Chapter 1721: Next Move
Eden passed in front of her and headed straight toward the King’s bedroom.
Jocelyn stepped out of the palace, silently praying that everything inside would go smoothly.
Eden reached the door, stretched out his hand to grasp the handle, only to find it locked from the inside. His brows tightened, his expression darkened; he was extremely displeased.
The door had been locked by Catherine; she didn’t want Eden to come in.
And Eden also guessed it was her who had locked it.
In fact, this made it all the more convenient for Mia Lane to operate; handing over some medicine was now practically effortless.
In front of the luxurious bed, the King lay flat under the covers. Even from a distance one could hear his labored breathing; his body was clearly in great discomfort.
"Bertie." Catherine hurried to sit at the edge of the bed, clasping his hand in hers. She hadn’t seen him for some time now and had missed him terribly.
"Bertie, can you hear me? It’s Catherine, your wife. I’ve come to see you." There was sincerity in her voice.
"You’re here..." Although the King’s voice was weak, there was still gentleness in his words; perhaps he, too, had been wanting to see her.
Catherine couldn’t help the prickling at the tip of her nose; her eyes filled with tears. "Can you open your eyes and look at me?"
The King slowly opened his eyes.
With tears in her eyes, the woman said, "I’ve actually wanted to come see you all this time, but I was afraid of making you angry and worsening your condition, so..."
This woman’s heart was full of contradictions.
Mia Lane let go of Justin Kingston’s hand and went straight to Ian Shelby’s side, slipping the medicine bottle she took from her pocket inconspicuously into his hand.
Ian cooperated fully, naturally tucking it into his pocket after taking it.
There were a total of five bottles of medicine. At this moment Catherine’s heart and eyes were completely occupied by the King; she didn’t notice their little maneuver taking place not far behind her.
Throughout the process, the two of them cooperated with flawless tacit understanding. Their gazes never met; everything was clean and swift.
The first step of the handover was complete, and they both breathed a sigh of relief.
The King and Catherine exchanged pleasantries. After about five minutes, Catherine seemed to suddenly remember something and said to him, "Oh, right, Mr. Kingston’s wife is here. She heard that you’re ill and wants to come see you."
She was Ian Shelby’s mentor; the King knew that. He saw a new ray of hope and felt a deep gratitude toward this young woman.
"Mm." The King’s gaze slowly moved away from her.
Just then, Mia Lane also walked over. She stopped in front of the bed and met the King’s eyes. "Your Majesty," she greeted politely.
At first sight of this young woman, the King felt she was very kind.
His eyes were filled with gratitude toward her. "Mm." He weakly nodded, then looked to the Queen. "You must treat her well."
"Of course." Catherine said to him, "Taylor has been wanting to see you these days, but Eden has turned him away from the palace again and again..." Her tone was gentle, but in truth she was lodging a complaint.
"You need to understand." Although the King missed his son very much, he now had to put the bigger picture first. "My health isn’t good; I can’t talk with him for long. When I ask about his studies, he doesn’t like it."
"I know. He just wants to see you... and he has been focusing on his studies lately."
"No need." The King let out a soft sigh. "Leaving him with an impression of me as strong and vigorous, in good health—that’s also my wish. Explain it to him."
"Mm." Catherine could understand this as well.
"I’m tired. You should all go." the King said weakly, then closed his eyes. "We’ll talk about building the castle another day."
Catherine bent down, leaning over him, and in front of everyone pressed a tender kiss to his forehead. Then she slowly straightened, released his hand, and rose to her feet.
The King closed his eyes. Catherine looked over at Justin Kingston with some regret and said, visibly distressed, "CEO Kingston, let’s go."
Justin Kingston nodded, wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders, and led her toward the exit.
Catherine followed.
Outside the door, Eden heard the sound of it opening. He felt no guilt and made no attempt to hide. He simply stood guard there like a door god.
When Justin Kingston and Mia Lane came out, Mia’s gaze swept over Eden once more. This build, these looks—he was exactly the man her senior had described.
Yes, he was the killer; there was no doubt about it.
The next step was to force him to show his true colors, and she and Justin Kingston already had a fairly thorough plan. That was why she had come.