Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter 122 Ethan Did What?!
**Soren’s POV**
“Ethan did what?!” I asked as my right-hand man came into my office.
“Yes, sir, it’s in the headlines everywhere. ‘Royal Wedding Turns Into Judgment’ is the title of the article talking about it.” Thomas said, “Gutsy move, I gotta say. He’s really not into that Madalynn, huh?”
“Not funny!” I frowned, “Make sure Rosalie doesn’t know about it.”
“Yes, boss.”
“What else?”
“Ethan went back to the frontline, and we lost three more bases at the coast.”
“D*mn it,” I muttered under my breath. I needed to think of something. I wouldn’t let Ethan win this war. “What about the north?”
“Not too bad, given the last batch actually arrived at the north before Ethan ambushed our supply vessels.”
Ever since Ethan had left the island, our line had been pushed back significantly. Whatever he’d managed to do, he’d done a h*ll of a job at it.
I saw him pull out an envelope from his pocket. “Also, a letter for you. From Damian.” He held it out to me, and I took it, keeping my eyes on Thomas as I ripped the envelope open.
My eyes quickly scanned the letter. It wasn’t too long, and there wasn’t much in the few brief paragraphs that I didn’t already know, but Damian was keeping me ab*rea*st of what was going on in the capital, as he should be.
“Anything important?” Thomas asked me as I ripped the letter into tiny bits and tossed it into the trash can so it couldn’t be read by anyone else.
“Yes and no. Ethan is becoming difficult to deal with. Apparently, he’s getting a bit arrogant, thanks to his victories in the war effort of late,” I told him as I opened my desk drawer and pulled out a piece of paper in order to respond to Damien.
This letter writing was getting old. I cursed Ethan again for cutting our lines of communication.
I looked up at Thomas and pressed my lips together, irritated. “We must prevent him from getting too much of a big head.”
“Got it. We have been speeding up our plan, boss.
“Good. Also, news about the queen.”
Thomas thought for a minute and asked, “Are we going to let Damian know what we found out about Rosalie?”
I tipped my head to look at Thomas. I answered, “No. I don’t want any trouble right now.”
Quickly, I fired off a response.
I had to be discreet, but I hoped Damian would be able to decipher that I may have an answer for him regarding his inquiry for the queen.
Just as I was placing the letter into the envelope, I heard a commotion outside of my office door. I finished addressing the envelope and handed it to Thomas as there was a knock on my door.
“What is it?” I asked, curious as to what all the noise could be about.
“Sir, you’re being summoned to Miss Ro’s house at once,” the staff member said. “Apparently, she’s just given birth.”
I stood. “Just given birth?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Already?”
He only shrugged. “I’m only repeating what I was told, sir.”
I looked at Thomas who was just as flabbergasted as I was.
“Why didn’t anyone call me?”
Of course, he wouldn’t answer that.
I rushed past him to the door, wondering what in the world had happened. Did Rosalie truly give birth already, so quickly, and I’d missed it? I had imagined there was a possibility I might not be there if she had the baby while I was away, but I’d been at home all day, working in my office.
Rushing outside, I instructed the driver to hurry to her house at once, and Thomas and I got inside of the car.
My heart was beating out of my chest, and I could feel beads of perspiration dotting my upper lip.
“Are you all right, boss?” Thomas asked me. “You look… nervous.”
“I’m fine,” I told him, but it wasn’t true. A thousand thoughts invaded my mind.
My first concern was for Rosalie. Was she okay? Was she in any pain? Had she had any complications when she had the child?
And what about the baby? Was the baby all right? Was it a boy or a girl?
I tried to picture Rosalie with her baby in her arms and how happy she must be; it brought a smile to my face. Until Thomas tapped me in the shoe with his foot. “This is a business arrangement, is it not, boss?” he asked me. “You are keeping her here because she is your half-brother’s breeder, and that baby is his child?”
I turned to look at him and glared. “Yes, of course,” I said, but I wanted to hurt him.
Why couldn’t it be more than that? Why couldn’t I keep Rosalie and her child because they had once belonged to Ethan and also have feelings for them?
After all, it would certainly be all the sweeter to hear that little baby call me Dada knowing that it was Ethan who was meant to be raising the babe.
And it would certainly be all the sweeter to hear her moan my name in pleasure knowing it was him who was missing out on such a beautiful, exceptional woman….
We pulled to a stop in front of the house, and I got out, trying to control my urge to run to the front door. Thomas was right. I did have “business” to attend to, and I needed to keep a level head.
Right… about Rosalie, I still needed to confirm something, and now was the perfect time to collect some of it.
The curtains billowed through the open living room window. I knocked on the door, and we waited on the front porch to be let in.
“When we get in there, pull the doctor aside and tell him I want a blood sample collected from Rosalie,” I told Thomas, keeping my voice low. “I don’t care what excuse he uses. Tell him to think of something, but get the sample. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Thomas said in the voice he uses when he knows something is vitally important.
It seemed to take forever for the door to open, but eventually, Seraphine pulled it open, looking haggard. She didn’t even smile at us.
“Hello,” she said. “She’s resting right now. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea for you to see her, Mr. Soren.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” I said. “I was hoping to congratulate her and see the baby. Is everything all right?”
“It is now,” The midwife shrugged, her attitude suddenly less enthusiastic. “It was difficult, but Rosalie has made a splendid recovery. For a while, we thought we may have some problems, but she is a fighter, and she is fine now.”
I understood she wouldn’t tell me anything else. “Do you think she’ll be okay now?”
Seraphine nodded, “Yes, sir, I do. But she is tired and needs some time with her child. The doctor is just in the other room, though, if you’d like to speak to him.”
“If she had a difficult birth, why wasn’t I called sooner?” I asked, trying not to get angry at the midwife. It didn’t matter now, as long as Rosalie was all right.
Seraphine took a deep breath and blew it out. “I did as Miss Rosalie instructed. She didn’t want me to call until after the baby was born. Having a baby isn’t exactly something one needs an audience for.”
She had a point there. I nodded and took a few steps away from her as Thomas went around me. I knew where he was going, to speak to the doctor. Seraphine’s eyes followed him. It probably looked suspicious. I needed to distract her.
“Was it a boy or a girl?” I asked her, keeping my voice gentle and calm as I waited for her answer.
“She gave birth to a strong, healthy baby boy,” she replied. Then she added, “So… you can be sure you’re taking away the heir to the kingdom for certain now.”
I stared at her for a moment, wondering what that was supposed to mean. Had I lost Seraphine’s confidence? Surely not.
“Seraphine, you know how much I care about Rosalie, don’t you?” Did she know? Was she aware that this wasn’t just some sort of a military scheme for me anymore, or did she think I was still doing this just to get back at Ethan?
Seraphine smiled. “Of course, I do. I was congratulating you, Mr. Soren.” She smiled, but I couldn’t tell if it was genuine or not.
“I’m going to go speak to the doctor and see if there’s anything Rosalie needs,” I told her.
Seraphine nodded and walked over to the window, I a*s*sumed to get some fresh air.
When I went back to the hallway near Rosalie’s room, I saw that the doctor had a vial of blood in his hand. He gave it to Thomas, who slipped it into his jacket pocket.
I couldn’t help but smile. Everything was coming together.
Not only were Rosalie and her child the most effective weapons that I could use to ruin my half-brother once and for all, but also I’d found they bore the precious ancient royal blood.
Most importantly, this beautiful woman was here with me, and so was his child.
Business arrangement or not, I had to admit to myself that I cared about them both—and I was never going to let either one of them go.