The King's Unbreakable Wife-Chapter 144: Dresses and Drama (3)

Linda arrived at the garden and just as Hazel, she was confused as to why she was seated beside the queen. Her family was quite important to the palace, but never had she been seated this far up and right next to the queen. Was it because of her relationship with Hazel?

"You look beautiful," Tabitha greeted Linda. The young woman stood out among her peers.

Since Grant showed interest in getting Linda to be queen, Tabitha made the decision to keep Linda close by. They should get close in case the one marrying Tobias was to change. The wedding was now further away so there was no telling what could happen by then.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you for inviting me to this party," Linda replied.

It was a bit awkward to have the queen speaking to her and not Hazel especially knowing that the queen didn’t like Hazel. Linda was starting to feel like she was a pawn to upset Hazel.

Linda tried to glance over the other side of the table at Hazel, but the queen was blocking her from doing so.

Hazel sat enjoying the treats picked out for her by Mary. It bothered her that Tabitha was showing interest in Linda even though she didn’t care for Tabitha.

It wasn’t just her who would notice that Linda seemingly had a better relationship with Tabitha. This table was watched by all the other guests and they would note that Tabitha was speaking to Linda more.

"That dress looks lovely on you. The palace does have great taste,’ Helena said, trying to avoid Hazel left out of having a conversion. Helena found the queen’s actions to be childish for speaking to Linda when her daughter-in-law was beside her.

They were in front of guests so couldn’t the queen at least put on the show that she was close to Hazel? Why spark gossip that they were not close? Did the queen want to ruin the engagement?

Helena once again could not believe how she missed this side of the queen. Had she truly been that childish that she didn’t see? Was their similar behaviour the reason they got along so well?

"Thank you. Father must have been sulking when you asked for a new dress," Hazel joked.

"This time, he wasn’t. He didn’t question how much the dress would cost. I think with you out and getting married, he has been spoiling me. He must be enjoying the last days of me being at home. I will make the most of it and get a few new dresses," said Helena.

Hazel missed her mother and father already. Being away made her realise just how lucky she was with her parents though she did start to question if there was another side to them she had missed over the years.

"Hazel, did you prepare what I asked of all the ladies?" Tabitha questioned, finally addressing Hazel again.

"Yes, it was sent early in the morning to be placed with the others. It was fun to do a bit of embroidery in my free time," Hazel answered.

"I look forward to seeing what you created. I hope that you will enjoy the party. You should enjoy it seeing that you love flowers. I am selecting quite a few for your wedding. Oh, have you heard the news that the wedding will be delayed? It is unfortunate," Tabitha said feigning sadness.

This was the first time she agreed with the court’s decision as she welcomed the wedding not happening soon.

"It is unfortunate, but it does not bother me as I will marry Tobias at some point. It gives us more time to get to know each other and fall in love."

Tabitha’s mood changed as she remembered her conversation with Tobias. Of how he claimed to love Hazel and would hurt anyone toying with her. After that conversation, she changed her plans of putting Hazel on the spot to do the embroidery.

Tabitha was certain her son would never hurt her but there was a feeling she couldn’t shake so she was going to play the day safe. Speaking to Linda more should be enough to get under Hazel’s skin.

"You have not fallen in love with my son yet?" Tabitha questioned, refusing to believe that Tobias had fallen first.

Hazel didn’t want to share her feelings for Tobias with Tabitha. Who knew how the woman would twist it to be negative?

Hazel’s feelings for Tobias quickly grew over the days and she was ready to get married to him. "We are both near there, but we need more time. Luckily, with the wedding moved back, we can do just that."

Tabitha became curious if Tobias was aware that Hazel did not yet feel the same way as he did. It would hurt him to know that she didn’t share the same feelings. "Tobias has shared his feelings toward you with me. I was surprised by what was revealed to me."

Hazel wasn’t interested in hearing what Tobias told his mother. He made his feelings quite clear to her when they were alone. What Tabitha was dangling before Hazel wasn’t something so important that she would beg to hear. "It is good to know he can speak to you about such things," she replied.

"The women here are all curious about your relationship with my son. You might have to share the story of how you two became close over and over again today. Why not address it right now at once so you don’t have to speak of it again?" Tabitha suggested.

"It is a great suggestion, but seeing as no one has asked about it, it would look like I am boasting to suddenly bring up how I became close to the prince. I must decline," Hazel replied, picking up tea to drink so she could avoid answering more questions.

"Hazel, many of the women are not here only for me. They are looking to see how their future queen and king are in terms of love. Sharing the story would help spread the love story the palace has put out. We-"

"Your Majesty! A gift from the prince!" A guard announced, bringing attention to a bouquet of flowers brought in by another guard.

The bouquet of flowers which came from the garden meant for royals was placed before Tabitha.

Tabitha disliked the disturbance at first but then enjoyed the gift from her son. That was until she saw a larger bouquet brought in and placed before Hazel. There was a card handed to Hazel from Tobias while Tabitha only received a small bouquet.

The attention was now off Tabitha and onto Hazel who was seen as showered by love from the prince.