Lycan King's Regret: Punished The Wrong Daughter novel Chapter 101

Chapter 101: 101- Two Statues

Arabella Toussaint:

Beta Bradley and I were seated on one of the sofas in the drawing room, waiting for Victor. The room hadn’t changed much in three years. I recognized the heavy curtains and the dark wooden furniture that I used to clean daily.

Sitting there again should have made me uncomfortable. Strangely, it didn’t. The door finally opened, and my father stepped inside.

For the first time in my life, my heart didn’t clench with fear at the sight of him, nor did I lower my gaze. Instead, I leaned farther into the sofa and crossed one leg over the other as a small smile touched my lips. "Hello. I’m here to talk to Victor."

Father stopped a few feet away. His eyes moved over me slowly before shifting toward Bradley. When he looked at me again, he raised one brow and a sarcastic grin appeared on his face. "And why would Victor meet you? He’s busy." He took another step into the room. "And why are you even here?"

I didn’t answer him. Instead, I turned toward Bradley. "Beta Bradley, can you please give us a few minutes alone?"

Bradley’s brows pulled together immediately. "I don’t think the king will like that, besides..."

"It’s okay." I didn’t let him finish and gave him a reassuring smile. "You can wait outside." He still didn’t move.

For a moment, I thought he was going to refuse outright. His gaze shifted from me to my father, and then he sighed. "Fine. I’ll be right outside," he finally said.

"Thank you."

Bradley rose from the sofa and fixed my father with a hard stare that lasted long enough to make the warning obvious, then strode out and closed the door behind him.

The moment we were alone, my father’s sarcastic smile returned. "Now," he drawled, "are you going to tell me why you’re here?"

I held his gaze, surprised by how little his tone affected me now. Three years ago, that same voice could make my stomach twist before he’d even raised it.

"I asked you a question too." I leaned back comfortably against the sofa. "Where is he?"

His face tightened. "Watch the way you speak to me, Arabella." He still thought I was a frightened little girl who would start shaking in fear.

I slowly rose from the sofa. "Then answer my question, Beta Rick. Where is Victor?" He seemed taken aback for a second. It was brief, but I saw it.

"Beta Rick?" he repeated, almost insulted by the title itself.

I tilted my head. "Why? Isn’t that how people address you?"

He took a threatening step toward me. "Suddenly you’ve forgotten who you’re speaking to? Don’t get ahead of yourself just because you’re walking around with the royal Beta now."

I didn’t move back. Instead, I stepped closer until I could look directly into his eyes.

"I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m actually trying very hard to remember my place." My smile returned. "You made that place pretty clear three years ago when you handed me over to pay for your son’s crime... Beta Rick," I purred with a smirk.

His nostrils flared and a muscle ticked beneath his eye. For once, he didn’t have an immediate answer. Then a scoff escaped him. "Still playing the victim, I see. Three years away and you haven’t grown up at all, Arabella." His voice dropped into a warning. "Whatever protection you think you have won’t last forever. When the King is done using you, you’ll be exactly what you’ve always been. A useless, wolfless embarrassment that nobody wanted."

A quiet laugh escaped me, and that wiped the contemptuous smile from his face. I was still looking at him with amusement when something on the side of his face caught my attention, and my smile slowly disappeared.

There was a mark near his cheek, close to his ear. Not a normal scar. It looked like something sharp had slashed through his skin, leaving behind a thin, ugly line that had never healed properly. My brows pulled together.

That was strange. Werewolves healed quickly, especially high-ranking ones like my father. Even a deep wound shouldn’t have stayed on his face unless someone used silver on him.

"What happened to ..." I trailed off when the door suddenly opened.

"Rick, I’ve been waiting for you. You said you’d return in five minutes, but it’s been much longer. What..." Vikki stopped midway when she saw me. She stood frozen, and her eyes widened the moment she saw me. "Ar...Arabella? What are you doing here?"

I couldn’t hear her question because my attention had already shifted to her face. There was a similar scar on her face too. It ran across the same side of her face, as though someone had deliberately attacked them in exactly the same place.

"What? She wants to act important now?" He sneered at me. "You’re nothing but a cheap little whore who got lucky enough to catch a King’s attention. Exactly like your mother. She knew how to crawl into a powerful man’s bed too." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

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