From Slave To Queen (by Karyn Anderson) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The house doctor shook his head, picked up his medical box, and left.

Nicolas stepped into the room, feeling at a loss for the first time, unsure of what to say.

At that moment, Athena woke up.

Nicolas turned his gaze away, hesitated for a moment, then asked, his voice strained, “How did you get such a serious injury to your leg? Why didn’t you tell anyone in the family?”

Seeing the concern in his eyes, Athena couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.

In fact, she even laughed aloud. “Lord Nicolas, is this your idea of giving carrot and stick?”

Nicolas’s eyes widened in shock, ready to respond.

But before he could speak, Athena’s calm voice cut through again. “You’ve never believed me. Even if I told you, you’d think I was just trying to win your favor. Just like last night–when I tried to explain, all I got was a beating.

“So what difference does it make whether I say something or not?”

Her voice was so light, but it felt like a knife to Nicolas’s heart. He hadn’t realized how much resentment Athena held against him.

Then, as he thought it over, he realized that Athena had grown up in a family like that–no wonder she had picked up such habits. It didn’t matter if she resented him now; eventually, she would thank him.

The knot in Nicolas’s chest loosened. He took a deep breath and finally spoke, “I won’t pursue the matter with Willow any further. Just focus on getting better.”

At the core of it, though, he still didn’t believe her.

Almost instantly, a bitter smile curved at the corner of Athena’s mouth.

Whenever it came to Willow, no one around her without any boundaries.

“med to have

any clarity. They were all like people under a spell, blindly defending Willow

She closed her eyes lightly, no longer looking at

Nicolas frowned, his face darkening. But the guilt

he

know.”

felt stopped him from leaving immediately. “I’ll be outside. If you need anything, just let me

d just older b

speak. Seeing this, Nicolas turned and left the room.

He wanted to prove to Athena that he was a fair and

But Athena kept her eyes closed, offering no sign

He went outside, called for a servant, and ordered him to bring all his official papers to the Snowdrop Wing.

Before long, the servant returned with the documents.

True to his word, Nicolas sat in the outer room, reviewing his papers while keeping an eye on Athena.

“It’s probably because she got caught in the rain and caught a chill,” the butler explained, his face full of worry. “Lady Willow refuses to take any medicine when she coughs, and only you can convince her. Lady Eloise doesn’t know what else to do but ask you to come.”

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