Protect Me, Alpha King - Chapter 116: Chapter 116

The Dressmaker
I was drowning, deep in thoughts about what had happened earlier, not realizing I was already done taking my bath. With the help of the twins. They helped me dress into something fancy. Like what the alpha
king had ordered.
I had no idea how much the dress would have cost, but I dared not to ask anymore. Possibly expensive. However, regardless if the dress could buy a vast amount of land, it was not enough to make me feel good.
The fact that the alpha king could not return my feelings was enough to ruin everything despite expecting it. No preparation would be sufficient to prepare me for the pain.
"You okay?" Flare asked me. The twins fixed my clothes and hair and gave me one last look. Everything should be fine the moment I face the alpha king. According to them.
If I will be asked? I did not care. In the alpha king's eyes, it would only be my sister.
"Why shouldn't I be okay?" I asked back, trying to act as if everything was well even if it felt like my heart was crushed into tiny pieces.
"Because the alpha king did not directly answer your confession?" It was Clara who answered. "It must be painful on your part. Still, we are rooting for the two of you. We hoped it would be you whom the alpha
king would choose in the end. There was something around the queen which we no longer recognized."
Flare pinched Clara's side, a silent warning not to speak anymore against the queen. Clara moaned and wiped her side.
"I was kind of expecting it. I came second in his life."
"What is your next plan?" It was Flare who asked.
I exhaled. "I don't know. To be honest, His Majesty did not believe me. He thought I was mad."
"You are madly in love, yes. But not the other kind of mad, River."
My lips pressed into a smile. A real one after being imprisoned in the dungeon.
"Thanks for lifting my mood."
The twins grabbed my hand and pressed it. "We hope everything will be well. May the Moon Goddess bless you and guide whatever you do, River."
The Moon Goddess.
After what happened in my life, I started to ask if the Moon Goddess even existed. Had she seen how much I had been suffering so far? If she did, what had she done to make my living conditions well? To make
everything better?
"Thank you for that, Clara and Flare," I said in the end. "I will just go to the dining hall. The alpha king is already waiting for me."
"Do you believe the queen was capable of doing it? We heard you. Will she betray the kingdom?"
I sighed as I watched their worried gazes. "Can I ask a favor?"
"What is that?"
"Please don't tell anyone about what you heard. I am still waiting for her to have a change of heart."
"She won't," they said in unison. "We believed she wouldn't." They nibbled their lower lips. "Perhaps this is an act of revenge against us? For plotting to kill her before? We may be against her for the alpha king
but we were never involved in trying to murder her."
I believed them.
"I believe you. Regardless of what happened to the past, the queen had no right to hurt any innocent individuals."
"We are scared," they said in unison.
"Do not be. I will protect you."
True to the alpha king's words, he was waiting for me at the dining hall with the dressmaker on his left side. He looked dashing in his clothes. A simple tunic and pants.
His smell and the dishes served were enough for my stomach to get wild. I could eat everything. Including the alpha king.
I froze at my last statement. Where did those dirty thoughts come from?
The glass of water in front of the dressmaker fell, scattering the water around the tablecloth. He muttered something, grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket, and was on the verge of wiping the table when a
servant stopped him from doing so and dried it for him.
The dressmaker was the official dressmaker of the palace. And I had also seen him once when he approached the queen holding a catalog.
The alpha king first noticed my presence, smiled as he approved of my looks and he stood, sauntered towards me, and offered his arms.
"You are gorgeous, River."
My heart somersaulted. My cheeks flushed.
Damn.
How could a simple compliment from him earn this kind of effect?
"The twins forced me to look good."
"I will give them gifts for doing a great job. The braids look good on you," he added, still grinning.
"You drown me with compliments, Your Majesty as if you are guilty. If it's because of my confession, let's pretend I did not utter those words, shall we? I don't want the atmosphere to be awkward between us."
His cheeks went scarlet.
Cute...
"If you want to put it that way."
I threw him one last glance before my gaze darted back to the dressmaker.
He was constantly wiping the sweat from his forehead even if the hall's temperature were cold. Which only meant one thing. He was scared and nervous at the same time.
Why?
The alpha king pulled out some chairs on his right side and helped me sit before he went back to his original seat.
