His Queen (18+)

Chapter LI

THE BETRAYAL

I still want to make you love me,
make you love me again.

***

CHAPTER LI

*****

“FINALLY, YOU'VE COME to see me,” Lucien said once he had set eyes on Daniel who had made his way into his office like he owned the place. Which technically, he did. “The bitch finally decided to give you my message now?”

“I don't know of a bitch,” Daniel said, playing dumb because he didn't tolerate anyone talking bad about Araceli and he had never tolerated that from the beginning. Even if they weren't together — although, thank God, they were — the woman had a good heart. “I only have a wife and a sister but you couldn't possibly be referring to either of them because they're miles above you.”

“Settle,” Lucien said as he rolled his eyes at his son, not in the mood to exchange petty words with him. “She's not yet your wife. Calm down.”

Daniel decided to keep the news about his and Ara's secret union to himself. Nobody needed to know that yet. “You told me you could help me. That's the only reason I'm here,” Daniel said instead of responding to Lucien's words which greatly annoyed Lucien but the older man had decided that it was not a hill that he was willing to die on so he chose to let it go.

“Realistically, I could've helped you before this all started but you wanted to act like you know more than me,” he said, shrugging his shoulders as he delayed in giving Daniel the information that he had used to lure him to his lair in the first place.

In that moment, Daniel couldn't help but feel a little bit uneasy. It must have been like the feeling Araceli was having. The dread when it came to Lucien. The feeling like he would do something bad; something drastic. He finally understood what she was talking about but now that he had gone behind her back, it was much too late to back out now. Daniel was willing to risk everything for his family. His devotion to them wasn't to be underestimated.

“And how would you know this?” he asked, showing clear disinterest in the things Lucien had to say. By now, he knew his father was completely full of shit.

“I can sense things before they come. I've been in this business much longer than you have.”

“Settle,” Daniel mocked him as he rolled his eyes, making Lucien chuckle in amusement. How alike they really were as father and son, yet all Daniel did was deny it. “What do you want to tell me?”

“These people that are going after her are her people,” he said cryptically, making Daniel raise his eyebrow, as if to ask if he was joking.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, his tone now becoming serious. He didn't know if this was just another one of Lucien's dumb mind games or if he was being genuine this time. To his misfortune, he would quickly realise that his father was being as serious as ever.

“What do you think?” Lucien sneered, his voice full of condescension. “Her mother is a Costillo.”

Daniel remained silent for a few short seconds, his eyes trained intently on his father as if expecting him to take back his words and claim them as a joke, but when Lucien had only returned his blank stare, he realised that this was his reality.

“Fuck.”

What had he been expecting? For his life to not be the complicated mess it always seemed to be? For his wife to not be the exact people they had been running away from?