Chapter 405: Accusations

REBECCA’S POV

By the time I reached the bottom of the staircase, Kaden had just entered the palace. He was handing his car keys to one of the guards while another helped him with his coat. He looked exhausted, but I was too angry to care. All I could think about was the fact that he had spent the entire day with Rola and hadn’t even bothered to send me a single message.

"Where the hell are you coming from?" I demanded, folding my arms across my chest.

Kaden stopped and turned toward me, clearly surprised to find me standing there. His eyebrows drew together as he looked me up and down, probably wondering why I was still awake at such an hour.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"You heard me, Kaden. Where the hell are you coming from?"

He stared at me for a moment before glancing toward the guards, who were pretending not to listen. "Rebecca, it’s past midnight. What are you doing awake?"

"Don’t change the subject! I’m asking you a question, and I expect an answer. Look at the time! It’s already twelve o’clock in the morning. Where the hell have you been?"

Kaden’s expression hardened slightly. "First of all, mind the way you speak to me. I don’t remember ever giving you a reason to address me so rudely."

"Oh, really? So now I’m being rude because I want to know where my husband has been all day?"

The moment those words left my mouth, I noticed the way Kaden’s eyebrows rose. Fuck! Why the hell had I called him my husband like that? Of course, he was technically my husband, but that wasn’t the point. I had just sounded like a possessive wife demanding an explanation from her cheating husband.

"Your husband?" Kaden repeated slowly.

"Yes, my husband!" I snapped, too embarrassed to back down now. "Or have you forgotten that we’re married? You made it very clear that I have to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in this palace because I’m your wife. So why shouldn’t I know where you’ve been until this ungodly hour?"

Kaden stared at me as though I had suddenly grown another head. Then he turned toward the guards and servants standing nearby.

"Everyone, leave us."

They bowed and hurried away, leaving the two of us alone in the enormous entrance hall. Once they were gone, Kaden turned back to me, looking considerably calmer than I felt.

"Rebecca, what exactly is going on here?" he asked. "I told you this morning that I was going out and wouldn’t be back until late tonight. You said you understood. So why are you suddenly acting as though I’ve committed some terrible crime?"

"Because you said you would be late, not that you would disappear for the entire day without a single phone call or mind link!"

"I didn’t disappear, Rebecca. I went out, and now I’m back. Besides, I don’t remember us agreeing that we have to report our every movement to each other."

I opened my mouth to argue but immediately closed it again. Unfortunately, he had a point, and that only made me angrier. I hated that he was standing there looking so calm while I was practically burning with frustration.

"Well, the least you could have done was send a message!" I snapped.

Kaden sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Alright. I should have sent you a message. I’m sorry. But can you please explain why you’re so upset? Did something happen while I was away?"

I ignored his question and took a small step closer to him. There was something I needed to find out, and I wasn’t going to rest until I had my answer.

Without making it too obvious, I inhaled deeply, trying to detect another woman’s scent on him. Specifically, Rola’s scent. Surely, if they had spent the entire day together, there would be some trace of her perfume or scent clinging to his clothes.

But there was nothing.

All I could smell was Kaden’s familiar masculine scent, mixed with a faint trace of his cologne. I frowned and leaned a little closer, wondering whether my nose was playing tricks on me.

Kaden looked down at me suspiciously. "Rebecca, what are you doing?"

"Nothing!"

"Then why are you sniffing me?"

"I’m not sniffing you!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because it certainly looks like you’re trying to smell something."

I immediately stepped back, my cheeks growing warm. Fuck! Had I really made it that obvious?

"Well, maybe you’ve already taken a bath," I muttered before I could stop myself.

Kaden blinked. "What?"

"Nothing!"

"Rebecca, what the hell are you talking about? Taken a bath? Why would I take a bath before coming home?"

I folded my arms again, desperately trying to recover my composure. "How should I know? Maybe you stopped somewhere to freshen up before returning to the palace."