"Sir Barry. This is Miss River. She was once my personal attendant, but not anymore. I want you to give her the same respect that you have given to the queen since she is also my mate."
Sir Barry cleared his throat and his eyes had been to the other directions except meeting mine.
What was his deal?
"Your Majesty. Spare this poor man and let him get away. It seemed he did not want to give me his precious time," I answered.
And this was also not the place I wanted to be. I will just eat here and will perhaps look for Delta Isagani. I wanted to discuss something with him.
Sir Barry nervously chuckled.
"Please accept my apologies for behaving this way, Miss River. It's just that-" he said, trailing off his words.
"It's fine if you do not want to make my dress. Your priority is the queen's dress."
"It's not what I am trying to say, Miss River. You see, there are only three days left before the Proclamation Ceremony. I don't have enough time to make another-"
"Bullshit!" the alpha king cursed, slapping the table at the same time. The plates and utensils clinked while the servants beside us stiffened. "How could you not make time for her? Do you want her to become
the laughingstock at the ceremony? I want her to be the most elegant woman on that day."
Under my lashes, I glanced at the alpha king.
A vein popped on his neck.
I did not know if I should be offended or not by his statements. He wanted me to become the most gorgeous woman. Why? Was he ashamed of me right now?
"That will never happen, Your Majesty. I will not be a laughing stock."
"Why?"
"I won't be attending the ceremony."
The alpha king's knuckles went white. "You would not dare."
Lifting my chin and meeting his eyes, I said, "Yes, I can, Your Majesty. Instead of paying for the extravagant dress, why not use it for the children who were orphaned because of the rogue's attacks?"
The alpha king folded his hands in front of his chest. "Since when did you become thoughtful about someone else's life?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "People change. I will only accept gifts from people who love me. Unfortunately, you don't share the same feelings."
He gritted his teeth. "Now is not the time to talk about that."
"Why? Because someone might hear us? That you don't have any feelings for your second-chance mate? Are you embarrassed, Your Majesty?"
"If someone dared to badmouth you and tell anyone what we just talked about here, they will be punished. I will make sure they will regret it for the rest of their lives."
I pretended to act as if I was scared. "Scary."
"Sir Barry. Give me the catalog. You will make her a dress even if it means you will not sleep until you are done with it."
"But, Your Majesty," the old man protested. "The queen had already chosen all the designs. There is nothing to offer to Miss River."
"See, Your Majesty? Let's not press something which is not meant to be. Don't take it negatively, but I have nothing against it."
"No!" the alpha king insisted. "Make her a dress far better than the queen. If you don't, you will be stripped of your position as the dressmaker of the kingdom. You will return as a commoner, Sir Barry."
The man paled.
"U-understood, Your Majesty. If you will excuse me, I will gather the remaining designs and ask Miss River if it is to her liking."
Without looking at Sir Barry, the alpha king replied, "Dismissed."
The man scampered away as if death was after him.
"That's not right, Your Majesty. Threatening someone to do your bidding is not good. They will hate you."
Unbothered, he retorted, "I am the alpha king. Everyone bows down to all my wishes."
Rolling my eyes, I focused on the dishes in front of me. My stomach growled at the sight and smell.
"Eat everything you can. Everything is prepared for you. If anyone is not to your liking, I can ask the cook to cook another dish."
Well, after spending five days in the darkest part of the dungeon, I had no right to be choosy.
I started eating the foods, munching anything to my liking.
The alpha king smiled while looking at me, contented at how I ate with gusto. I was in the middle of eating when I remembered something.
"Where is the queen, by the way? Is it okay to eat with you, Your Majesty? I do not like to accept any more punishments now that the Proclamation Ceremony is fast approaching. I also have a lot of stuff to do."
that you mention about punishments, I do appreciate what you did back then. However, next time, you do not have to protect me, River." He grabbed my hand. "I should be the one protecting you. I am the
"Now man. Your mate."
"But if I never do that, she will reject and saved me from perishing in the pain."
you, Maxxwell. I don't want you to experience the painful feeling of being rejected. It hurts so much that once you will want to be dead. I was thankful that you came at the right time, Maxxwell. You helped me!