The King's Unbreakable Wife-Chapter 127: Prove you wrong (1)

"What was it about the shoes? I thought you were finished with picking at the girl," said Jeffrey.

"I am not picking at her. I am trying to prepare her, but all of you want me to handle her as if she is a child. I am doing no differently than your mother did to me and thanks to that, I managed to put up with everything thrown at me," Tabitha replied, brushing her hair since Jeffrey sent the maids away.

"And did you like my mother?" Jeffrey questioned, knowing the answer.

Tabitha stopped brushing her hair for a second but then continued with it before Jeffrey could notice. "That does not matter. She had a job of teaching me to be queen and it was not an easy one. She was as she needed to be."

Only when Hazel was prepared to become queen could Tabitha lighten up. She had to be tough so Hazel would be ready for the long dangerous road ahead of her.

"The girl has a terrible attitude," Tabitha shared.

Jeffrey huffed, amused that Tabitha spoke of attitudes. "Then she is like someone I know."

"Jeffrey!"

"Oh, come on Tabitha. There were a few times I overheard you cursing my mother. You had an attitude back then and you still have it now. It’s that attitude that helps you fire back at anyone undermining your position in the palace. Is Hazel having a little fire to her such a bad thing?" Jeffrey asked.

They didn’t need to work on making the girl have confidence to speak to anyone in the palace who might appear intimidating at first glance.

"Do you know when Nathan used to bring her to the palace she used to be playful with all kinds of people? Scary-looking guests who came from outside the kingdom. If we tried to get Sofia to speak to them, the child would scream and run away," Jeffrey laughed, imagining the sight.

"She has an attitude to me. The one who is helping her," Tabitha said, her hand trembling as she pointed to herself.

"I find that hard to believe since Hazel has always been a respectful young lady-"

"So, you think that I am lying?" Tabitha questioned, turning to face Jeffrey.

"No. There’s something that I am missing, but neither of you wants to tell me the truth. It’s evident by how she covered for you at dinner. You don’t need to be like my mother. You didn’t like her so why try to be like her? I see," Jeffrey said, realising what was going wrong these days. "You’re trying to be my mother."

"Don’t be ridiculous. I am just doing my duty-"

"By trying to do what my mother would," Jeffrey interjected. "You weren’t acting like yourself these days. You were acting like her. Why didn’t I notice it sooner when you started to be strict or were picking a favourite in the selection as she did?"

"Please stop," Jeffrey requested as he could only take one person like his mother in his life.

His mother was no longer alive, but that didn’t mean Tabitha should take her spot and start acting as she did.

"I am not acting like your mother!" Tabitha denied the claim.

"Yes, you are. You are trying to be as good as she was preparing the next queen. I can admit that my mother did put together a good queen, but she was too hard on you. You can use some of her methods but try to be a little gentle so Hazel doesn’t hate you. End the curse," Jeffrey said, recalling that his mother didn’t like his grandmother.

Tabitha hated to hear that she was trying to be like the former queen. It stung because it was a little true that she was trying to live up to the queen by making a good queen to take her spot.

The former queen’s methods worked as she was ready to put up with all the dangers that came with becoming queen. Though Tabitha disliked her mother-in-law, Tabitha was grateful for her being tough because no one else in the palace aside from Jeffrey had ever been easy on her.

Hazel was going to thank her one day.

"The shoes and dresses are the same size each year there is to be a new queen. I had to lose weight to fit into my dress. I was lucky that the shoes fit. I followed what the palace wanted. I presented myself as I was instructed to do. I put up with it because that is what I was to do. I did it without any complaints," Tabitha said, frustrated that it seemed wrong now when it was happening to Hazel.

This selection had brought up memories she would like to forget. Memories of how hard it was in the beginning but she endured it and came out stranger.

"You and Tobias can speak as you like because there are no rules for you. There are traditions for us women that have been here for hundreds of years and as queen, I don’t have the power to get rid of them. We have to endure to survive. She is lucky that I will change it all in secret. No one did that for me," Tabitha argued.

Jeffrey knew he didn’t have a place to speak because he didn’t know much about what the women marrying into the palace had to endure, but there was one thing he knew. "If all the queens were tough on the women marrying their sons, how would there ever be change? You never brought this to my attention. Why? Because it’s tradition?"

"It’s worked this long so why get rid of it? Speaking of it now will give the court something to complain about and I refuse to let them bother Tobias now. He’s on his way to taking the throne and I want it without any problems which is why Hazel needs to listen and be perfect," Tabitha said, turning back to the mirror to finish brushing her hair.

Hazel wouldn’t be able to last long here if they weren’t tough on her. There were people that would want her dead so what she faced now was the easy part.

"Fine, I will admit that I am trying to follow your mother’s footsteps. I can’t relax until Tobias is declared as king and I am satisfied with the woman Hazel becomes. She needs to be able to stand on her two feet," said Tabitha.

"My mother was a bit hard on you, but since you were going to become queen when you weren’t training, she tried her best to be good to you as a mother-in-law should. Why can’t you try to have those moments with Hazel? I will never understand not changing what you hated instead of going along with it."

"What is it about Hazel that you don’t like? Are you still stuck on her sister?" Jeffrey asked.

"No, I have already let go of Helena and wish for her to marry someone else. I don’t like the attitude Hazel has and the lack of fire she has to be here. I can’t go easy on her just yet so don’t interfere. I won’t speak to you if you interfere in a matter that the queen is in charge of," Tabitha warned.