Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 221: Help Needed

To do that, I need the prince’s help.

‘What about this? You can ask me for anything if you can win a game...’

I could remember the promise that we made to each other. If I could beat him at one game of Gomoku, he would grant anything that I wished for as long as I didn’t ask to sit on the throne as the next king. The real issue about that was my failure to beat him. Not even once did I win against him although I did come close to it a couple of times. I could still recall the way the prince smiled and congratulated me on ‘almost’ beating him. I would have taken things even more seriously if I knew that I would need his help like I needed it now.

“Desmond...I...I need your help,” I manage to spit out.

I knew well enough that because I had failed to win even a single game against him that I didn’t exactly have the right to wish for anything or to request for his help but I didn’t have much pride to hold on to. He might reject my proposal or ignore my plea for help, but I still had to make him at least hear me out. I stared straight at him to show him how serious I was while telling myself that it wasn’t like he had never asked me for my help in the past.

“My help? Sure...” Desmond replied in such a carefree manner before he smiled at me.

How he readily agreed to my request made me raise my eyebrows in wonder.

I also wondered if he would have the same reaction when I told him what I wanted him to do.

“No, wait. You should listen to what I’m going to ask for before you go ahead and agree like that,” I pointed out.

“Well, there’s not that many things that I wouldn’t do for you. Of course, you can have anything except for the throne,” he replied in a playful tone before smiling sweetly at me.

It clearly wasn’t the first time that I’ve heard those teasing words before. It just never occurred to me in the past that he had been serious. I mean, why would the crown prince of all people make me that offer the first time we sat down to talk?

“That’s perfect for me actually. You see, you need to be the next king to do for me what I’m about to ask,” I said as I stared at him intently to observe his reaction. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“Hmm...interesting,” he replied.

I thought that it would be hard to explain to him what I wanted when the time came so it surprised me just how naturally my words seemed to flow as I explained to him what I had in mind. The plan for me to turn against my family and my parents flowed seamlessly out of my mouth as the prince continued listening to me with undivided attention. Just like how it was with Bradon, I couldn’t really read what the prince was thinking as he listened to me.

“Changing the main noble family that the royal family works with is going to be a big deal. This will also have political implications,” he said as he rubbed his chin in thought after I had finished my explanation.

“I know that...” I murmured weakly.

“But...it’s not totally impossible,” he said brightly.

“Really? Can you do it?” I asked while sounding too hopeful than I would have liked.

I stared at Desmond’s face with pleading eyes without blinking as I prayed silently in my head for him to agree to my proposal. It wasn’t like I haven’t done many things for him in the past so perhaps it was high time that he returned the favor.

“Let’s say that I’m willing to play along with your plan, what will you give me in return?” he asked before smiling at me.

I should have known that there would be no gain without any pain involved even if the man I was dealing with was Desmond. Although I half expected that, I didn’t bother holding in my sigh to show him that I wasn’t completely happy that we had to negotiate our way through this. The way he smiled at me reminded me of that first time that he asked me to spend time and play a game with him. In short, it was a smile that told me that he already had in mind what he wanted from me, and perhaps, he came all the way here with that in mind all along.

“What can I do for you?” I asked without beating around the bush.

“What you’ve always done for me,” he replied as he stared right into my eyes.

What I’ve always done for him?

The way he kept on staring at me told me that he didn’t have just games of Gomoku in mind and that could only mean one thing.

He can’t be serious...

“I don’t think I can do that for you anymore,” I replied regretfully.

“Why not? You realize that I’m asking for your help because I really need it, right?” he asked as he looked depressed.

“I can’t help you this time around. You’ll have to find someone else. I mean, it doesn’t need to be me, right?” I asked with a heavy feeling in my chest.

Of course, I realized that if I didn’t agree to help him then getting his help might be completely impossible. The man sitting right in front of me was going to be the next king and arguably the most powerful person in the entire country. No matter what, it felt foolish for me to lose his support.

However...

“Things are not like they were before, Desmond. Surely you can see that,” I tried desperately to explain.

“How so?” he asked blankly although I felt like it was supposed to be obvious.

“I’m married right now. I’m not the single girl like I was before,” I reminded him and I realized that I had started frowning.

“No, you’re not. You’re as single as you were before. Diana is married but you’re not married, Dahlia,” he corrected me casually.

–To be continued...

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