make her let go of the dream she'd had for so long.

She had sacrificed enough, yet the thought of letting her go hurt. As a loving husband, however, he wouldn't stand in her way.

"How can you be so selfish!" she yelled at him, shoving him back when he took a step towards her. "You're what the kingdom needs!"

"They are still better choices, Mia. There's Edward."

She let out a humourless laugh. "Edward might be good, but he doesn't want to be king. But you don't even care, just like you don't care about yourself or what would happen to your kingdom if they lose you!" "I'm sorry, Mia."

She scoffed and stepped back. "Yes, you are." she stormed out of the room.