Chapter 23 #2
I turned to face him fully, feeling the gazes of everyone dining there for the free entertainment they were now getting.
I slowly raised an eyebrow at him, making it clear I was mocking him right back.
“Do you normally dictate to females how many children they will birth? It’s a rather odd and vulgar habit, especially from someone who should have better manners at his age. ”
Rage filled his eyes, but the woman with the baby snickered.
Onyx burst out laughing along with a few of my security chuckling. He immediately lost his amusement when the older dragon fisted his hands and started chuffing.
He actually moved in between us and guided me back protectively and towards Lydia.
“You were over the line, old timer. You didn’t even address your queen as you should and tried to make a scene that she’s just here to make babies instead of being our ruler.
Don’t get aggressive with her when you picked a fight, but she’s just sharper than you are. ”
I moved my hand to his shoulder. “Thank you for being a gentleman as my date, but I can fight my own battles.”
“I never doubt that, Your Majesty, but you shouldn’t always have to,” he muttered.
“Sometimes it’s much louder coming from another man.
” He tilted his head and clearly something was in his gaze that worried the older dragon because he flinched.
“Isn’t that right? Some of you only hear it when it comes from another man? ”
The old man rallied. “Don’t put words in my mouth. Rhys had a duty to have an heir too. Any ruler should have a lot of them so the bloodline never dies out.” He chuckled and took a step back. “But good to know you’re just as defensive of her as she is of you. That’s important in a mating.”
I kept my mask in place but internally flinched, thinking of the time. Right, the interview had already aired.
Shit.
“Thank you again for the extra hassle,” I said to the manager when I saw him right there. “Everything was as amazing as I’ve always heard. I’m thrilled this was my first dining experience out as queen, especially knowing it was a favorite of my parents.”
He blinked back tears. “You truly are their daughter with their manners and charm. Always come visit every new menu, Your Majesty. Our chefs love thrilling your taste buds. They brag for weeks they made our ruler happy just as the castle does.”
I thanked him again and didn’t even have to give Lydia a look before we were whisked out of there. I realized something right when we were at the vehicles. “Where is Benson? My first time eating out and he’s not here?”
“I asked he not be,” Onyx said under his breath as he opened the door for me.
I gave a nod that I heard him, trying to process what he’d just said. Clearly, it wasn’t so I wasn’t as well protected. No, Onyx wasn’t a danger to me.
No matter my confusion or concerns over the man and what he wanted from me, I knew that without a doubt.
So this was about my feelings for Benson and Onyx undoubtedly wasn’t a fan of them. Well, such was life.
There wasn’t much to say to that, but his phone rang and interrupted the moment. He frowned and pulled it out of his pocket, glancing at it and silencing it before tucking it back in his pocket. “Sorry.”
He got in after me, but it rang again.
And again. He chuffed the third time and silenced it. “So sorry.”
“Or you could turn it off when on a date with the queen,” the driver drawled under his breath.
I appreciated the support, but I understood this one. “The King of Protesia could call him at any moment to come back or with an issue because of what he’s doing to help us.”
“Yes, that’s the only reason I have it—” Onyx growled and pulled it out again. “Oh, these dumbasses. It must have gotten out we went to dinner. This is a message asking when we’re mating. Yeah, thanks, idiot. We’re on the date and—sorry. I’m not even friends with this fool.”
He looked genuinely flustered which was kind of cute on a man his size and how smooth he was.
“It’s fine,” I forgave. “People are ridiculous.”
He smiled at me and silenced another one. “I’ll turn it on vibrate and check for the king’s people every so often. This is so silly over a dinner.”
I swallowed down my real response and met Lydia’s gaze. She knew it was probably the interview since she’d been in the room at the time.
“‘You’re gonna piss the rest of them off if she’s already throwing down for you. How did you win her before the first date?’” Onyx read with a frown. “What is going on?”
I moved my hand over his phone. “It’s fine. Let’s just get back to the castle.” I said it more for the driver and my security. If he was getting messages like this and now I’d been visible at the restaurant… There could be a problem with the press.
“We’re heading out, convoy direct route,” the driver announced. “Lights and radio in to the castle.”
“Wait, that’s if there might be a problem,” Onyx muttered, already read in on security protocols. “What is going on?”
I let out a slow breath and tried to take his phone away, glad when he let me. “You won’t look until later?” I was glad when he nodded after a moment. “I made some rather inflammatory statements during my interview with June earlier.”
“About me?” he worried. “What did I do wrong?”
“Not about you,” I clarified.
“Then why would people have… Kole. This had to do with—what did that fucking prick do now?”
I hurried to defend Onyx when the driver and Lydia opened their mouths. “Look at a map of where he keeps going for the issue in Protesia. It’s beyond remote.”
