The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 8: Pre-Marital Assets

Soleia turned her head at the sound of his voice, her fingers slipping from the door handle as she backed away. When met with Orion Elsher's stern gaze, she sucked in a deep breath through her teeth.

"Well?" he prompted, raising an eyebrow.

His reminder quickly pulled Soleia back. She peered behind him, trying to find the figure of the woman he had brought home, only to find none.

"She is in the bath," Orion said, easily reading Soleia's actions. "You, on the other hand, are somewhere you shouldn't be."

He took a step forward, forcing Soleia to move back.

"So, pray tell, what are you doing here outside my study?" Another step forward. "Are you looking for me? Perhaps the conversation we had prior to this was not conclusive enough. Or..."

He took another step forward, this time, corner Soleia against a wall. Her back was pressed against the surface, her heels backed against the corner as she was forced to look up at the imposing figure standing before her.

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Soleia's breath hitched in her throat as Orion reached forward, raising her chin with just his index finger, forcing her to meet his eyes. They were dark, boring holes right into her soul as he stared down at her like a predator eyeing its prey.

Strangely enough, when his finger grazed her chin, she felt as though she had been shot. There was a rush of electricity that flowed through their point of contact, like lightning illuminating the skies. Even his eyes lit up for a second, but it quickly disappeared as soon as it came, too soon for Soleia to catch anything worthwhile.

"Perhaps," he slowly said, "you were spying?"

His eyes practically glowed coldly, the blue of his eyes reminding Soleia of the frigid frozen lakes often found in her kingdom.

Soleia scowled. She wasn't actively spying, but that didn't mean that her father didn't instruct her to do so. Guilt colored her cheeks, and the slight red on her face caused Orion to scoff.

"I am afraid you will find nothing that can serve your father," he said. "Whatever he seeks, he will not find here."

"Who said I was looking for anything for my father?" Soleia immediately countered, slapping Orion's hand away from her chin. "Besides, if I really wanted to steal your documents, wouldn't I have already done so in the two years I managed Drakenmire in your stead?"

He dropped his hand but maintained his gaze, even raising an eyebrow, which only further increased her scowl.

"I was using your study in the time you were gone," Soleia huffed, worming out before straightening her clothes.

She didn't know why she felt the need to explain things to him, especially the very unwelcome attitude he had for her ever since his return― no, ever since the moment they wed. But it felt wrong to keep things ambiguous. There were already enough misunderstandings between them.

Besides, Orion Elsher didn't seem as disagreeable when Elowyn wasn't around. Irritating, yes. Infuriatingly egotistical, absolutely. However, at least he wasn't an absolute cretin as before.

Then again, Soleia knew that that was an absurdly low bar to clear.

"I have things that are still left there which I need," Soleia said.

"All matters regarding the fief will be handled by me from here on out―"

"They aren't in relation to your fief," she coldly cut in. "They are my personal projects― pre-marital assets." She added after a moment of silence, "That means you have no claim to them."

"I know what pre-marital assets mean," Orion immediately retorted with a scowl.

'Do you?' Soleia had to bite her tongue to swallow that retort. This man barely knew what marriage meant, since he brought home a woman the moment he came home.

He took a step closer to the study and withdrew a key, sliding it into the lock. It unlocked with a soft click. Much to Soleia's surprise, he pushed open the door and stepped aside, allowing her to enter.

She squinted, watching him carefully before cautiously entering the study. This was the most gentlemanly he had treated her ever since they'd known each other. Perhaps the thought of her vacating the room made him happy. That thought was like a heavy stone in her stomach, but Soleia wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She quickly crossed the room and packed her things, haphazardly stuffing them into a bag she had left on the couch, thankful that Orion Elsher and his new beloved hadn't yet had the opportunity to rearrange the furniture and ruin her experiments.

In the meantime, Orion strolled into the room and sat himself down on the armchair, watching her every movement.

"Make sure you get everything," he said from where he sat, resting his cheekbones against the back of his hand, his elbow on the armrest. He slowly surveyed the room, his eyebrows knitting tightly into a frown. "This place is a pigsty."

"You will be surprised how many requests come in every day from your duchy alone," Soleia said with a huff. "The people living in Drakenmire would've―"

She stopped herself short.

'Those people would've died long ago if it hadn't been for what you called useless earlier on,' she wanted to say. However, she didn't need another pair of eyes on her inventions. The more useless he thought those inventions of hers were, the lesser the chance he would try to steal them from her.

"Would've?" he asked, prompting her to finish her sentence.

When Soleia turned around, she was surprised to see that Orion had stood up and was now right behind her, locking her in between himself and the table. Her palms pressed against the edge, her eyes wide as she nearly dropped the bag onto the floor.

This close, she could feel the heat of his body radiating off him, warmer than a lit fireplace. Her eyelashes fluttered at the sudden, welcome warmth. If only he could have accompanied her through the years of cold nights... she wouldn't have to shoulder so much on her own.

Suddenly, Soleia was reminded of how she fought so hard to save his sorry life. She scoffed softly and forced herself to snap out of her useless reminiscences. Orion didn't care about her well-being, case in point― he wasn't even looking at her.

Orion's attention was wholly focused on the glimmering stones on the table. They shone enticingly in the candlelight. Curiosity lit up his eyes as he reached past her, picking up an aquamarine.

"Crystals?" he asked, tossing the stone up and down. "And here I thought we were bankrupt?"