"Your mother is starting to bother . Alana will not be your wife. I know that it is her choice but given everything said about your family as of late and what happened with him," Scarlet pointed to Ian. "I don’t want her to get into a ss."
"Um, aren’t you in that ss?" Victor questioned, bringing light to her relationship with Ian.
"She isn’t," Ian answered. He didn’t consider himself part of the Kingsleys. "I’m trying to think of a good last na to get. What about Collins? You could stay as you are now. Scarlet Collins."
While Scarlet liked the idea of not having to change her na again, she wasn’t going to entertain Ian’s talk about marriage.
"I am not in your ss. I don’t have any plans to et with your family and seeing that your mother hates Ian, I don’t have to worry about playing nice. Besides, I have the power to put up with your mother. Please think of the young woman you are going to marry. Do not marry soone who cannot say a word to your parents," Scarlet advised Victor.
Victor had very little of a backbone so having a wife the sa way would not end well.
"You also need to learn how to speak up. We are having a simple conversation yet it looks like you cower each ti I speak. Are you afraid of ?" Scarlet asked.
"You’re a Collins. Your family is known to be terrifying and then there is the other side. I will try my best not to look afraid," Victor said, fixing his posture to look more confident.
"You should be slightly afraid but I won’t hurt you. Not unless you join in pushing for Alana to marry you. I won’t interrupt your play ti any longer. I am going to bed," Scarlet said, turning around to leave.
The two brothers were getting along well so she shouldn’t stay here to disturb them.
"Wait!" Victor called as Ian started to leave. "Does she know about Noelle as well? I told Ian what I found out."
Scarlet stopped to listen. So that was why he ca. It was good news for Ian. "And? What did you find?"
"That my mother killed her," Victor replied.
"Well, that’s what I expected. If I were in her position and a maid was protecting a child I wanted dead, I would kill the maid getting in my way. What about your father?" Scarlet asked, knowing Hank had to be involved.
"My father wasn’t ntioned," Victor answered, thinking his father was innocent.
"Your father is the lord and the one who runs that estate. Similarly, I am the duchess and the one who runs my estate. Soone couldn’t die in my estate and I don’t know about it. Who would help your mother hide what might tarnish your family na?" Scarlet inquired, leaving Victor to put it all together.
While Hank might not have had any reason to want to kill Noelle, he had plenty to cover up what his wife had done.
"Or perhaps, he is more involved than you know so far. I shall leave it to the two of you to figure out. I am tired and need to wake up early in the morning. Stay here with your brother. You must be a good older brother," Scarlet said, tapping Ian’s arm as she passed by him.
While she had not grown fond of Victor it was apparent that he cared for Ian. So much so that he was looking into what happened to Noelle and placing his mother as the person behind it. Being half-brothers, Victor could have disliked Ian and sided with his mother.
Scarlet didn’t think Ian should get too close right away, but he should start to bond with Victor. Right now, Victor was the only Kingsley who acknowledged Ian as one and as long as Victor didn’t cause trouble for Ian, Scarlet could stomach being around him.
Ian wasn’t interested in having a sleepover with Victor. Where was the fun in that? "I am coming to bed as soon as the doctor arrives. Don’t look offended," he said to a pouting Victor. "It is her over you any day. Now, stop talking until the doctor cos."
"You are cruel," Victor said, but despite this, he still wanted to stay here. "What about food?"
"What about it?" Ian feigned ignorance about Victor needing dinner. "If you are hungry, you should have eaten before you ca here to almost pass out. Move your ass back up on the bed and try not to fall. If you fall again, it might make you more stupid."
Victor laughed at the insult. "I did well in my studies. If not for my health, I could have gone to the best school in town and ended up at the top of the ranks. There is nothing you can test on that I wouldn’t pass."
"What does a woman-"
"Anything but that!"
Ian smiled as it still was easy to pick on Victor.
...
On the Kingsley estate, Layla looked out a window for any sign of Victor’s return. He knew that she hated it when he was out too long as she would be worried that sothing happened to him. He was so rude as to not even make a call to stop her from worrying.
Ever since Ian returned to this town, Victor had turned into a troubled child.
"It is his doing," Layla said, placing bla on Ian.
It was a part of his pathetic revenge to turn Victor against her. He made the mistake of underestimating the hold she had over her son.
Layla would allow Victor to throw a tantrum like other children did since he never had the chance to be this way and then she would get him back in line. She was already setting up for him to marry a princess.
"Your son wants to marry for love," Layla said to the other person in the room.
Hank sipped on his wine as he stared at her body. Despite her attitude at tis, he had married a beautiful woman. If only she would stop worrying so much about Victor. "Which son? Ian or Victor?"
Layla wasn’t pleased to hear him think of Ian. She would always be speaking of Victor when she ntioned Hank’s son. "You know what I ant. I only speak about the son I have with you. Not that bastard. Victor wants to fall in love. Look where that got us."
Hank looked around purposely to annoy her. "I think we are just-"
’Our marriage has a bastard in it," Layla snapped.
"Let us not go down that path again. A path you signed up for when you couldn’t give an heir. Had you not gotten pregnant with Victor, you would have loved Ian. You started to in the beginning," said Hank.
Layla shook her head as that was far from true. She only loved Ian for one day as she finally had a child but when Hank did not go through with the plan to send the maid away, she hated Ian and his mother on the very sa day.
Layla moved away from the window. "You should be focused on getting Victor married to the princess as soon as possible or are you still hoping Ian will marry Scarlet? You must think of what it looks like for you to be so interested in placing a bastard as your heir."
"I am having a drink, Layla. I don’t want to do this now. Must you always be looking for a reason for us to argue? Victor is out late and you are turning to argue with because you wish to know where he is. The boy is not a child. It is about ti that he acts like his peers. And as for his marriage," Hank said, thinking over the option. "He could do better than the forgotten princess."
If Layla wanted Victor to marry a royal, she should aim a little higher. They already had a good title. What Hank wanted was soone who brought wealth.
"She will be rembered when Victor is by her side. You," Layla said, trying to touch a letter on his desk but Hank moved it away. "You are getting plenty of letters these days. Is it sothing I should know about?"
Hank placed the letter he failed to notice was still out in a drawer he would lock later. "It ca from the gifts being sent by my peers trying to find out who will be my heir. They want to know if Ian or Victor will be picked so they can start being close."
"I see," Layla answered, but she was still suspicious. "Why did you move it? It is sothing that I should see."
Hank stood to go to Layla so he could distract her. "I don’t want you to see Ian’s na and get upset. We were having a good day so why be upset? Will you join for a drink?"
Layla was still suspicious but she decided to let it go for now. She didn’t want to see anything concerning Ian. "I will."
"Good," Hank smiled.
For now, he could keep his secret that he was bringing back Ian’s mother.
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