Two Villains

Ch. 37- Maria Volkner's POV

Poor Julia.

She looked as though she had just emerged from a battleground, fighting on the frontlines to grace this office with her presence. Marco had briefed me about the bar incident, and during the entire fiasco, Naseer was conspicuously absent. Meanwhile, I had to maintain the façade of the gracious host at the dinner, all the while keeping a keen eye on Eduardo.

It seemed like Eduardo had managed to charm quite a few acquaintances tonight. Despite my distaste for facing that man, I had no choice. I had to confront the sight of his perfectly yellowed teeth, deteriorating after years of substance abuse, tainting the elegance of the meticulously arranged party. Eduardo attempted to engage in banter with Ralf, but my father-in-law astutely banished him from his circle of friends and flirtatious interests.

Eduardo made the mistake of connecting to the party's Wi-Fi, unwittingly enabling malware that transmitted data from his devices to our receivers. A move calculated to expose those betraying our family. The only reason I wanted Eduardo to enter our chateau was to gain his trust enough to penetrate his shield of oddly managed security.

As much as I exuded confidence in my abilities at the parties, Eres discreetly entered, whispering the entire incident in my ear. We instructed Nina to maintain round-the-clock surveillance on Kay, and, to my knowledge, Julia was tasked with providing an additional layer of emotional barrage and security for Kay from suspecting anything evil present at the party tonight. I knew Eduardo knew about Kay, but I wanted him to stay away from her despite being her guest at the party. Her presence here was important for our enemies, who were trying to hurt this poor soul.

Regrettably, Julia and Nina proved incompetent in handling her.

Eres informed me that Rhys had escorted Kay to the chateau, prompting me to quietly instruct the in-house medical team to attend to her immediately.

Amidst these directives, I noticed Naseer discreetly indulging in the dinner buffet without engaging in a conversation with anyone present here.

Hm. odd behavior of someone who was trying to gain his kingdom back from perpetrators. The party was filled with people who had all the capacity to help his causes, but he decided to remain stupid.

Hm, not my kingdom, not my headache.

As everyone bombarded me with questions about Rhys and Kay, Royce and I skillfully exchanged greetings with the guests, appearing as if we were intoxicated beyond measure and utterly oblivious to Rhys. Our playful charade allowed us to deflect the inquiries seamlessly.

Meanwhile, Ralf was engrossed in flirting with someone notably younger than myself.

Old Bastard!! 

I chuckled at my own thoughts, reminiscing about the times when Ralf harbored nothing but hatred toward me. He may have conveniently forgotten the past, but I hadn't. The only reason for maintaining a semblance of civility with him today was his love for my husband and our son.

Nina discreetly coughed to capture my attention as I got lost in reflection. "You had one job," I murmured to both of them, their gazes fixed on the ground.

"Well, I tried," Nina mumbled.

"What made her drink like this?" 

I asked calmly, prompting both Nina and Julia to look at me with expressions similar to those of deer caught in headlights. Marco entered the room like a silent cat, clearly embarrassed by the entire situation.

"It's all her fault," Nina accused Julia, who shot her a stunned look before turning her gaze to me.

Oh, Julia. Always pushing boundaries.