Love and Longing

asked Lord Norman Ambrosia in a domineering manner that showed both arrogance and superiority.

"He's still in the operation room," answered Kris since no one else said anything.

Lord Ambrosia ignored Vlad's hard stare and gave Kris a nod. It seemed that he only hated the men in the family: Vlad and his father, Kristov Ambrosia.

I'd heard from Vlad that Norman loved his mother, causing a dispute between the brothers since both men loved Jane but Kristov was the one that had a click with her. Maybe that had been the reason why Norman wanted Vlad to give up on me so I could be with Adrian. Yet again, destiny spoke differently and I had a click with Vlad.

I slid my gaze to the woman who was quiet the whole time. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here and for a second, I thought she was here because of Norman and that she didn't love Adrian, however, the tearstains underneath her eyes told me she actually cared.

"So, you're Kristen's soul mate?"

Norman's question brought my focus back to him. I watched him giving Diego a once-over with his scrutinizing gaze. My best friend stiffened and so did Diego.

"Yes. Allow me to introduce myself, Lord Ambrosia. My name is Diego Alexander Garcia. It is an absolute honor to meet you." Despite being looked down upon, Diego didn't lose his manner and I respected him for that. Many people, myself included, would throw a punch or lose my temper if I were to receive Norman's nasty look.

"A mere royal?" asked Norman incredulously. He slid his gaze to Kris and put one hand on her shoulder, making my best friend flinch. "You deserve a pureblood, a Christoulakis perhaps, so you could be a relative to our beloved Queen."

Kris looked confused. Maybe because a loving uncle that she had known for years suddenly sounded so discriminating.

"But again, we cannot choose who our soulmate is. The gods are the ones that chose them for us." Norman let out a harsh laugh. "If I can choose a soulmate for my son, it won't be that Vidales girl. A Christoulakis would suffice, or maybe even a Stavros." He gave me a meaningful look as he mentioned my family name.

We heard the sounds of soles hitting the marble floor as they headed to us and noticed that they belonged to none other than Vlad and Kris' parents, Jane and Kristov Ambrosia.

"How is he? How is Adrian?" asked Jane at the same time as Kristov asked, "what did the doctor say?"

"We don't know yet. He's still undergoing surgery," answered Vladimir.

"Oh dear, how could something like this happen? How could Emily do this?" Jane shook her head in disbelief. Knowing that the girl her son had dated before was capable of poisoning someone shocked her.

I felt the need to tell her that maybe Emily hadn't had a choice. Maybe she'd done it because she had to. "She was part of the faction, I believe."

Kristov Ambrosia stiffened. "Which one? The old or the new one?"

I remembered Emily's words when the Court guards had taken her away.

"I didn't mean to, I swear. It was supposed to be her. I will never hurt an Ambrosia, it was never my intention. The plan was to eliminate the Stavros."

I closed my eyes briefly. "She was part of the old faction. She didn't mean to hurt Adrian, the poison was supposed to kill me."

Everyone would probably think that by now, with all the memories of my previous lives, I would be used to being chased down, to being hunted like an animal. They probably thought that I should be smart enough not to accept drinks from strangers or believe anyone, really, since, in one of my previous lives, I was killed by my own best friend.

Maybe I should live my life under the assumption that everyone here wanted to kill me. But again, was life like that worth living?

As naive as it sounded, I wanted to believe that there were some people who would accept me for me. It didn't have to be more than two hands could count as long as they would accept the fact that I was a Stavros and would not have the urge to stab a knife to my heart.

They didn't have to like me, all I asked was for them to let me live my life. None of my previous lives surpassed thirty years of age. Most were killed during their teenage days, some were even killed before they were born. For once, I wanted to grow old in the arms of my other half, to have kids and a family. For once, I wanted to die naturally because of old age.

Was that too much to ask?

"Avy, are you alright?" I heard Vlad whisper in my ear and gave him a nod.

I looked up to see the tension had built up. Norman's eyes were on Vladimir's mom. I saw multiple emotions in those dark green eyes that reminded me of Adrian's, but above all else, I saw love and longing. After all these years, even after having his own click and a soulmate by his side, Norman Ambrosia still loved his brother's wife.

"Jane." The way he caressed her name softly showed his true feelings and I wondered if the woman beside him knew that. I stole a glance at Adrian's mom. Her lips turned into one straight line as she pursed her lips tightly together.

She knew. That only meant that Norman didn't even bother to conceal his feelings for Jane from his own wife. I felt a tug in my heart and realized that it was a pity.

My hand reached for Vlad's and I gave him a gentle squeeze. At that moment I was grateful for having him and for knowing that he truly loved me as much as I loved him because there was no greater suffering than to be able to read your husband's mind and know that he loved someone else.

"Norman." Jane offered him a small smile and added, "I'm sorry for what happened to Adrian."

Norman nodded. "He'll be alright. He got shot before and survived. A mere poison wouldn't kill him."

Kristov turned to Vlad."How about Emily? Did they find her? Maybe we should help."

"Save yourself from the trouble. She has been taken care of. No one messes with The Ambrosia," said Norman with a voice filled with pride. "Especially not a mere regular girl."

Kris gasped. "Uncle, did you?"

Norman smirked. "She had to taste her own poison, did she not? I could care less whether she was from the old or new faction. Her face was settled when she dared to touch an Ambrosia." He slid his gaze past Kris to the guy holding her hand beside her. "The same fate could happen to you if you don't treat her right."

"Norman," called Kristov in a warning tone.

Two men in white coats came out of the operation room and moved towards us. I immediately recognized one of them as Dr. Grey, the same doctor that had taken good care of me when I was hospitalized after the shot.

"The surgery was a success," Dr. Grey announced. We all sighed in relief. I could feel a huge burden was lifted from one shoulder. "But unfortunately Lord Ambrosia has not regained his consciousness."

"What do you mean?" asked Norman harshly. If the doctor was not taller than him, I would have guessed that he would grab Dr. Grey by his collar as he demanded an answer.

"He's still comatose."

The same burden that had been lifted fell back to my shoulder only twice as much.

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