Betrayed By The Hero, Loved By The Lord-Chapter 203: Sticking together (2)

"Is there something wrong, Selene? You’ve been sneaking glances at me from the moment we got inside the carriage. Do you agree with my son that you should have stayed inside the estate all day?" Josephine asked.

"I trust his judgement. The town hasn’t been safe for some time now, so we must be careful," Selene replied.

"Then why did you agree to come with me? I would have been fine if you had said no and we had remained on the estate. It is not too late for us to turn back," Josephine said, willing to return.

"I am keeping in mind that it is not safe but I am thinking of why you wanted to go for a ride around the town. We haven’t seen much of each other so maybe it is that you want to get to know me or you want a break from other things," Selene said, seeing through Josephine’s smile.

Josephine was impressed by Selene. "You notice the little things. I need a little distraction from all the drama the Blackthorns have now. All the drama my husband is starting and I do need to get to know you again. I think you’ve changed."

Selene nodded her head. "I think a lot about me has changed since I lost my parents but I am not too different from how you remembered me. Thank you for taking the time to get to know me."

"I have to know the woman with my son. I can see it each time I visit that he’s changing little by little. He’s still rude as ever but now he has a reason to enjoy his days. I have heard about what Vivienne did. About the women not inviting you out," said Josephine.

"I expected that much from her. Everyone has their opinions about our marriage and their plans to stop it. Luckily, I never thought I would be invited anywhere just because I am now Selene Blackthorn. There is a lot that follows me," Selene said, hardly surprised.

"Also," Selene continued to speak."The queen did me a favour."

Josephine frowned. How was being turned into an outcast a favour?

"I don’t want to be friends with anyone who will bend under the queen’s commands and stab me in the back so they could be in the queen’s good graces. I once had a friend who I adored but she couldn’t stand up for me and eventually betrayed me. I don’t need that again," Selene explained.

"I see. This will make it harder for you to have friends since everyone cares about what Vivienne thinks but you might be able to find some friends. Many hate what Darius does and women hate how Vivienne takes her anger out on them. I am not saying to build friends with those who hate the couple," Josephine clarified.

Josephine continued, "I am only letting you know there are others who don’t listen to what those two say. Every day someone grows tired of them and soon, they might not have the title to order anyone around."

"I won’t care to rejoice if they are no longer the queen and king. I just want to not think about either of them. Is it too much to ask for them to leave me alone?" Selene asked, resting her head back on her seat.

Josephine laughed at Selene asking for the impossible. "If you wanted them to leave you alone then you shouldn’t have married my son. Darius has always wanted Xavier’s things. He cannot help it and Vivienme, I knew she had been interfering with the women I sent Xavier’s way."

"So I have learned. Are you close to the queen?" Selene asked, curious about their relationship.

"I was once close to Vivienne but then she kept her distance after she decided to marry Darius. She would reach out to me and I would respond. I never liked that she married that boy. I hope this doesn’t bother you. You will always come first as Xavier’s wife," Josephine promised.

No one would ever be placed higher than Selene.

"I don’t feel any way about it if you still speak to her. I cannot show up and expect for you to end the relationships you had with anyone so I will not ask you to. As long as you are not meddling with her to end my marriage, I am fine," Selene replied.

"You can ask that I don’t speak to her. It would be terrible of me to sit and have a lovely conversation with Vivienne when she is outcasting you. I feel sorry about the man she married but I don’t like what she is doing to you. She has lost me there," Josephine said, sharing her true feelings.

Selene made Xavier happy which was all Josephine wanted for her son so anyone who got in the way of that wasn’t someone she could be close to.

"I cannot make Xavier happy like you can. I had my failures as his mother. Time slipped away from me. It moves faster than vampires realise sometimes so I missed him growing at times. One day he’s a boy at my side and the other he’s a grown man moving out to be on the estate," Josephine said, vividly remembering the day he left.

"I am so very grateful you helped him give this life a chance. While I liked Vivienne, she was not the one for my son and I cannot sit by while she ruins it. I will speak to her but it is not the conversation she might be longing for," Josephine said, knowing Vivienne was hoping to have an ally.

"Thank you," Selene said.

"You are welcome. I hope you know I am not only doing it for Xavier’s happiness but because I adore you. You took one look at me when I arrived and knew there had to be something bothering me. These days, I have to tell my husband when I am upset because he doesn’t notice," Josephine said, turning toward the window.

"Is your marriage fine?" Selene asked, concerned.

"I do not know. I question the decision Nathaniel made to marry me. I know that he loves me but the way he acts now seems like he is desperately trying to correct a mistake. I don’t need my husband thinking for a second he failed his family by marrying me," said Josephine.

"The clear answer is to leave and hope he realises what he has. I know that won’t happen soon since he has these big plans for Xavier. I love my husband a lot. He makes me angry these days but before this, we had plenty of good moments. Consider me a fool still in love," Josephine said, knowing she was pitiful.

"I understand how the decision to leave can be very hard so I won’t think you are a fool. If you wish to wait to see if there is hope for your marriage then I won’t judge you. However, when that feeling that everything is lost comes over you, you must go. Nothing good comes from staying where you aren’t appreciated," Selene advised Josephine.

Josephine closed her eyes, trying to calm her bad thoughts. "I know. Let us have fun today, Selene. This is going to be the most fun I had in a day so let us go all out."