After I left Arden, I returned to my room to rest but as usual, Arden would not let me. He kept ranting about why I made Xavia a slave when I knew I would worry about her so much.
"I am not worried about her. How many times do I have to tell you that?" I told him.
"It’s obvious that you are worried about her. Why can’t you accept the fact that you do?"
"I am not. You..."
"Gilbert, if you keep worrying about her, that would do you no good. I think you should revoke her slave decree"
"I am not doing that. I am not the type to go back on my words"
"Gilbert..."
"Look, if you also care about her, you should speak to my mom about it. I am not the one who declared her as a slave"
"But you are the reason she became a slave. You..."
I groaned. "Arden, can you stop talking?!" I yelled slightly at him.
"I am being truthful here. You made her a slave and now you worry about her. You should not have done that in the first place. I see the way you looked at her in the garden". He moved closer to me. "Gilbert, I know you feel guilty for what you did to her, and I know you want to make it up for what you did. I have an idea. If you find it difficult to make your mother revoke her decree, you can order her to work close to you. That way you won’t feel any guilt".
I scoffed. Feel guilty? Why should I feel guilty?
"I do not feel guilty"
He shrugged. "I think you should think about what I have said. It will..."
I stood up. "I am going to take my bath," I told him.
I decided it was best to go and take my bath. I needed it to feel better. For some reason, I have been anxious since I saw Xavia hurt her hand. Arden's words also got to me, somehow.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Arden asked and I glared at him. He chuckled slightly. "Come on. I was just joking"
"Don’t let me meet you when I get back" I told him.
"Are you sending me away from your room?" he asked but I ignored him and headed to the bathroom.
I did not spend much time before coming out. Arden was still seated. I decided it was best not to ask him why. I went into my closet to get dressed. When I came out, Arden began to talk about things I had no interest in. I picked up a magazine and began to flip across the pages.
"I just got a message. It's very important. It..."
I did not bother to listen to what he was saying.
He nudged me slightly and I had to stare at him.
"What?"
"Are you listening at all?"
"To what?"
"To everything I have been saying"
"You mean the not important words, you’ve been sputtering?"
He frowned. "Did you hear a thing I said? I doubt you did. Because if you did, you would not have referred to them as not important"
"Tell me, what important thing have you said so far"
He scoffed. "I am saying no words to you. You will find out how important my words are very soon. I am leaving"
"Wish you had done that earlier" I muttered and he scoffed.
"I am doing that now". He turned to leave but stopped. "Don’t you, dare send for me later because I will not show up"
"You don’t have to worry about that. I will have no reason to ask you to come over. Not in my wildest dream"
"Fine!" Arden answered. He stormed out of the room and I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Finally" I muttered, laying down to rest.
**
There was a sudden knock on my door and I groaned slightly.
"Gilbert? Are you there?" I heard.
I blinked, sitting up quickly. The voice sounded so familiar, just like the voice of the woman I dread to hear. A woman I had long seen and almost forgotten.
Could that be Kate? I wondered.
"Gilbert? Are you in? I am sure you are. Open up the door"
I groaned slightly. It is Kate, my childhood crush and the daughter of my Father’s Beta. She is also Arden’s younger sister. She had been in love with me since she was a kid. I had tried so many times to let her know that I only consider her as my little sister and not my lover.
"Gilbert, I know you are in. Open the door or I will scream down the building" she threatened and I groaned.
She is a banshee just like her mother, she can bring down the building with just a scream. She is also not the type to give empty threats. She will carry out what she says if I don’t open the door.
"I am not joking Gilbert. I am going to count until five and if you don’t..."
"Fine! I am coming to open the door already" I yelled, loud enough for her to hear.
"You better do" she answered.
I got to the door and opened it.
"Look who we have here," she said, giving me one of her seductive smiles.
"What are you doing here?"
"Is that your new way of welcoming me?" she asked with a smile. "You did not even ask me to come in"
"You did not tell me you are coming"
She furrowed her brows. "Arden did not tell you? I called him and told him I was coming. Though he told me you will be having a meeting, I knew it was all a lie to push me off"
I blinked.
Was Arden trying to warn me against her coming? I wondered.
"Are you not going to ask me in?"
I sighed. "Fine. Come in"
She walked into the room, looking around. "Your room looks different"
"You've been gone for a long time. You don't expect things to remain how you left it. Do you?"
She chuckled. "Guess, you are right"
"Tell me, why are you here?"
She furrowed her brows. "You won’t offer me a sit?"
"You..."
There was a knock on the door.
Who is that? I wondered.
Kate smiled and I furrowed my brows. "You seem to know who is at the door"
She chuckled. "I don’t think I do"
The door opened and my mom walked in. I groaned slightly.
Why is my mom showing up suddenly after a long time of not doing so?
"Mom?" I muttered in surprise.
"Mom!" Kate cooed, running over to her. She hugged her. "I’ve missed you"
"I’ve missed you too. Look at you. You’ve grown so big. How long has it been?"
"Six years?"
"That is a long time. You look so beautiful, my darling"
"Thank you, mom"
My mom held her hand leading her to the couch. "How is your mom? She hasn’t visited since your father’s death"
Kate smiled. "I guess she is still mourning"
I sighed. Could she be?