Kaden stared at me for several seconds, looking completely bewildered. Then he slowly shook his head.

"Rebecca, are you okay?"

Something about that question irritated me even more.

"Am I okay?" I repeated incredulously. "You’re asking me if I’m okay?"

"Yes, because you’re behaving very strangely. I come home after a long day, and suddenly you’re standing here shouting at me, asking where I’ve been, and talking about whether I’ve taken a bath. What exactly is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me!"

"Then why are you acting like this?"

"Forget it, Kaden! Just forget I said anything!"

Before he could respond, I turned around and stormed toward the staircase. I could feel his eyes following me, but I refused to look back. I had already embarrassed myself enough for one night, and the last thing I needed was to stand there explaining why I was behaving like a jealous lunatic.

"Rebecca!" he called after me.

I ignored him and continued walking.

"Rebecca, I’m talking to you!"

"Well, I don’t want to talk to you!" I shouted over my shoulder.

I hurried upstairs and headed straight for my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. The moment I was alone, I pressed my back against it and covered my face with both hands.

Oh, Moon Goddess!

What the hell had I just done?

I had actually marched downstairs at midnight to demand an explanation from Kaden about his whereabouts. Not only that, but I had called him my husband, accused him of staying out too late, and practically sniffed him like some suspicious wife trying to catch her husband cheating.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

I groaned and walked toward my bed, dropping onto the mattress in complete embarrassment. What had possessed me to behave that way? I had spent the entire evening telling myself that I wasn’t jealous, yet the moment Kaden returned, I had behaved exactly like a woman who had caught her husband coming home from another woman’s bed.

"Well, that was entertaining," my wolf remarked.

"Don’t even start," I warned.

She chuckled. "I told you that you were jealous."

"I don’t want to hear it!"

"You should have seen his face when you called him your husband."

I grabbed a pillow and pressed it against my face. "Please, just shut up!"

My wolf burst out laughing, clearly enjoying my humiliation. I wished there were some way to silence her completely because I certainly didn’t need anyone reminding me how foolish I had just made myself look.

I lay back against the pillows and stared at the ceiling, feeling mentally exhausted. Tomorrow, I would have to face Kaden again, and I had absolutely no idea how I was going to explain my behavior. Perhaps I could pretend I had been half-asleep. Or maybe I could blame it on stress.

Yes, stress sounded reasonable.

I had been working too hard lately, and perhaps the exhaustion had finally caught up with me. Surely, Kaden would believe that explanation.

Even I didn’t believe it.

A few minutes later, I suddenly caught his familiar scent approaching my bedroom. My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately sat up.

Oh, no.

Please tell me he wasn’t coming here.

A moment later, someone knocked on the door.

"Rebecca?"

I closed my eyes in frustration. Of course, it was him.

"Go away, Kaden! I don’t want to talk to you!"

"Open the door."

"No!"

"Rebecca, please. We need to talk."

"Well, I don’t want to talk! I’m tired, and I want to sleep!"

There was a brief silence, and I hoped he had finally decided to leave. Unfortunately, his next words destroyed that hope.

"I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong."

I groaned and climbed out of bed. Honestly, what was wrong with this man? Couldn’t he just leave me alone to suffer through my embarrassment in peace?

I marched toward the door and pulled it open, glaring at him.

"What do you want, Kaden?"

He stood in the hallway, still wearing the same clothes he’d arrived in. Up close, I could see that he looked even more exhausted than I’d noticed downstairs. His hair was slightly disheveled, and there were faint shadows beneath his eyes.

Instead of answering my question, he stepped forward.

"Can I come in?"

"No."

He gave me a tired look. "Rebecca."

"What?"

"Please."

I opened my mouth to refuse again, but before I could say anything, he gently moved past me and entered the room.

"Hey! I didn’t say you could come in!"

"I know," he replied calmly, closing the door behind him. "But if I leave you alone now, you’ll probably spend the entire night finding new reasons to be angry with me."

