Royally Bounded

Chapter 30

Hayden

I sat at the breakfast table beside my mother. She was speaking with Queen Gianna about the charity event that Clara would be attending later this afternoon. My eyes darted over to the spot next to me, noticing Clara had been gone for a while.

I took a sip of my coffee then placed it down on the table. A loud scream rang through the room, and I instantly recognized the voice.

Clara.

Everyone looked at each other. I ran straight out of the room, following where the sobs were turning louder with every second. My chest was pounding at the pictures of Clara getting hurt, and the strong sense only pushed me to fucking run faster for her.

I saw Arnaldo having his sick body over Clara. She was begging him to stop, but he didn't move a single inch and forced his lips onto her skin. The tears were running down her face, and it was as if someone shot me at the chest when I saw her helpless.

"Arnaldo!"  I shouted.

Anger poured through me, and I went straight to Arnaldo, shoving him to the side as I watched him fell to the floor. I quickly looked for Clara. She slowly lifted her head, her eyes full of tears. Her face marked with a red print with her hair just barely covering her face.

"You fucking bastard," I snarled, snapping my eyes at Arnaldo and rolling my fingers into a fist. "I'm fucking going to end you!"

I gripped his collar and threw a punch to his face. People gasped behind me as Ivor and Maurice tried to pull me away. I pushed them aside then kicked straight at Arnaldo in the abdomen, causing him to groan with pain.

My fingers rolled on the collar of his shirt, and I did a hard slap across his face, seeing the blood dripping from the corner of his lips. He had to fucking pay for treating Clara with disrespect.

"Hayden, please," Clara whispered, sobbing as she wrapped her arms around me from behind. Her body was shaking intensely. "Please don't fight anymore."

I gritted my teeth, sharpening my eyes at the defeated man. I released my grip and shoved him back to the ground. A lump was forming in my throat as I thought of how he wanted to ruin Clara. He wanted to take her away from me, and it was terrifying, so fucking terrifying to the point that the weight crushed onto my chest.

My hand went over the back of Clara's head as she buried her face into my shoulder, her frail body clinging onto me. I would never forgive Arnaldo for hurting her. He was fucking going to hell.

"Arnaldo," King Marco suddenly roared. "How could you disrespect Clara?"

"She's a fucking whore," Arnaldo spat, intensifying the rage that gripped me.

"What the fuck did you say?" I snapped aggressively. I was on the fucking verge to murder him, but Clara kept me back, her arms tight around me. The back of my throat was burning to see her like this, and her silence was starting to eat me alive.

"I'm sorry, Hayden," King Marco stepped towards me. "Arnaldo drank too much wine earlier, and it makes him irrational. I promise it won't happen again."

"If you think being drunk is a fucking excuse for him to touch my wife, I think you should teach Arnaldo proper matters about what respect is," I fired back coldly.

"Don't you think you could fucking lecture me, Hayden," Arnaldo cussed, throwing darts at me with his eyes.

"Enough, Arnaldo," King Marco scolded, a huge disapproval look across his face. "You need to Clara now."

"You can't be serious. She's a—"

"Now."

I lowered my head to see Clara clenching her fingers around my dress shirt. She didn't dare to look at him, completely traumatized by Arnaldo. I tightened my fingers around her strands and glared at Arnaldo. He needed a reality check for being fucking desperate and obsessed with Clara.