CHAPTER 465: SOLEMN GOODBYES

What kind of fate was that? Did her mother know about the way Nolina had left the world? Was it how she had gotten the idea to hang herself?

It was with that despicable after taste that Arabella, numb on her feet, guided Irene around the manor, giving her the tour she, sort of, promised.

The woman said nothing which wasn’t to Arabella’s displeasure. There was already too much going through her head that hearing more tragic stories would have been overkill.

Their last stop before going back to the ballroom was her own room where she asked Irene to wait for her outside. The deeds her grandfather gave her needed to be left somewhere safe, out of sight. At least for that time being.

"You would make your prince wait for you like that," Cedric half asked as soon as they had regained the hall.

"It was my fault, your highness. Please don’t take it out on her," Arabella looked him in the eyes.

"Isn’t it always your fault then?" he let out a chuckle and a smile that never reached his eyes.

That wasn’t a joke, wasn’t it? Of course not.

"What did the doctors say?"

Silas’ voice blaring right by her side startled her a little. He had joined them so quickly that she hadn’t gotten enough time to note his presence right next to her.

"She said there was nothing to be alarmed about. There will be bruising but it will subside in the matter of a few days," the answer came from Arabella.

"My apologies," Silas bowed before Irene, "It appears I have lost control for a moment,"

"Worry not," Cedric settled a hand on Irene’s lower back, "Irene bruises quite easily anyways. Trust me, I would know about that," he grinned.

Memory served Arabella the dagger that Silas had gifted her. The same one she had used to stab Katherine. The one she carried along on her person wherever and whenever.

Against her thigh it was strapped and right then and there, it would have looked perfect plunged in Cedric’s filthy mouth.

In any case, by then, the guests had started exiting the hall. Some were heading out while others made their way towards the gathering room for the after party.

Standing for the first time as an organizer, Arabella saw the deliverance of the tributes to their new families at the doors before they climbed into the carriages.

While waiting for their car to arrive, Evina took the time and said her goodbyes to Estrid before walking over to Arabella.

"I wished to thank you before my departure, for everything," the blonde held her hands and bent her knees to bow slightly.

"I haven’t done much," Arabella shook her head.

"Yes, you have and not just for me," Evina’s smile was radiant, almost changing her face completely from its rigid and formal demeanor, "You’ve gone above and beyond for us, and I wanted you to know that it means a lot. It does make a difference,"

There was no pretending that those kind words weren’t much needed after her latest encounters with Rubius as well as Cedric. It made that night a tad more bearable.

"You may write to me whenever the desire strikes," she gave the tribute’s hands a little squeeze.

"I will remember that,"

And with that, the Lord and Lady that had acquired her invited Evina to join them in the carriage that had just parked in front of the entrance.

When all was said and done and as the last carriage in line departed, Arabella laid most her weight onto Silas for relief.

"I can handle the gathering with my mother if you wish to get some sleep," he suggested in the softest of voices.

At first, she wanted to say no, but her legs threatened to give out. It was way past midnight, and the gathering was going to take three more hours at a minimum.

In the end, she resigned on accepting his offer, "That would truly be a blessing for my sore feet," she smiled, "Will you watch over Ada and Abigail for me?"

"Of course," he nodded, "Be at ease,"

The vampire made sure to walk her back to their room and instruct guards to stand by the door just in case.

Although, before splitting up, Arabella grabbed him by the hand to garner his attention, "Pay close mind to Lord Dragomir, would you?"

His eyebrows furrowed in an instant, "Why?"

"I sense something is amiss with him," she brushed gentle circles with her thumb upon his skin, "It might just be my imagination but the way he carried himself tonight and... Not to mention the manner in which he spoke about Allegra, all of it leads me to believe, he knows more than he lets on,"

"If we go by our initial suspicion that she worked for him, then him being involved wouldn’t shock me but... I can’t just jump at his throat," he said.

"No, of course not. Don’t do the jumping at his throat part but just keep an eye on him. On whom he talks to and the way he talks as well,"

When Silas finally left the room, Arabella waited not a second and plopped her weight full onto the lounge chair before pushing the longest and loudest exhale yet.

After kicking her shoes off, she pulled her feet up one at a time in order to massage the sore spots plaguing them.

But throughout those actions, her eyes wandered the room only to land on the deeds that her grandfather entrusted her with.

Was it real? Did Rubius truly sign his property over to her? Or was it just another scheme to put their hands on her as soon as she crossed the border again.

In hindsight, that was probably a given, but... Something in the way he faced her. Something in his eyes just told a different story.

Overall, it didn’t hurt to empty her heart out and dump some of that weight back onto him. After all, he was directly responsible for almost all of it.