“Okay, okay, fine! I know already. Should I just laugh then?” I let out a cackle in my head, which annoyed Yana so much that she instantly blocked me.
Adela chose that moment to return to the room. She had changed her clothes, and the scent she had been wearing earlier was gone as well. It seemed that she had retouched her makeup, though. I had to admit, she was more of a fighter than I was. She just never gave up, did she?
“Come over here, Beryl. I have a lot of delicious snacks here. ” Adela walked to the table and gestured at the platter of desserts.
Still firmly on Rufus’ lap, Beryl glanced at the sweets before looking at me.
I cleared my throat and said, “Beryl doesn’t like durian cakes.”
“Oh. All right. ” To her credit, Adela’s smile never slipped.
She sauntered over to the bed and crouched in front of Beryl. Then, she took out a palm-sized rattle from her pocket and held it up to my daughter. “Look, Beryl. It makes a fun sound when you shake it like this. Would you like to try?”
I almost burst out laughing right then and there. Beryl had stopped playing with baby toys when she was just three months old. Was this she-wolf really that stupid, or did she simply think my daughter was gullible?
Sure enough, Beryl turned her head away from Adela. She haughtily closed her eyes and declared, “I’m five years old, ma’am. I don’t play with that kind of toy anymore. If you like, you can play with it yourself. Thank you for your kindness anyway.”
Adela’s face froze. A hint of malice flashed in her eyes for a brief second, but it didn’t escape my notice.
I eyed her with disdain. This fake wannabe was really a blight in our lives.
Adela opened her mouth to say something else, but I cut her off without hesitation. “Beryl, I’ve prepared your favorite mango cheesecake and salty biscuits in the kitchen. Do you want to have a look?”
Beryl immediately lit up. “Mango cheesecake? Yes! I’ll go! I’ll go!”
She jumped off Rufus’ lap and waddled over, grabbing my hand in her chubby little fingers. I was about to lead her to the kitchen when she looked back and beckoned at Rufus. “Come on, Daddy! What are you waiting for? You also like mango cheesecake, right?”
My eyes instinctively darted toward Rufus.
“Go ahead and take Beryl there first,” Rufus said to me with a slight nod. “I just need to make a phone call. I’ll be right with you in the kitchen.”
“Sure,” I hummed and took Beryl downstairs.
Moments later, Beryl was in the dining room with her spread, obediently waiting for Rufus. That left me alone with Adela in the kitchen. The she-wolf finally snapped, vehemently confronting me with her question.
“Why are you always trying to thwart me?!”
Adela’s POV
I could feel my hatred burning in my eyes as I glared at Crystal. This bitch was always out to ruin my plans! If it hadn’t been for her, I might have already had sex with Rufus.
As expected, hideous people did nothing but cause trouble. Her disfigured face was likely the Moon Goddess’ retribution for all the awful things she had done.
“I’m not trying to thwart you or anything.” Crystal had the audacity to blink innocently at me.
“The why are you always messing up my plans, huh?” I demanded through gritted teeth.
I never got along with Crystal since the moment we met. I told myself I should just put up with her. She was still an Alpha, after all. It would be bad if I provoked her. I’d decided to just steer clear from her.
What I didn’t expect was that she would repeatedly mess with me at practically every turn.
It hadn’t been just once or twice that she had interrupted my time alone with Rufus. And today, she had finally gone too far! I just knew that she had deliberately brought that brat over to make a scene. “I did no such thing,” Crystal shrugged. “It was just a coincidence, nothing more.” Her tone was haughty, as if to tell me that there was nothing I could do even if I were right.
“How many coincidences can there be?” I all but screeched at her. “You and I both know that you’re doing it on purpose!”
Rage was bubbling inside my chest, and I could feel that I was nearing the end of my tether. This bitch had crossed the line! How dare she disrespect me, her future queen!
Thinking of this, I decided to dispense with the fake niceties and nip the problem in the bud. “Listen here. I know you’re not satisfied with me, but I am the one who saved Rufus, and I am his destined mate, guided by the Moon Goddess herself. Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because Rufus has been tolerating you all this time. You’re just a minister in his court! I am the future queen. As things stand, I am already your master.”
Crystal had the gall to laugh at my face. “But you aren’t the queen yet, so why are you already throwing your weight around? Are you even sure that Rufus will marry you?”
What the hell was this bitch talking about now?
Why wouldn’t Rufus marry me? I was the only one he recognized as his mate!
I was the only one destined to become his queen.
I couldn’t help but raise my voice. “How dare you say that? Are you trying to question the Moon Goddess’ guidance?”
“Oh, please. I’m just saying it as it is, and why are you getting so worked up? If you’re so sure about your position, you wouldn’t be so anxious over a casual remark.” Crystal scoffed and shook her head, seemingly unfazed by the conversation.
“You!” I was trembling with fury at this point. A litany of curses was at the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it back. I still had my image to consider, and Rufus and Beryl were also in this palace. I couldn’t let them see this side of me.
“In any case, don’t blow a fuse, okay? Just behave yourself. It’s not too late for you to turn into a better person.” Crystal let out a long, weary sigh. She was making it sound like I was some errant child she had been scolding repeatedly.
Alas, I realized that I couldn’t win against this woman’s glib tongue. There was nothing else for me to do but to turn on the water works. “You! You’re being too much! How can you say that about me? I never did anything wrong. I just wanted to get to know Beryl. Why are you always standing in my way?”
“Don’t bother getting to know her,” Crystal said, her demeanor suddenly turning cold and mildly threatening. “It’s enough that I know her. Nothing else matters.”
I sneered at her, my nostrils flaring. “And why would that be?”
Crystal said nothing. Instead, she cocked her head to the side and looked at me as if I was a fool. “Because she is Beryl’s mother,” Rufus said lightly from the doorway. “As long as she knows everything about Beryl, that’s all that matters.”
I froze in shock yet again, thinking that I had definitely heard it wrong this time. “What did you say, Your Majesty?”
Rufus frowned in annoyance. “I said Crystal is Beryl’s biological mother.”
I felt my face heat up in an instant. If that was true, then that meant that Crystal and Rufus had had an affair.
Where did that left me, then?
Was I just another clown in their circus? I had been putting on a show this entire time, not knowing that there was more to the story than was revealed to me.
They were probably laughing at me behind my back this whole time.
Crystal’s POV
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