The Alpha King's Mind Reading Maid (Cecilia) novel Chapter 197

Chapter 197

It filled my stomach with dread the more I thought about it.

“There you are,” Jasmine said as she walked into the library, spotting me sitting in the corner with a book on my lap.

I barely even read any of the words on the pages; I’ve just been staring blankly at them for the past hour.

“Here I am,” I repeated, seeing Cora and Claira appear behind her, both with identical worried faces as they stared back at me.

“We’ve been looking for you,” Cora said, her eyes finding the book and then shifting back to my face. “We heard what happened last night. We wanted to make sure you were alright.”

I closed the book and placed it on the table beside me.

“I’m as good as I can be considering my reputation had been dragged through the mud,” I murmured. “I didn’t hurt her… I didn’t even touch her.”

“Whoa, calm down,” Jasmine said, sitting beside me on the couch. “We know.”

I blinked and looked at each of their faces.

“You do?”

“Of course we do,” Claira said, sitting on the other side of me. “You would never hurt anyone on purpose. Sophia is a snake, and we knew it from the beginning.”

“We know a snake when we see one,” Cora agreed, folding her arms across her chest.

“That’s why we were never friends with Vivien or Elora. Because they were snakes too,” Jasmine added, nudging my shoulder. “ But you are not a snake, and if the King can’t see that, then maybe he has no right to be King.”

“You can’t say that,” Cora said, her eyes wide with horror. “Someone might overhear you. Slandering the King is treason.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes.

“Nobody is even here.”

“It doesn’t matter; these walls have ears,” Cora said in a hushed whisper.

“Fine, whatever,” Jasmine said, waving off her concern. “But anyway, I’m starving. How about we get brunch?”

I let out a breath.

“I was actually going to return to my room and-”

“Absolutely not,” Jasmine said, standing up. “We aren’t going to let you hide from the world.”

“She’s right,” Claira said, also standing up. “Brooding will do you no good.”

“I’m not brooding,” I lied poorly.

The girls looked at one another, clearly not convinced.

“Right,” Jasmine said, rolling her eyes again. “Come eat with us before we drag you there ourselves.”

Despite myself, I snorted out a laugh.

“Fine, you’ve convinced me,” I tell them as I stand. “No need to drag me around the palace. I will come willingly.”

“Good choice,” Jasmine said with a wink. “We were going to drag you kicking and screaming if we needed to ”

The girls laughed, and so did I. It felt nice to laugh, even though in the back of my head I was drowning.

Chop

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We went to the dining hall in the east wing; it was quieter. It was mostly filled with concubines who were enjoying their last meals before we were dismissed from the palace. Most were wondering when the dismissal would take place; rumors spread that we wouldn’t be dismissed until after the wedding.

My chest tightened at the thought of having to watch Leopold marry Sophia and make her his queen. But I swallowed down my emotions and sat at the table with a plate of food with the girls.

I was barely present for their conversation. It was mostly them talking about what they would do once they returned to their packs. I picked at my food, not hungry, but needing to keep up the appearances that I was okay.

By the time the others finished their meal, Jasmine noticed that mine was only rearranged; it was untouched.

“You haven’t eaten,” she pointed out.

“I guess I’m not feeling well,” I told them, which wasn’t a complete lie. “I think I’m just going to lie down.”

“We told you we don’t want you brooding,” Claira said, raising her brows. “How about a stroll? Perhaps fresh air would do you

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