Marcellus lean closer to her lips and planted a kiss on her lips. The kiss was short and quick, but Swati could tell his lips were the sweetest thing she has tasted in her 23 years of living on earth.
“Why did you kiss me Marcellus?” She asked, smiling.
Marcellus returned the smile, wrapping his hands around her waist.
“Swati I Love….”
Before Marcellus could say the word YOU, the door of the room opened, and Marcellus’s father entered the room with some of his bodyguard, alongside with Jaya.
“Is she the Swati you have been reporting to me about?” He asked and Jaya nodded her head.
“What the heck is going on here father, why would you have someone report to you about my life?”
“Do you think I just allowed you to come to Maelstrom, so you could do as you please?” His father asked, Swati was already hiding behind Marcellus.
After the things Thalia said about her father, she was kind of scared of him.
“What are you trying to say father? You had someone spy on me?” Marcellus asked.
“Yes I did. After you arrived here in Maelstrom, I told Jaya who was from Maelstrom to spy on you, and she has been reporting to me about every single thing you have been doing, including you falling in love with that little creature behind you, and with your sister supporting you” He said, and Thalia entered the room.
She was surprised to see her father in Maelstrom, but she was too scared to speak, because she fears him a lot.
“And what is your business if I am in love with Swati?” Marcellus asked, holding Swati’s hand.
“No son of mine is allowed to be with a mere servant. Take her and throw her out” He ordered his bodyguards.
“Father, you can’t just throw her out, she’s the woman I love” Marcellus said, tightening his hand on Swati’s hand.
“Then you made a wrong choice falling in love with a maiden who is an orphan, and who doesn’t know a thing about herself. Take her out of here!!”
The bodyguards pushed Marcellus away, and got hold of Swati.
“Marcellus! Please don’t let them take me away, Marcellus!!” Swati called out his name, crying as she was being taking away.
“Swati” Marcellus tries to go after her, but he was pinned down by his father’s bodyguards.
“Let go of me!!! Why will you barge in here to drive away the woman I love!!” Marcellus yelled at his father, and a thunderous slap landed on his face.
“How dare you raise that voice of yours on me, when you are just an adopted child!!!” His father shouted at him.
Marcellus forcefully free himself from his father’s bodyguards and walked closer to his father.
“I have enough from you father!! I respected and did everything you wanted, because I was paying the debit of you taking me into your home after my parents died, but not anymore father, I can no longer be controlled by you!!” Marcellus yells as tears falls down his eyes, as he walked towards the door.
“If you dare go after that maiden, I would no longer consider you my son, and the luxury life and name you bear will be taken from you”
“Thank you very much then, because I have so badly wanted to stop being your son” Marcellus said and leaves the room.
“I hope you are happy now father, you always control our lives like we don’t know our left and right. I wish you can disowned me too, because I h@të you so much!!” Thalia shouted at him, and went after Marcellus.
“Should we go after them?” One of the bodyguards asked.
“Shut up!!!” He shouted at them.
✨✨✨✨✨✨
Swati lights a candle near master Gu’s portrait, as tears falls down her eyes.
“Master Gu, what should I do? The father of the man I love so much, doesn’t want me for his son. He said I am a poor orphan, who knows nothing about herself, and he is right. I don’t know anything about myself, if not for you, I won’t have a name”
“I wish I know who my real parents are, so I can ask them why they abandoned me, and left me in the woods to die. I want to know if they’re alive, or if they’re dead, I just want to know where I really belong” Swati said, crying.
✨✨✨✨✨✨
⟨ PALACE OF MAELSTROM ≈ CHENG’S ROOM ≈ NIGHT ⟩
“What are you doing here?” Cheng asked when Tatiana entered the room.
“Sorry Cheng, but I have to do this, before is too late” Tatiana said, and before Cheng could say a word, Tatiana moved her eyebrow a little, and Cheng fell asleep.
“Since I don’t want you to find out who I am, I have to do this while you are sleeping” Tatiana said, and walked closer to him.
