The King's Lover-Chapter 505: Did You Ask Your Wife…

"Leave me," Caius said dismissively.

Rylen didn’t budge, nor was he worried about Caius’ reaction. He was more worried his cousin would starve himself to death.

"I will have to refuse your orders, Your Majesty. I hear you haven’t eaten all day. It would do you no good to deprive your body of nutrients. It would only make it worse."

"I don’t want to hear what you have to say, Rylen," Caius replied. "Just leave me alone."

"I insist, Your Majesty. Dinner is served, and Her Majesty, your mother, ordered me to bring you down for dinner."

Caius narrowed his eyes. "My authority supersedes hers."

"She threatened to come and get you herself."

Caius didn’t care about his mother or her threats, but perhaps dinner might distract him from the crumbling of his heart, or how helpless he felt, and just how terribly he missed her.

Rose was most likely long gone from Lady Delphine’s manor. She didn’t even ask him for money. How was she going to fare? He hoped she at least carried jewelry she could sell for money or would ask Lady Delphine. He would gladly pay any money she owed.

"Your Majesty," Rylen called. "Shall I tell your mother you won’t join us?"

"No need," Caius replied and stood up. Stepping away from the desk, he walked past his cousin and out of his private study.

Rylen rushed after him, but Caius completely ignored him. Rylen didn’t particularly care; he had achieved what he came to do, and that was all that mattered.

They were the last to get to the dining room. Caira and the Queen were already seated. The two women seemed to be discussing and as Rylen and Caius walked in the Queen stopped speaking and turned to look at the door.

Caira, however, didn’t lift her gaze, and her demeanor seemed off. She slowly rose and paid her respects while Queen Violeta remained seated.

She wasn’t required to greet the King as everyone would. As his mother, she was exempted.

"Son," she said instead with a smile that unnerved Caius.

Caira returned to her seat but still refused to lift her gaze. Rylen was doing his best to catch her gaze, as he wanted to know what was wrong, but it almost seemed as though she was avoiding him more than she was avoiding Caius.

"Mother," Caius greeted coldly. He didn’t have any energy for her shenanigans and wanted to be left alone.

"Did you ask your wife why she was away for both lunch and breakfast?"

Rylen stiffened while Caius couldn’t hide his irritation. Calling Caira his wife angered him gravely, not only did it remind him that Rose had refused his proposal, but it also reminded him of what Caira had done.

"His Majesty was so busy with important business that he didn’t even have any time to eat."

"Still not enough reason to ignore his wife," Queen Violeta replied with a self-satisfied smile.

Caius completely ignored this interaction, so he didn’t notice his mother was in a pretty good mood. Rylen didn’t miss this, but it was Caira’s reaction that had him piqued.

The more the Queen spoke, the more uncomfortable she seemed, and she had been cutting into the lamb for an awful long time. Rylen couldn’t tell what emotion was going through her face, as it was clear she was deliberately hiding it from him.

"True, and I am sure His Majesty is happy that she is well, isn’t that right?" Rylen quickly said when it was obvious Caius had no intention to respond to his mother.

Caius merely grunted in reply. He put a slice of lamb in his mouth, and it tasted too dry and sour. He forced himself to slowly chew it and swallow. Rose would not be pleased if she returned and he was a shadow of himself; she might leave him again.

"Well," Queen Violeta said with a smile. "Do you know why she was away?"

"Your Majesty," Caira suddenly blurted out, and for the first time since Rylen walked in, she lifted her head.

Rylen frowned. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked pale. There was clearly something wrong.

"Come on, Caira. Just because you aren’t sure doesn’t mean you should keep it a secret."

"Your Majesty," Caira pressed. "I told you what I ate last night didn’t sit well with me."

"Oh, child. I told you I know."

Caius didn’t hear the words that were being exchanged as he forced himself to eat, but he could tell something was going on, so he tried to listen just as his mother turned to him to speak.

"Son, your wife is pregnant."

Caius choked while Rylen nearly spat out his food. Rylen put his hand over his mouth to prevent an accident while Caius coughed. Caira looked as though she wanted the ground to open and swallow her.

"It’s too soon to tell," she yelled out, her face red with embarrassment. "I only had an upset stomach."

Queen Violeta scoffed. "That’s what you think, but I promise you, you’re pregnant. I had very early symptoms with Caius too."

Caius exchanged glances with his cousin, neither of them knowing what to say or do. Rylen gripped the cup of water and drank it until it was empty.

"Aren’t you going to say anything, Caius? Your wife is pregnant."

Caius heard that grating sound again. "She just said it is too soon to tell, Mother."

"I know she is," Queen Violeta said confidently. "Send for the physician; he will tell you immediately."

"I am fine," Caira mumbled, her voice a bit unsteady and her hand on the cutlery shook a little. "There is no need for a physician."

"You heard her, Mother," Caius stated, unable to hide the anger from his voice.

Queen Violeta shrugged, but her smile remained in place. "Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You have to find out in time to make sure the baby is safe. I won’t forgive you if something goes wrong with my grandchild."

Caius could feel himself losing it. Caira was pregnant. He wasn’t sure if it was his or his cousin’s. Caius stabbed his fork into his meal as he tried to suppress his emotions.