Chapter 36: Chapter 36

“Oh,” Reign’s mother hissed as she looked at me, “And who is this stunning woman?” she then takes a step to approach me but then, Reign suddenly covered my body with his.

“Why are you here?” Reign asked as his baritone voice was guttural. His parents hadn’t answered his question earlier.

I can’t see his family’s face correctly because Reign’s body is covering my vision from them. I turned around and saw Reign’s family caught the attention of the people inside this reception. Blaze and Blade are also on the sidelines.

I did not utter a word and remained hidden behind. I looked at Reign’s broad back; even a glance at it, you could feel how safe and warm it was. I was embraced by him before, and the thought of it makes something inside my stomach go all out.

“Of course, we are here to celebrate our parent’s death anniversary. Your grandparent’s death!” the grating voice of Reign’s mother suddenly filled the place, the reason for people to murmur about the current commotion.

I saw Reign’s shoulder slowly rising and going down like he was taking every deep breath. When I turned my eyes on his hands, he already clenched both of them.

I feel that will destroy the bones in Reign’s fingers because he exerted a strong force by clenching his fist. I don’t know, but my hand spontaneously moved and immediately grabbed Reign’s hands that were clenched.

I felt the cold. I held Reign’s hand tightly, causing him to turn to me. I was surprised to see his conflicting eyebrows and intense jaw, but the anger disappeared from his face as his eyes meet mine. Reign’s blue eyes seemed to calm when he saw me.

Without knowing the reason, Reign smiled and then gently squeezed my hands that were holding him. I noticed that his hands were no longer clenched. I’m glad because he calmed down.

He suddenly turned his eyes to the side and immediately nodded. When also strengthened me on the side, the maids were there and lined up. I didn’t even realize it. I saw Thraia approaching in our direction.

“Take her to the food stand. Maybe she’s hungry,” Reign said when Thraia reached our direction. She didn’t answer and just bowed her head as a response. I felt Reign let go of my hands, “Go,” I wanted to ask a question and tell him that I want to stay by his side, but I just shut my mouth and immediately left behind him.

Reign didn’t look at me, and he just stared at his parents. Blaze and Blade also left when Reign suddenly looked at them; I don’t know where they went. Even before I could leave Reign’s stand, his mother suddenly looked at me.

I didn’t know what I would feel, but my bones trembled to see Reign’s mother staring at me. She showed me a miserable smile; then, she immediately turned her gaze back to her son.

“Don’t you dare lay your hands on her. I won’t forgive you even if you are my mother,” the last thing I heard from Reign. I didn’t know what they were talking about because Thraia immediately walked me away from them until I could no longer see Reign and his parents.

We stopped in front of a long table placed with different kinds of foods. I looked at Thraia as she suddenly takes a deep sighed as if she escapes from the cage. I also noticed she was excessively sweating.

“Hey,” I hold her shoulders, “Are you okay?” she just shrugged her head for a response. It’s already evident that Thraia is not okay.

“This is the first I met the master’s parents. Though I am not right in front of them, I feel like my energy is being absorbed out of my body because of their presence,” Thraia said breathlessly.

I thought about it. Thraia is right. Even Reign alone was enough to make us catch our breath. I see Reign inherited from his father’s features. He took his face and voice from his father, but his blue eyes were like his mother’s.

“You’ve never met them before?” Thraia just shrugged. She let out another deep sigh and then compose her posture and face me. I think she already manages to recover from the heavy breathing and sweat.

“I never met them, and this is the first time, but I’ve heard a lot about them from Madam Letty,” she said and then sighed again, “You know, miss, the master doesn’t like being around with them. He was forced to go to Russia because of them. I don’t know about the whole story because I was here in this house three years ago, and I don’t have enough knowledge about the master’s parents,” I just nodded.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to concern yourself over in that thing,”

“Maybe, only the Madam can help you sort everything out. She knows well about this master’s family,” I just nodded again. I’m curious, but I should stop myself from entering Reign’s life.

Thraia didn’t speak anymore, so I faced the prepared food again. It’s a self-service dish. There are many different kinds of luxurious foods in front of me, but only one caught my attention.

I roamed my eyes at the long table to find utensils to use, and when I spotted it, I pick chopsticks and a bowl. Fortunately, I can reach the utensils without leaving my current situation, and it’s good to know that there’s a lot of utensils to choose from.

“Here you go!” I excitedly hissed to myself as I pick a piece of teriyaki chicken wings out from the serving bowl and put it to mine.

“It was a special course only for you, miss,” I looked at Thraia, “Master said that it’s your favorite, and he ordered the chef to include the teriyaki on the list,” my cheeks suddenly heated.

I wanted to ask how Reign found out that I liked this dish, but I remained silent. Maybe, this is just a coincidence because most people like me love this simple dish. I immediately picked up the teriyaki placed on my bowl using chopsticks and took a bite.

“You should eat too,” I said to Thraia when I noticed that she’s just standing beside me and looking at how I dig myself in these imperfect chicken wings. She just shrugged and smiled. I stopped when I noticed that something was strange in the taste of the teriyaki I was eating.

“What’s the matter, miss?” I heard Thraia’s worried voice. I just shrugged.

“There’s nothing wrong, Thraia. Maybe the taste of luxurious teriyaki is just different from normal one like in our place,” I said and then pick another piece of chicken wings from the service bowl. Even before I took a bite from the chicken, I felt weird.

I roamed my eyes in the place and saw that the people earlier is back to what they were doing. What could be happening to Reign and his parents right now?

I suddenly let go of the bowl I was holding, and it immediately hit the floor, causing it to make a shattering sound. I touched my chest because I have a hard time breathing. I’m thirsty; my body is looking for water. I need water.

“M-Miss? Are you okay?” I looked at the owner of the voice. It was blurry.

“Thraia?” I said, almost whispering. Suddenly something pungent rises into my throat and tries to come out of my mouth. I couldn’t help to keep my mouth shut.

Something came out of my mouth. I feel like I’ve lost all my strength. I hold on to the table when I was about to vomit a pungent liquid again. Blood? I feel like it’s removing all the organs in my body.

My breathing quickened, and I felt like I was losing air around me. My eyes can’t find Thraia because I can see nothing but a blur. I heard loud footsteps approaching me.

“Ruchee,” a tremulous and wheezy voice mentioned my name. I felt someone gently holds my shoulders and I felt something also holding at my back.

I just closed my eyes. The fluid keeps on coming out of my mouth. I was losing strength, and I felt my body suddenly rise in the air. Someone was carrying me. Is it Reign?

I was having trouble breathing, and I can’t endure the pain anymore. I think I was poison. Before I lost consciousness, I was sure that the speaker was him, and Reign was holding me out of this dilemma.

“Close the possible areas of exit and entrance. Don’t let anyone connected  to this night leave their positions,”