“Fine, but he still lands at our regular airports and then the flights back and forth,” Lydia grumbled.
“Yes, but I normally sleep,” Onyx defended. “I didn’t just stay there and rest. I jump back on a plane or—what did Kole do?” He moved his hand to my knee when I didn’t answer. “Sagan, please. Please, I can’t have—please don’t let him come between us. We could really have something here.”
I maybe thought that before, but now… And it wasn’t even Kole’s rant. I glanced at the rearview mirror and thought back to the date.
The lame date where Onyx talked the whole time and actually acted a lot like Kole. Then I just felt tired.
I pulled up the clip on my phone and handed it over along with his. He could watch. It would be easier than talking on the drive back to the castle.
Plus, I’d already watched it several times, so what was one more?
I stared out the window as Kole’s voice filled the car. He was sober, but the video showed him having a drink with some “friends.”
Yeah, he was so stupid that he kept trusting people who evidently weren’t on his side and were leaking information just like the ones who had been pumping him for details in my castle. One had poked him about the breakup and everything going on and then recorded his whole rant.
And it was a rant.
An unhinged one that rewrote so much history that I honestly thought Kole was out of his fucking mind.
I never stared at him before we met. I never talked about him to others and it got back to him. I had had no idea who he was, but—Treena had told the truth about what happened.
I snorted when he went into detail about how often I called and whined that I missed him. That he constantly had to deal with clinginess and my obsession of him.
Onyx reached for my hand, but I pulled away. Something seemed… Wrong with him comforting me over his nephew’s lies about our relationship.
Yes, I knew that was weird when I’d let him help heal Kole’s emotional abuse. Then again, that had gone wrong for me, so maybe that was my hesitation?
That actually seemed smart and I forgave myself my earlier snark. Somewhat.
Kole continued and ranted how it was all about my parents dying and the fact they never loved me and now I was too full of myself because I was broken. That I had always been too full of myself, but he’d kept me under control because he was such the man and could.
No one would now because I’d gotten the bigger crown before mating and I’d be too wild. Clearly, since he’d not been able to do it after all the years of effort and handling me.
Fucking. Asshole.
Then he went into his whole bullshit about Onyx. That he was basically the black sheep of the family and a total pussy Kole could handle in seconds. That I wanted a pussy since I thought I was the man of any relationship now and that was why I would consider a loser like Onyx.
On and on and on he went how he was so much better than his uncle that it was fucking pathetic.
All of it was. Honestly, it was so grossly pathetic that I hadn’t been mad about it. He sounded desperate and ridiculous.
I’d been pissed because of how people responded. Giving him a pass on everything horrible he’d said because he didn’t know he was being filmed.
Oh, fuck them. If the situation was reversed, there was no world where I—nor any female—would have gotten that same consideration. Why did men get it? Boys will be boys?
Fuck them hard.
We were the weaker sex but always expected to rise above, be stronger, and act better? So… Weaker how? Physically?
But stronger emotionally, mentally, and all the other ways. How did that balance out to anyone with a brain?
Sometimes I really thought I was crazy for feeling like the only one sane among the lunatics who spewed this shit. Did an actual crazy person worry if they were crazy?
“I’ve seen four segments of panels discussing the situation and all are on his side after that,” I told him, nodding when he started chuffing. “What did I expect when he’s so much more attractive than me?”
“What?” Onyx exclaimed too loudly for the car.
“It had to be horrible for him to deal with such a clingy woman who also wanted to be the man somehow—not hearing how that really conflicts logically,” I continued, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
I told him the rest and what was said about him. The whole media shitstorm of stupid and fucking pathetic to the point I was pretty sure Vex had done some damage control and bribed people to put this together so fast.
I let out a slow breath when we stopped at the castle and the door was opened for me. “I had some choice words in my interview with June. Staying quiet has done nothing. The public’s opinion of me can’t get any worse.” I shot him a quick glance. “Goodnight, Onyx.”
He was out of the car and around the side of it to escort me before my door was even closed behind me. “Please, Sagan, don’t let this…”
I swallowed a snort. “Thanks for a… Evening.”
He flinched. “I’m sorry I didn’t do this right.”
“It was nice to have a night out,” I whispered, feeling the lie down to my soul.
A boring place that was just the fanciest and most expensive.
A place he’d taken other dates to before.
He talked the whole time and didn’t seem to care about what I liked.
Yeah, it was just a night out basically.
One I wished I could have skipped and that made me sad. I’d thought he was different than the others and that could make up for the insanity he came with since he was related to Kole.
Apparently not.
Benson was there in the foyer when I entered and tears burned my eyes as I met his gaze. It was clear that the date was a fail from the distance between Onyx and me. He immediately clocked it and then looked back to me.
The only think more humiliating than this whole contest was the fact it was such a fucking failure in front of the man I’d been in love with all my life.