Conquering His Cold Heart

327 Confiding

Since there was complete silence in the room, Ruby assumed that Lorenzo was done questioning her and reminding her of the past that she didn’t want to revisit.

She finally got up from the chair, making a creaking sound, and startling Lorenzo from his deep thought.

When Lorenzo saw Ruby on her feet, he understood that she wanted to leave.

And rightly so, Ruby gave a subtle nod to him and said, “I had a good time talking with you. I hope you will get a good night’s sleep.”

Ruby took a step towards the door before Lorenzo even said a word to her.

However, Lorenzo instantly jumped up on his feet and instead of saying goodnight to her, he happened to blurt out the question that was circling his mind for quite a while now.

“Did you get into some kind of disagreement with King Everard?”

Ruby’s foot stopped midair when she heard Lorenzo’s question. She frowned and clutched the sides of her gown this time because she felt as though Lorenzo was encroaching a little too much in her private matters.

And realizing that he might have upset the lady, Lorenzo instantly tried correcting what his loose tongue had just asked, “Umm… please don’t take it otherwise. I just wanted to know if there was something I could do to mend the relationship between you and the King.”

.....

“You yourself are stuck here, Mr. Lorenzo. You should be worrying about yourself first.” Ruby sighed in slight frustration and turned around to face Lorenzo.

Lorenzo could feel the frustration seeping out of her and tried to clear the misunderstanding that he wasn’t trying to poke his nose unnecessarily. “Yes, I am stuck here but I think I can get–”

Before Lorenzo could say that he was going to meet Everard tomorrow, Ruby cut him in the middle.

And she replied to his earlier question in a little irritated tone, “Also, you don’t need to do anything for me. I already expressed to you that I want to walk on my own path from now on. I have given enough trouble to His Majesty. He has a whole kingdom to worry about now. So… I should also try to solve my own problems without unnecessarily wasting his time.”

Lorenzo took a deep breath and nodded. “If you don’t wish to bring your problems to His Majesty then I won’t force you.”

He, however, cleared his throat and instantly added, “I got a chance to have a heart-to-heart conversation with His Majesty the day before his coronation day. And…”

He looked down at the floor with sad eyes. Although he didn’t feel sad at that time, he felt disheartened now after recalling how Everard was drowning in booze and loneliness. And after everything that happened, Lorenzo wanted to do what he could to help Everard in any way.

Right now, he was seeing a living breathing cure to Everard’s loneliness. And he couldn’t help but feel as though his fate was giving him a second chance to amend his mistakes, as though he was meant to make things right between Everard and Ruby.

And he continued after gulping, “I couldn’t bear to see the pathetic condition that he was in.”

Ruby furrowed her brows and instantly asked with a hint of worry in her voice, “Pathetic condition?”

Lorenzo looked at Ruby and nodded with a dismayed look on his face. “He was sleeping in the bathtub after probably gulping down a lot of alcohol, more than what he could handle.”

“He was drinking alcohol?” Ruby mumbled in a painful voice and pressed her palm against her chest.

Lorenzo’s pupils dilated as he recalled the things that he saw and heard that day. “He was constantly saying how he felt lonely and was drinking alcohol to forget his grief. It was very hard to see him in that state.”

Ruby clasped her mouth with her palm in surprise. She knew that the grief had taken a toll on Everard. But she had never guessed how bad it was.

And even when she didn’t want to, she couldn’t help but feel guilty about it. ‘Would he have been in a better state if I had just forgotten his harsh words and stayed by his side?’ she wondered as her eyes glistened with tears.

Lorenzo wanted to reunite the two of them. He wanted Ruby to stop being adamant about not wanting any help from Everard.

Thus, he tried to appeal to her emotional side by feeding her more truth. “And I don’t know what happened between the two of you but the King was lamenting about how he had said some awful things to you. He was desperately trying to find you. And he had even sent some people to Sorvando to look for your parents.”

Ruby’s heart drummed in her chest. A drop of tear fell down her left eye. For a while, she was too stunned to speak.

‘He did all that for me?’ She was confused why he would go to such an extent for her sake.

More tears started to roll down her eyes, and she quickly wiped her cheeks. “D-Did he find my parents?” she asked with her breath after a while.

Although Lorenzo guessed that the spies might have been killed in Sorvando, he simply replied, “I’m not sure. The spies were yet to return. And I haven’t met the King since the coronation day, so I have no idea.”

“Aaah!” Suddenly, she winced in pain and bent forward while clasping her chest with her palm. Her heart began aching again.

“Miss Ruby?” Lorenzo widened his eyes and wondered if he had gone a bit overboard by unloading all the information on her at once.

Seeing that her pain wasn’t getting any better, Lorenzo quickly said, “I have been assigned a task by Lord Regulus. It requires me to go out tomorrow. And I am thinking of sneakily meeting the King as well. If you want then I can ask about your parent’s whereabouts to him.”

Ruby looked at him with glassy eyes and vigorously nodded, “I would be in your debt if you would do that.”

However, she thought of something and quickly added, “But don’t tell him that I am here. Don’t tell him that you met me at all.”

“Why?” Lorenzo asked in confusion. He didn’t know why Ruby was hellbent on hiding from Everard even after he told her everything, hoping that she would be willing to reunite with him.

Ruby struggled to stand up straight. She took some time to compose herself.

And she finally said after giving a wistful smile, “I don’t know why I am telling this to you but…” She took a deep breath before continuing further, “I think my dumb heart has fallen for the pity and kindness that His Majesty offered me.”

“And as dumb as I am, I also know that his heart is only after the Queen of Sorvando. I know I could never compete with a lady as graceful and kind as her. But I also can’t help but feel jealous. And I don’t think I can stay around the King while his eyes are on someone else. I will soon die of a broken heart if I am around him.”

Ruby looked at Lorenzo with great sadness and pleaded, “So please, don’t make him aware that I am here. I don’t want his pity anymore.”