Chapter 173 - 0173
Lorelei POV
"Good afternoon, Beta Darius," she greeted politely, and I glanced up just in time to see Darius step into the room with a thick folder in his hands.
"Is that..." I started, already moving away from the suitcase as Skye stepped aside to let him in.
"It is." He gave me a small smile as he held the folder out to me. "These are the official clearance documents granting your maid... I mean, Skye, her full and permanent freedom."
My eyes immediately lit up.
I took the folder from him and turned toward Skye, holding it up excitedly. She broke into a wide smile from where she stood, and seeing how happy she looked made my own smile grow.
At least one good thing was finally happening.
But the moment I looked back at Darius, my smile faded.
"Why are you the one bringing this to me?" I asked, and his expression changed almost immediately. His jaw tightened slightly as though he knew exactly what I was really asking.
He cleared his throat. "Kaelen is... extremely busy today, Lorelei."
"Right..." I muttered, but the irritation in my voice was impossible to hide. I dropped the folder onto the mattress behind me, the heavy thud doing a much better job of expressing my frustration than I could.
"Does he even know I’m leaving tomorrow morning?" I asked, crossing my arms tightly over my chest. "Or is he planning to keep giving me the silent treatment until I’m halfway out of the driveway?"
Darius’s gaze dropped to the floor, and the quiet sigh that escaped him immediately made my irritation flare again.
"Kaelen just... he feels an overwhelming amount of guilt about all that has happened," he said carefully. "He genuinely believes he failed you in every possible way."
I let out a humorless laugh, shaking my head. "Yet somehow, I’m the one who feels like I’m being punished."
The words came out sharper than I intended, and the sudden silence that followed made me realize just how much emotion had been building inside me.
Even Skye shifted slightly where she stood near the bed, her eyes darting between Darius and me.
Darius looked like he wanted to say something, but whatever response he had clearly wasn’t enough to make its way past his lips. Instead, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, leaving me with nothing but the sound of my own breathing.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to calm down before I said something I would regret.
"You know what? Forget it." I turned away from him, wrapping my arms around myself as I stared toward the window. "It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m leaving tomorrow."
The words should have made me feel relieved.
Instead, they left a strange emptiness in my chest.
Outside, the last traces of sunlight were disappearing behind the trees, painting the sky in soft shades of orange and pink before darkness slowly began to take over.
I watched it quietly for a moment before whispering, almost as if saying it aloud would somehow make it true.
"Soon enough... all of this will just be a bad dream."
That was what I told myself.
More importantly, it was what I desperately wanted to believe.
****
Later that evening, I made my way down the hallway toward Nala’s room, wanting to say goodbye before I left in the morning.
I found her exactly where I expected her to be, lounging across the plush sofa with the kind of effortless extravagance only Nala could pull off. Two of her male guards were nearby, one feeding her slices of fruit while another sat on the floor, massaging her feet as though she were some kind of pampered celebrity.
Honestly, I wasn’t even surprised anymore.
The second she spotted me, her entire face brightened, and she immediately waved me over, patting the empty space in front of her. "Come in, come in! Lorelei, sit."
I smiled faintly before taking the chair opposite her while Nala leaned forward, resting her chin against her palm as she studied me with curious eyes.
"So..." she drawled, a playful smile slowly curling across her lips. "What matter has carried you to my chamber tonight?"
"I’m leaving tomorrow," I said softly.
Nala practically gasped, one hand flying dramatically to her chest as though I had just announced something completely scandalous.
"So soon?"
I could only shrug.
"Ah..." Her expression softened, and for once, the dramatics disappeared from her voice. "Then I suppose you have come to bid me farewell."
A faint smile tugged at my lips. "And to properly thank you. I know we haven’t known each other for very long, but you’ve already had such a huge impact on my life."
Her eyes immediately brightened, and she pressed a hand against her chest again with a delighted little smile.
"Oh, stop. You place too much sweetness upon your words." She let out a soft laugh before her expression became more sincere. "Truthfully, Lorelei, I shall miss you too. And now that you are leaving, I do not believe I shall remain beneath this roof for much longer either. It is far too dull here when there is no little chaos to keep me entertained."
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.
With a sharp snap of her fingers, she called the guard who was massaging her feet. She muttered something to him in her language, and he immediately got to his feet, gave her a respectful bow, and hurried out of the room.
I watched him leave before turning back to her.
"What was that about?"
Instead of answering, Nala gave me a mysterious little smile.
"I have something for you."
My brows shot up. "Something for me?"
"A gift," she said, and I immediately shook my head.
"Princess, no. You really don’t have to give me anything."
"I wished to."
The way she said it left absolutely no room for an argument.
I sighed, already knowing there was no point trying to change her mind.
A few minutes later, the guard returned carrying a small wooden box in both hands. Intricate patterns had been carved across its dark surface, the details so delicate that they almost looked hand-drawn. He lowered himself onto one knee before Nala and presented it to her.
She took the box from him, then shifted into a proper sitting position before holding it out toward me.
"Open it."