<h4>Chapter 613: What’s He Hoping to Achieve?</h4>


    Still, one look at the housekeeper was enough to tell, though he had been impressed by Darius’s smooth handling of the wheelchair situation, he still would have preferred to throw him out of the castle the first chance he got. The man’s grin alone seemed like a crime.


    But none of those silent protests mattered, because Darius was already busy at the table. With a casual confidence, he began lifting dishes and spooning food onto Nnenna’s te, one by one.


    It took only a few seconds for the others to notice something odd. Every single dish he picked up, every single one, was one of Nnenna’s favorites. Not just food she liked, but her absolutefort meals.


    Arthur’s brows shot up. He turned his head sharply toward Carl, suspicion dark in his eyes. You told him?


    But Carl only looked back at him with a shrug, his expression nk. He hadn’t said a word to Darius about her preferences. Which left a bigger, more infuriating question: How did this creep know?


    "Eat up," Darius said warmly once he was finished, sliding the te closer to Nnenna.


    Nnenna blinked down at the te, impressed in spite of herself. Okay... creepy but convenient, she thought, then nced up just in time for Darius to keep talking.


    "Now, Your Highness," he said, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret, "just forget about all these serious faces around you. The trick is simple. Keep your gorgeous eyes on me."


    "Now, Carl gave me some big speech yesterday, something about how he wants to carefully exin the need for therapy to you first before I meet you. Honestly? I can’t even remember half of it. You know how it is with nagging older brothers. I have four of them. The best strategy is to nod, smile, and pretend you’re listening. Then they wrap it up faster, and you can go do exactly what you wanted in the first ce."


    Nnenna let out a smallugh at that. "That... actually sounds familiar."


    "Excuse me?" Carl cut in sharply, voice rising with irritation, his royalposure cracking. "Did you just tell her to ignore my advises?"


    But Darius pretended not to notice Carl’s annoyance.


    "You seem like a direct person, so I’m not going to beat around the bush," Darius continued as Nnenna ate, listening. "Are you depressed? Do you feel like life cheated you because you can never use your legs? Are you pretending to be okay with it? Or are you going to fall apart soon once you exhaust your mental strength, which, by the way, is quite admirable from what I’ve heard?"


    Nnenna blinked at the truckload of questions, but her memory was sharp. She answered them one by one, steady and calm.


    "No, I’m not depressed. Nope, I don’t feel cheated, I feel blessed. Nah, I’m not pretending to be okay. And no, I won’t fall apart. To do that, I would have to be pretending in the first ce, and I’m not."


    She turned back to her food, digging into the next dish on her te,pletely unbothered by the intense gaze fixed on her.


    Darius’s smile only widened the longer he looked at her. "You really have epted this, haven’t you? You’re not bothered by it at all. Why do I feel like you’re what’s been missing from my life?"


    The sudden shift in his tone made the room still. He sounded serious now.


    He thought for a moment, then his eyes locked on Nnenna with unexpected determination.


    "A little bird told me you’ll be eighteen in about five months," he said. "Would you consider having a rtionship with me then?"


    Silence.


    <fn53dd> Updates are released by f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?</fn53dd>


    Awkward silence.


    "I barely know you," Nnenna finally answered, though she doubted his seriousness.


    "That can be taken care of," Darius replied instantly, not even blinking.


    Nnenna paused, realizing with a start that he was actually serious.


    "That’s enough, she’s not avable." Arthur cut in coldly before she could say more.


    "What’s it to you? I’m asking the girl a question. She’s old enough to make her own decisions," Darius fired back, his tone sharp. Then, with a casual shrug, he added, "If I didn’t know any better, I would say you’re jealous."


    That one word froze the air.


    The silence was so thick it could be cut with a knife. All three others in the hall exchanged curious looks, while Nnenna raised her brows at Arthur.


    Things were spiraling, and Arthur knew he had to put a stop to it, but Darius didn’t give him the chance.


    "... But jealousy doesn’t suit you, does it? Iceberg Arthur’s heart is way too frozen to love. It must be another emotion... hmm, I’ll just ssify it under protective big brother instincts," Darius concluded, wearing that infuriating smile.


    "You—" Arthur began, his voice tight as he pushed back his chair and stood. But before he could take a step, a handnded firmly on his shoulder.


    Carl’s voice came low and steady behind him. "I’m guessing you’re not ready to tell Nnenna about your feelings. And she’s not ready to hear them either. Darius is probing, Arthur, he must have guessed somehow that you might react once he mentioned Nnenna a.k.a Anastasia. Probably trying to find out Nnenna’s secret through you. I strongly suggest you calm down."


    The words hit their mark. Arthur wasn’t ordinary either, and though his chest tightened, he forced himself back into his chair, his calm face betraying none of the storm within.


    While everyone else was thinking of the possibilities, Nnenna was now studying Darius. For a brief second, she caught something sh across his face, regret.


    This guy is definitely a freak. What was he even hoping to achieve? she wondered, sighing inwardly, a little regretful she might never get the answer.


    "I guess we’ll just have to discuss the possibility of us when those two aren’t around," Darius suddenly turned to Nnenna with a grin, slyly slipping a card into her hand.


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