All I Need ✔️

Chapter 67

Safania's POV

I ate my food quietly, looking around the clearing where the group had gathered to eat. There were probably a couple hundred people, all sitting on logs, eating rice and beans.

"Rice and beans are easy to store," my mom explained. "We vary it so we don't get bored, but it's a huge part of our diet here."

I nodded, but I was only half paying attention. This would be the first night in a while that I hadn't spent with Cassius. I wondered if he was thinking about me. Distracted, I didn't realize I had stopped eating.

"What, is this not good enough for you? Probably used to caviar and grapes fed to her by a bunch of servants," Valery remarked to the women around her.

"Well you would know what that's like, wouldn't you?" my mom replied sharply.

Valery's face turned as red as her hair. "So I was born into money. A fat lot of good it did me. At least I can see my family for the monsters they are, unlike little miss delusional here," she said angrily, pointing at me.

"Leave her alone," Zamari said softly. My mom wasn't like Valery. She didn't get explosively angry, she got quietly angry. But I knew from firsthand experience that I would rather deal with someone screaming in my face for hours than even a few minutes of my mom's quiet rage.

Valery flinched slightly, but she kept going.

"I get it, Zamari, you have a soft spot because she's your daughter. At least I hope that's what it is. Because if you truly think letting a prince waltz out of here is a good tactical decision, I have plenty of questions for you."

"Cassius would never..." I tried to explain to Valery, but she cut me off.

"Oh I know sweetie. He loves you and he would never ever hurt you. He's just not like literally every other royal in the nine kingdoms. He's different," she said mockingly.

"I know him better than you do," I told her.

"No you don't," she replied. "You think you do because you're a naïve little girl. And he's a prince who has been trained his whole life to manipulate naïve little girls."

"Don't insult my daughter," my mother said in a low voice.

"It's not your fault Zamari. You weren't there to raise her. You can't blame yourself. But you know I'm right."

I looked to my mom, who just looked at me with a sad expression. Even though she didn't say anything, it was clear she agreed with Valery.

"Thanks mom," I said, setting down the rice and beans and getting up to walk away.

"Saffy, you know I just want what's best for you," she called after me.

I kept walking back to the tent, as my mom tried to catch up.

"Starfish please, let's talk."

I spun around. "You want to talk? Fine, let's talk. I haven't seen you in over a decade. I had to grow up on my own. I had to survive being a slave for years on my own. I ran away from my former master on my own. I was on the run for five years on my own. I didn't survive all of that by falling in love with the first man to bat his eyelashes at me."

"Saffy, he's not just any man..."

"Would it make it better if he was? He was willing to give up his title for me, I'm sure he still would."

"At least that's what he said," my mom said unconvinced.

"Mom, I really don't care what you think about him. And the fact that you think you get a say after abandoning me..."