Her hands shines white, and she placed it close to Cheng’s head, she closed her eyes, and began to read about Cheng’s birth.
⟨ 23 YEARS AGO ≈ MARCUS’S HOUSE ≈ CHENG’S REAL FATHER ⟩
“Finally, I am pregnant, which means you will be able to take back the throne from your uncle, Osvaldo” Rina said smiling.
“What if our baby die just like the rest of our children?” Marcus asked, caressing her baby bump tummy.
“Don’t worry about we losing our baby. I talked to a white witch, and she said our baby is destine to be king, and that he will be loved by many” Rina said smiling.
“I hope so Rina. When we finally have our own baby, it means I can take back the throne. Osvaldo had to take over the throne because I don’t have a child of my own”.
“Don’t worry Marcus, our child is going to survive” Rina said, and Marcus smiled kissing her forehead.
When Marcus refused to marry a second wife because he loves Rina so much, he was forced to step down from the throne.
✨✨✨
⟨ STILL ON CHENG’S BIRTH ≈ AN UNKNOWN LOCATION ⟩
“I heard Rina is about to give birth” A man said to the person wearing the veil.
“Her baby was supposed to die, why is she in labor?”
“The herbs you sent to her didn’t kill her baby. The third Queen is also in labor, and she’s about to give birth too”
“Queen Malia is also in labor” The veiled person asked, and the man nodded his head.
✨✨✨✨✨✨
⟨ STILL ON CHENG’S BIRTH ⟩
“I told you Marcus, that our baby was going to survive” Rina said smiling.
“I am happy about it, where’s our son anyways?” He asked.
“He is getting cleaned up, Malia didn’t have a hard time giving birth, so she will bring our son to us, I heard she gave birth to a baby girl” Rina said smiling.
“Finally, I can take over the throne, for more than 10 years, I couldn’t access the throne because of my inability to have a child” Marcus said smiling.
“And our son was born with the king’s star. According to the women who helped me deliver my son, they said that the king’s star appear immediately after I gave birth to him, which means that no matters what happens, he’s going to be king, after all his father is the rightful king of Maelstrom” Rina said and Marcus smiled, caressing her back.
The veiled person entered the room, and before Marcus could asked who he was, the veiled person slit Marcus and Rina’s throats with a sword and they fell down and died.
“What did you just do!!” Malia shouted holding two babies, a baby girl and a baby boy, and the veiled person looked at her.
“Who are you?” Malia asked, and before she could say another word, some men appeared from nowhere and took the babies from her, holding her hostage.
“She already saw what I did, take her away and lock her up in a dungeon where no one will find her” The veiled person said.
“Let go of me!!! Who are you and why did you kill Marcus and Rina!!” Malia yelled as she was being taking away.
“What are we going to do with the babies? We don’t who is your real baby between them?”
“The male child is mine, I think the female baby belong to the deceased Marcus and Rina. Throw her away, and buried this bodies” The veiled person said and leaves.
✨✨✨✨✨✨
⟨ STILL ON CHENG’S BIRTH ≈ DUNGEON ⟩
“Who are you and why did you lock me in here after I saw you murder Marcus and Rina!!” Malia yells at the veiled person.
“You are lucky I love you, if not, I’d have killed you right after you saw me murder Marcus and Rina”
“Who are you!!! Show me your face!!!” Malia shouted.
“Don’t worry, when next I come here, I will show you my face, but your son is still alive, and I made everyone believe you are dead ”
“What son are you talking about? I gave birth to a girl, not a boy” Malia said.
“You mean the baby girl who was throw away is my daughter, and not the baby boy in the palace?” The veiled person asked taking off the veil.
Tatiana gasps in shock and opened her eyes, after she saw the face of the veiled person.
“King Osvaldo is the veiled person, and… and he is the one who killed Cheng’s real father and mother, just to have the throne” Tatiana mumble with wide open eyes.
……
TBC
