The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 354. We All Have Choices

Chapter 354: 354. We All Have Choices

"What’s this about?" Mauve asked after she had been seated for a couple of seconds and Jean still wasn’t saying anything.

"I apologize for pulling you out so abruptly but may I ask a couple of questions first," he mumbled as he took the seat opposite her.

"I guess but you have to tell me what’s going on? You’re scaring me."

"That’s not my intention. I will just go straight to the point. Why are you here?" He asked.

Mauve frowned. He must have seen the expression on her face because he quickly added, "You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to."

"The King asked that I pay him a visit," she responded, wondering why she didn’t call him father.

"Oh okay," he put his hand to his chest. He actually looked relieved.

"Why?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I would have been unable to take it if I was the reason you are here."

"What do you mean?" Mauve could feel bile rise her throat, somehow she could tell what Jean wanted to tell her wasn’t going to be good.

His eyes darted around and for a couple of seconds, he didn’t say anything. It felt like hours to Mauve as she waited for him to tell her what was going on.

Suddenly, Jean sighed loudly. "I may have told the vampire king about your background."

Mauve felt her blood pressure drop. There was ringing in her ears and she hoped her ears were deceiving her but by the look on Jean’s face, she had heard right.

"What? I don’t understand. You told him what exactly?"

She blinked hoping he would rephrase his sentence and that she had simply heard wrong.

"I told him about how you’re the King’s illegitimate daughter."

"Oh," Mauve said and leaned back against the chair. She needed a minute to understand what he had just told her.

She heard it and knew what it meant and implied but somehow her brain couldn’t comprehend it and she just sat there not knowing how to respond.

"Mauve," he called gently.

"Yes," she blinked.

"Are you okay?" Jean asked.

"He knows," she said softly. "He knew."

"Yes, I told him as much as I could find out."

"How long did he know about this?" She asked.

"I told him as soon as I left," Jean explained. He looked a bit dazed, unable to gauge Mauve’s reaction and how to react to it.

"I see, he has known for that long."

"I am afraid so, I thought he would have mentioned it to you but by the look on your face, this is the first time you’re hearing this."

Mauve simply nodded. Her mind was churning, she was trying hard to listen to Jean and not concentrate on her thoughts but it was getting difficult.

"I thought as much. I am really sorry. I-I..." Jean’s words dried out.

"You don’t have to explain, he was going to find out eventually, dragging it out would have just made it messy."

"You are not angry?" He asked.

Mauve shrugged, it wasn’t like she wasn’t angry. She couldn’t feel and even if she did, didn’t know what she was feeling.

Jean looked relieved, "I am glad."

Mauve nodded, "I would appreciate it if you didn’t go around spreading this information."

"I haven’t spoken to a soul about it. My brother knows I went to the vampire regions to care for you and when I asked him about your background, he had simply thought I was asking for curiosity’s sake. They are unaware that I told the Vampire King."

"Well, I appreciate your discretion," Mauve said sarcastically. "And I would appreciate it if it remained so. I thought the King would be pleased if he heard about this."

"I understand what I have done but at the same time, I didn’t have much of a choice," he replied.

"We always have choices, Jean. You chose yours." She blinked as she remembered the one she just made.

She shook her head, she didn’t want to remember it, she wondered if because of this he had pushed her so she would make this decision. Was that his plan all along?

Mauve touched her forehead, her mind was spinning tales she didn’t want to dwell on. Not tonight. She wanted to get some rest. She bit the inside of her lips in an attempt to snap out of it.

"You are right and I am completely fine with c-consequences," he said, his voice shaking a little.

"I would never have found out you told him if you didn’t tell me and besides, it wasn’t something that could remain secret forever. He was bound to find out eventually. I guess I should thank you."

"I just couldn’t live without myself without telling you. I had to and I do regret what I did. I don’t want it to cause any issues."

Mauve didn’t react, Jean did know it was likely to cause problems, it was something that was guarded though not properly but she knew not to let it slip.

She winced, she didn’t want to think about what he thought about her all this time. Did he feel cheated and he wanted to get back at her?

It hurts, more than she thought it would. It was too late now though. The damage had been done, maybe if she had known she would have been able to fix it. Oh, what was she even thinking about?

"Is there anything else?" She asked.

Jean shook his head, looking at her with wide eyes. She could still read the fear in his expression.

He shouldn’t be so concerned, he had saved her a lot. She would probably never be able to tell Jael and he did that for her. At least, he did lift some weight off her shoulders.

He had been so nice to her all this while and she was a fraud, at least now he knew and he had acted accordingly. Kicked her out and made it look like her idea.

"Mauve? Mauve?" Jean called with urgency.

"Yes," she replied halfheartedly, it was hard to concentrate.

"I said no, when you didn’t reply, I got a little worried."

"No need for that," she said and stood to her feet. "Thank you for telling me," she whispered and headed to the door without a backward glance.

It was obvious Jean wanted to say something but she wasn’t ready to listen. There was really no point. She was glad he told her, at least she knew why.

She knew why Jael had suddenly turned on her when things were going right. If she thought she didn’t pick the right answer before, now she was sure she did.

If she had stayed there would have been nothing for her then. Still, it hurts that he had treated her so well just to let her off.

She pushed the doors and walked out of the drawing room. It was still early enough, in vampire regions, the day was just starting.

Mauve knew she would need some kind of distraction, her thoughts were all over the place. There was a constant influx of thoughts no matter how hard she tried to push them away.

One thing was certain though, she couldn’t speak a word about this. Not about the fact that the marriage has practically been dissolved or the fact that Jael knew the truth. There was no need to tell unless absolutely necessary.

She blinked as she walked to her room. She guessed she was only useful when she had a role to fulfill.

"Princess," Rosa called.

Mauve snapped out of it and forced a smile as her face landed on the child.

"Are you okay?" She asked, scooting closer. "You look a little pale."

"Pale?!" Mauve asked with horror. "You mean paler than I already look."

"I didn’t mean that earlier," she whispered, turning away from Mauve.

"It’s fine, I didn’t mind."

"I am guessing you didn’t get enough sun."

"Nope, it had to be dark at all times because even the smallest amount of sunlight would cause damage to a vampire’s skin. The guards that took me had to ride in the sun so I wouldn’t get attacked by paler, they took over a week to recover and that’s a lot of time in vampire time as they heal from injuries in seconds."

Rosa’s face brightened up and Mauve knew she wanted more details. "In seconds? Have you ever seen one in person?" She asked giddy with excitement.

"Yep. How about we go to your room? I can tell you all that you need to know."

Rosa’s eyes widened with delight, "You’re not too tired."

"No, I am actually brimming with energy." She needed the distraction, anything but being left with her thoughts.

"Well, I am not going to decline your offer because I am dying to hear about it. I know vampires are scary and dangerous but somehow you and my uncle went to vampire regions and came back safely. I want to hear all about it, I have so many questions."