Surrogate for the Alpha Prince in a Coma novel Chapter 185

Chapter 185

Lillian’s POV

He couldn’t have meant that how it sounded.

“What do you mean?” I asked him directly. “Grayson and I aren’t going to fall apart.”

“Oh…” Benedict frowned. “Right, of course. Forget I said anything.”

“Ben… are you hiding something?”

“I shouldn’t tell you this,” he said. “But as your friend, I feel like I must.” Leaning closer, he lowered his voice” The whole of the kingdom is hoping for Grayson and Odette to be together. Both are under a tremendous amount of pressure from all sides.”

“Grayson isn’t going to do anything he doesn’t want to do.”

“My nephew is incredibly strong-willed, there’s no denying that. But under enough pressure, even the strongest will eventually crack. I’m sorry, Lillian, but it’s only a matter of time before he gives in.”

I didn’t believe that. I couldn’t. Though something uncomfortable did twist around in my gut.

“I will always be there for you, even when that happens,” Ben said. “So really, you have nothing to fear. Even when you split, I will make sure you are comfortable and safe. You’ll never be alone.”

“This isn’t going to happen,” I said. “Grayson wouldn’t do that to me.”

Ben looked at me with clear doubt, and again, I got the feeling that he wasn’t being entirely honest with me. Maybe Grayson had been right about him. Maybe there was more going on with Ben than I had thought. Maybe he wanted more from me than I had been willing to give.

“When Grayson and you had been about to fight,” I said, “What were you really fighting about?”

Ben, as if sensing the shift in me, immediately backed off. “I’m sorry. I hope I’m wrong about things. Maybe I am. I didn’t mean any harm.”

“It’s… fine,” I said, though my guard was still up. It didn’t feel fine. It felt like the friendship Benedict and I had been building was in danger, and I wasn’t sure if it was worth saving. That made me sad, but he was pushing for things in a way that I wasn’t comfortable with, and I didn’t know how to handle it.

“Can we just forget it?” he asked.

“I… I’m sorry, Ben. I think I need some space for a while.”

“Because of Grayson?” he asked.

“No,” I replied. “Because I’m asking for it. Me. I feel uncomfortable and I need time to think.”

His face fell, and a pang of guilt struck through me. But his behavior here today had been strange, and painted all of our previous encounters in a new way. I had to reflect, to try to see past the surface, to determine if our friendship had been real at all. For me, it had been. But for him?

“I understand,” he said after a moment, and offered me a sad kind of smile. It seemed like he was going to listen

to me, to respect me. If that was true, and if he could hold to that, then maybe we really had a friendship after all. ” I’ll give you all the space you need.”

“Thank you,” I said.

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He nodded and turned.

Across the room, 1 spotted Odette, watching us. As Benedict walked away, she smiled.

Grayson’s POV

Days had passed since Lone Archer had left the palace before I started to hear word from him. The message traveled from one of my trusted guards from the front. Enclosed in an envelope, complete with a formal seal, the message had not been tampered with.

Satisfied, Grayson called for Prime Beta, and when they were in Grayson’s office, he opened the letter and read it.

“The Alpha Minister is the coordinator. Calvin is only half-liked by Blood Fang. Apply pressure and the father will fold.”

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