A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 236: Even If I Want To, I Can’t!

Chapter 236: Even If I Want To, I Can’t!

Natasha balled her fist.

"But father, it was not my fault! Aurora—"

Old Master Lenort glanced at her. The anger in his eyes alone was enough to shut her up.

She averted her gaze, beyond humiliated. Left with nothing else to do, she left the table, storming back to her quarter.

A deep breath escaped from Ryan, and he deeply bowed to his father.

"Forgive my wife, Father, I’ll make sure that this does not repeat itself anymore."

Old Master Lenort put his spoon down. "Get out!" he dismissed.

"Yes, father." Ryan turned around and left the dining table.

....

Lumian shut the door of his room and gripped Aurora’s hand, pulling her back to gaze at her with a deep frown on his face.

"What was that about?" He was dissatisfied.

Aurora snatched her wrist from his grip and glared at him.

"What kind of question is that? Didn’t you see how your brother and his wife behaved?"

Lumian pinched between his brows, stressed. "Aurora, you shouldn’t have said anything in regard to—"

"I shouldn’t have said anything?" Aurora laughed, quite stunned. "You are not really saying this to me, are you?"

"So you wanted me to keep quiet? To pretend and tolerate her childish, obnoxious behavior?"

"Aurora, however she may behave, has nothing to do with us," Lumian said to her.

Aurora shook her head at him, disagreeing.

"No, it does have something to do with us!" she corrected him. "Lumian, I’ve been tolerating and putting up with her nonsense all these years because of you. You knew me very well before you even married me. I am not someone who is very tolerant of other people, and I do not hold back from putting one in his or her place, but for you—" She poked his chest. "I was willing to learn and do that. But, you see, I cannot do that anymore. I am fed up with both her and her husband!"

"She insulted all of us right in front of Father, and none of you could say anything. Why? Because she is married to the eldest son."

She began to chuckle. "Lumian, just because your brother is the eldest does not mean you have to tolerate anyone’s misbehavior. She was stupid, and her words were insulting, so I simply put her in her place. I did nothing wrong!"

"Also, you’re asking me why I spoke to your brother that way?" She raised her brow at him.

Lumian did not give her a response, but the glint in his eyes hinted at his curiosity.

Aurora smirked at him in heavy dissatisfaction. "Because he is a hypocrite!"

"What?" Lumian frowned at her.

"Yes!" Aurora shrugged. "Ryan is a hypocrite, Lumian!"

"Look at him! When has he ever stood up and told his wife that her words and behavior were insulting to everyone? Nope, never, not even for once." She shook her head. "He could never tell her the truth, and that alone makes him a hypocrite. You always stand up for him, don’t you, Lumian? I want to ask you something."

Lumian’s expression was calm and collected. His narrowed eyes made it obvious that he was indeed hearing her out. "Go ahead."

"When has Ryan ever stood up for you?" Aurora asked.

Lumian blinked his eyes before shaking his head.

"Never."

"Exactly!" Aurora scoffed. "So tell me why you stand up for him so much that you neglect how much he sometimes looks down on you. Are you just oblivious to it?"

"You are always there to help him with anything, no matter what it is, but I guarantee you that he would never do the same for you."

"I’ve always wondered about something, and I believe I should speak about it now." Aurora took a deep breath. She balled her hands into tight fists. "Why are you all doing all these awful things to Draven?"

Lumian’s eyes narrowed vehemently. "Meaning?"

Aurora ran her fingers through her hair. "You know what I’m talking about, Lumian."

"I want to understand why you are teaming up with your father and these people to hurt your brother. Has he ever done anything wrong to you? Tell me the truth, please." She stepped closer to him.

Lumian’s lashes flickered, averting his gaze as he was unwilling to look her in the eyes. One thing he was incapable of doing was lying to his wife, and that alone spoke to how much he loved and treasured her. She was the only woman he’d ever listened to and no one else, and that alone was the reason why he was standing right there hearing her out.

He could lie to anyone else, but not her!

"Lumian..." Aurora wrinkled her brows. "Please, tell me the truth."

Lumian rubbed his temple before shaking his head at her. "No..." He was honest.

"Then why?" Aurora questioned. "Why are you hurting your brother? I know he is your half-brother, but still, you both share the same royal blood, so why are you okay with teaming up with these people to hurt him?"

"Because I have no other choice, Aurora!" Lumian snapped at her, causing Aurora to flinch, having never seen him that way.

He took deep breaths to calm down, not wanting to scare her. "What do you expect me to do?" he asked. "Do you think that if I had a choice, I would spend my whole life trying to hurt a brother who has never done something wrong to me?"

"Then stop!" Aurora heavily scowled at him.

"That is the problem!" Lumian yelled.

"I can’t! Even if I want to, I can’t!"

Aurora drew her head back, confused. "What? Why? Why can’t you?"

Lumian went quiet. He turned around to have his back facing Aurora.

Aurora could tell that there was something he was hiding from her, but she knew she could not figure it out unless he told her, so she further began to probe. "Lumian, please open up to me. I beg of you. I am your wife, tell me what the problem is."