The Alpha King's Mind Reading Maid (Cecilia) novel Chapter 24

Chapter 27

Unknown POV

“This is outrageous,” Vivian growled as she was finally released and stormed away from the banquet hall where she had been humiliated. “This is all that Omega’s fault.”

“I can help you with your revenge,” said a shadowy figure behind her.

Vivian stopped and turned to face the unknown person, hekeyes sparking with interest.

The figure continued, “But I need your help in return…”

Cecilia’s POV

The moment Leopold dismissed me, I rushed from his study. In the hallway, I nearly ran straight into Jax, who had been walking the other way. I stepped back at the last minute, not touching him: His hands went up as if to steady me, but they never actually pressed against me before he left them fall.

“What are you doing here?” he asked me, some anxiety creeping into his demeanor, from the lowered tone of his voice to the way he glanced around as if to make sure we weren’t overheard. “How did an Alpha daughter like you end up in the palace as a concubine? And an Omga? Cecilia, what’s going on?”

Anyone else, I might not have trusted, but Jax was a dear friend from my youth. And here? He might be my only ally in this place.

“Dad… It hurts to say this,” I told him, but pushed through anyway. “He chose Sofia over me. When the guards came, he claimed Sofia was his daughter, and sent me here in her place.”

Jax’s face immediately skewed up in anger. “He can’t get away with that. I’m going to report this to the Alpha King and ask him to let you go.”

“No,” I said quickly.

“No?”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble, Jax.”

“But, Cecília –

“Please, for now. All I ask is that you keep my secret. No one will believe me if we come forward with this. My father will only continue to deny everything. Nothing will change, except the two of us will get hurt, with you trying to help me.”

He frowned as he looked at me closely, studying me. “You aren’t in love with Leopold, are you?”

“Of course not,” I said.

Jax’s face remained hard, his skeptical gaze revealing how much he didn’t believe me.

There wasn’t time to argue about this, something so ridiculous.

“I could use your help in a different way,” I told him, urgently changing the subject. I didn’t know how much time we’d have alone in this hallway. With others around, I wouldn’t be able to speak to him so candidly.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I want to look into my mother’s death,” I said. “The timeline… I don’t know. If Sophia really is Dad’s biological daughter, then there had to be an affair. There’s more here than I’ve known. I want to know the truth.”

“Yeah, that’s all messed up,” Jax agreed. “I’ll help you for sure. Whatever I can do.”

He glanced down, and his gaze snagged on my wounded hands.

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“Here,” he said. Reaching into his pockets, he took out a small vial that seemed to contain a kind of ointment. “I’m always nicking myself on this job. This will help. Here. Give me your hands.”

I held my hands out to him, palms up. He gently poured some ointmetit into each one, then began massaging the ointment into my sore skin with a soft touch.

“Does it hurt?” he asked me, concern clear in his voice.

“No,” I lied, but it was getting better. I didn’t want him to worry, and… with how he was touching me, I was starting to feel somewhat uncomfortable. There was something intimate his soft touch, in a way he had never really treated me before. It didn’t feel right, even though the ointment was taking away some of the pain.

Only because it was helping, I didn’t pull back even though I wanted to.

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