Truth Part 1

Aciel's uncle told him the reason the Antonov women were forbidden. It was supported by the files Martin gave him so he knew it was the truth.

As much as he wanted Xylia as his future wife, the lives of many were at stake with his decision. He was just interested in her and wanted to take everything from the perfect princess. He wanted to ruin her. Nothing more, nothing less.

He called Martin after learning the truth and told him that he will choose another girl to marry, but he would not stop playing with Xylia's heart. He heard the Consigliere sigh on the other line before disconnecting the call.

"Aciel, you're late. You missed first period. Did you see Ivan Harlow?"

Simon asked when he saw him walking in the hallway. There were a lot of students standing by the door and looked like they were watching something inside the classroom

He frowned then glanced at Simon. "What's that about?"

"It's Ivan Harlow. He arrived this morning and came to see Xylia. He announced to everyone that she would be his fiance soon." Simon answered.

Aciel's expression became dark. He had a bad mood this morning because he couldn't sleep thinking about Xylia. Now, another irritating news came as soon as he arrived.

"Aciel, some girls heard him boasting to other guys that he would just make Xylia his slave. He said a lot of things that he wanted to do with her. The girls were scared." Simon continued.

Aciel gritted his teeth. He wanted to strangle Ivan's neck and kill him, but wasn't he the same? All he could think about was her and how she looked when naked.

"And why are you telling me this? I have nothing to do with her. Besides if she's against it, she should just deny everything Ivan told them. But she didn't say a word right?"

Simon was surprised. Yesterday, he thought he saw something different in Aciel's eyes. But now, his eyes were cold and dull. He couldn't see any emotion in him.

Aciel walked inside the room followed by Simon. He saw Xylia sitting in front and Ivan was behind her, playing with her hair.

He sat down quietly, but his eyes were fixed on the girl in front. He started at her from head to toe and noticed her knees were shaking. Aciel knew Xylia could protect herself since she was a black belter in taekwondo, but she couldn't use it against Ivan.

Aciel sighed and averted his eyes. He looked outside the window so he could not see what Ivan was doing. He could hear the students mumbling with each other, talking about Xylia and her soon-to-be fiance.

He frowned when the noises stopped. He turned to look at what was happening and saw Xylia standing in front of Ivan, facing him. Everyone waited for the Antonov princess' words including him but they didn't happen. No words came out of her mouth.

Instead, she stared at Ivan for a moment and then walked out. But before she left the classroom, she glanced at Aciel. He couldn't understand why his heart skipped a beat seeing Xylia's eyes.

She looked like she was asking for help, but he was unsure. He knew where she was headed and he wanted to follow, but he already made a promise to Martin.

"Aciel, did you see the look on her face?" Simon asked.

"What? I wasn't looking." He lied.

"Hey, we've been friends for as long as I can remember. I know if you're lying or not. You did see it. Whatever happened yesterday, think again. I think the girl needs you."

Images of Xylia in the hands of the sadistic Ivan came into his mind. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist while glaring at Ivan.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed before running out of the classroom.

Xylia was on the rooftop staring at the blue sky. Her chest felt so right and she felt a throbbing pain in her head. She knew what Ivan was like, and she knew her parents knew about it, but they still chose him as her future husband.

She sighed. She wanted to scream to her heart's content and shout at the sky all of her pain. How did it end up like this? She was happy when she was younger until something unexpected happened four years ago. It changed everyone in their family, especially her mother.

"You're here."

Xylia knew it was Aciel. She wanted to talk to someone so she glanced at him hoping that he would follow her.

She felt relieved hearing his voice. He was panting and she knew he ran to the rooftop to look for her.

"What should I do? I don't like Ivan. I'm scared." She started.

Aciel could feel her voice trembling. He walked towards her and sat beside her. They were sitting on the ground and were leaning on the fence. The weather was nice and the cold wind blew Xylia's hair. Aciel was staring at her and he was enchanted by her.

"Maybe you should ask your parents about it. Reject him and disagree with them. It's your happiness and future, not theirs." He said.

"I can't." She whispered.

"Why? There's something going on in your family, right? I can ask my men to dig deeper to know what was happening to your clan, but I want you to tell me."

"Why do you want to know? I can't understand you. You said you hate me, but you wanted me. I know you just want me to sleep with you, but I'm not like that."

"I know. I was an asshole. I'm sorry. I don't hate you but I don't like the way you act in front of everyone." He said.

Xylia was surprised. From what she knew, Aciel never apologise and never admitted that he was wrong.

"My mother. They were keeping my mother to threaten me." She blurted

Aciel frowned. What did she mean by that? He just saw her mother yesterday. He was sure she called the woman, mother.

Xylia turned to him with tears flowing from her eyes.