Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 258: Playing with Fire

The prince went through a very rebellious phase that I wasn’t sure was entirely over, and somehow I was dragged into it. Perhaps it was because I was also going through a similar phase myself that I found myself being absorbed into his world so easily. We both wanted to do things that we were not supposed to as if we wanted to prove our point that our opinion mattered and our decisions should be respected. We wanted to show everyone that we could make decisions by ourselves and for ourselves. However, that ended in chaos for both of us, especially for me. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

I might have felt some resentment for the prince for using me had I not been in the same boat for using him as well for my own benefit. Our relationship was always one of give and take, and because of that, I could not bring myself to blame the prince for anything that happened. Looking back I never regretted what we did or how our relationship ended.

“The prince will see you now...” one of the palace staff informed me politely before bowing.

“Thank you, please lead the way,” I replied emotionlessly.

The palace staff led the way along the hallway that I was no longer familiar with. although I knew where it would lead me. The Prince’s wing of the palace was located in the same place where I had been many years ago. Not much had changed regarding the decoration, but the atmosphere surely has changed or perhaps, my perspective of the world had changed.

“You’re here...” the prince said to me in greeting when he saw me enter the room.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in the hospital?” I asked the first question that came to mind.

Because he told me that his father could pass away at any time, at first I thought that he would be by his father’s side.

“Do you want to head over there with me?” he asked before he smirked.

“I’m not exactly sure that’s the place where I should be...” I replied frankly.

The passive look on the Prince’s face reminded me of the strange relationship that he had with his father. Although the king gave Desmond everything that he ever wanted as the king’s only son, I wasn’t sure if there was genuine love between them. Even when his father was on the verge of passing away, Desmond showed no signs of distress or sadness.

“Your place is by my side,” he replied confidently.

“What’s going to happen when the king dies?” I asked bluntly.

I was too young to have gone through the death of the previous king of this kingdom, so I had no idea what to expect. On top of that, I wasn’t sure what my role entailed and what would happen if the king were to really pass away.

“Everything has already been decided and planned. This isn’t like some normal unexpected passing of a family member where the will would be read after the person’s passing. The king’s will is almost a public affair in a sense and the appointment of the next king has to be made before the king’s passing and his will has to be read in the presence of the council,” the prince explained factually.

“I guess it all happened already before the king lost his consciousness?” I took a guess.

‘That’s right. Although there is nothing surprising in this will, nothing else matters and all you should know is that I am going to take over as the next king as planned,” the prince explained before smiling my way.

“That’s great news. So, tell me what am I supposed to do,” I asked without beating around the bush.

I knew that he had called me here to tell me what role I was supposed to play and how I could help him out as part of our trade. I wondered how long I had to play this role before he could give me what I wanted.

“It’s nothing new compared to what you’ve done before. Just stay by my side and cause as much trouble as you can. Draw as much attention to yourself as you can, so that I can keep doing what I want to do in the shadows,” the prince replied as he grinned at me.

I had expected as much and his words did not surprise me. Acting as my old self from back in the days naturally attracted attention from everyone wasn’t going to be challenging. However, there was one thing that worried me beyond all else.

“Are you worried about something?” the prince asked as if he could read my thoughts.

“No, I’m fine,” I replied.

“Are you sure? You do look quite worried about something. You know that you can tell me anything right?” the prince said with a reassuring smile.

“I’ll do my best to deliver on my part of the bargain, so you don’t have to worry...” I replied as I tried to tell myself that everything would turn out fine.

“Are you sure about that? To me, you look a little scared...” he said as his eyes seemed to pierce through me.

“Scared? I don’t understand what you’re talking about. What is there for me to be scared of?” I asked as if I had no idea what he was talking about.

There really was something that I was truly concerned about. However, I didn’t dare voice it. It was also possible that the prince hadn’t thought about this issue, so it might have been just me over-thinking things.

“I don’t know. For instance, you could be scared of falling for me...” he replied calmly and I couldn’t tell whether he was joking or if he was being serious.

“That’s not what I’m scared about...” I replied quite honestly.

“So, I was right. There is something that you’re scared about. Tell me Dahlia, what is it that you’re scared of?” the prince asked with a satisfied smile.

I wasn’t scared of falling for the prince because if I were to fall in love with him, it probably would have happened a long time ago.

–To be continued...