I glared at him. "You’re unbelievably arrogant."

"And you’re unbelievably stubborn. Now, can we please talk?"

I folded my arms across my chest and looked away. "There’s nothing to talk about."

Kaden sighed and approached me. "Rebecca, something is obviously bothering you. I’ve known you long enough to recognize when you’re upset. You were perfectly fine this morning, and now you’re acting as though I’ve done something terrible. What happened?"

"Nothing happened."

"Then why were you waiting downstairs for me?"

"I wasn’t waiting for you!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because you seemed very interested in knowing where I’d been."

"Well, maybe I was just curious!"

"Curious enough to shout at me in front of my guards?"

I felt my anger rise. "Can you please stop bringing that up?"

"Then tell me what’s wrong."

"I already told you. Nothing!"

I turned away from him, intending to walk toward my bed, but before I could take more than two steps, I felt his hand settle gently around my waist.

I froze.

"Kaden, what are you doing?"

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he moved closer until he was standing behind me, his arm resting around my waist. Then he lowered his head and rested it against my shoulder.

"Rebecca," he murmured softly, "talk to me. What’s going on?"

My breath caught in my throat.

Oh, Moon Goddess.

Why did he have to speak to me like that?

Only a few minutes ago, I had been furious with him. I had been ready to shout, argue, and demand answers. Yet now, with his arm around my waist and his voice so close to my ear, I could feel my anger slowly disappearing.

It was infuriating.

I wanted to remain angry with him. I wanted to push his hand away and tell him to mind his own business. Instead, I stood there completely still, struggling to remember why I had been so upset in the first place.

"Rebecca?" he called again.

"What?" I whispered.

"Please tell me what’s wrong."

I swallowed. "Nothing, Kaden."

He remained quiet for a moment before gently turning me around to face him. His hands rested lightly against my waist as he studied my expression.

And that was when I finally noticed just how tired he looked.

His eyes were slightly red, and there were dark circles beneath them. His usually confident expression had been replaced by one of complete exhaustion, as though he’d spent the entire day dealing with one problem after another.

I frowned.

Why did he look so tired?

Wasn’t he supposed to have spent the day enjoying himself with Rola? Shouldn’t he have returned looking happy and relaxed after spending so many hours with the woman he loved?

Instead, he looked as though he desperately needed several hours of uninterrupted sleep.

"Rebecca," he said quietly, bringing my attention back to him, "did something happen today?"

I shook my head.

"Did someone upset you?"

"No."

"Then is it something I did?"

I hesitated, unsure how to answer.

Kaden sighed and rubbed his forehead before looking at me again. "Listen, if you’re upset because I returned late, then I’m sorry. I should have called to let you know I was going to be delayed. Today was extremely hectic, and by the time I finished everything I needed to do, it was already late. I didn’t realize you’d be worried about me."

I stared at him.

Hectic?

He had spent the entire day with Rola, and he was telling me it had been hectic?

I scoffed before I could stop myself.

"Hectic? Oh, I can imagine!"

Kaden frowned. "What?"

"Of course it was hectic! Spending an entire day with your girlfriend must have been very exhausting!"

He blinked, looking completely confused.

"Rebecca, what are you talking about?"

I folded my arms across my chest, suddenly feeling that familiar irritation returning.

"Oh, please, Kaden! Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. Was she that demanding? Did she completely wear you out?"

His eyebrows drew together. "Who?"

I let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Seriously? You’re going to pretend you don’t know who I’m talking about?"

"Rebecca, I genuinely have no idea what you’re saying."

"Oh, come on! How many rounds did you two go? Five? Six? Is that why you look so exhausted?"

Kaden stared at me as though he hadn’t heard correctly.

"How many rounds?" he repeated slowly. "Excuse me?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don’t play innocent with me, Kaden. I know you and Rola met today."

His expression changed from confusion to outright disbelief.

"Me and Rola?" he repeated. "What the hell are you talking about, Rebecca?"