Mated To The Barbarian King Who Is My Ex-husband's Father.

Arianna sat on the bed, waiting for the king to return. He had urgent work to attend to and had promised to come back to her tonight. She wanted to sleep to while away the time, but luck was not on her side.

​Her heart kept thudding within her chest as a flurry of thoughts ran through her mind. The king was not going to forgive her—she was sure of it.

​The fear of losing him hurt far more than any punishment she was going to face. After her maids left, Arianna lay back to sleep for at least a few minutes, but when her eyes opened again, it was already the break of dawn.

​The room was calm and quiet, except for Maria, who was holding a tray carrying fresh white garments.

​"Good morrow, my lady," she greeted, bowing with a gentle smile. "I hope you slept well?"

​Arianna sat upright. Looking around, there was no sign that anyone else had slept in the room, which meant the king had not returned. "Yes, I did. The king didn’t come back last night."

​Maria shook her head softly, remaining silent.

​"I guess I have to go look for him then." Arianna got up from the bed, still wearing her clothes from the night before. Pressing a palm against her forehead, she sighed, "I have a headache."

​"I shall prepare my lady a soup that will—"

​"No, Maria. My bath first, because I need to find the king and spill everything to him before it’s too late."

​"The king is having breakfast with the rest of the family members," Maria informed her.

​Her brows furrowed in confusion, and she turned to Maria. "Why am I just hearing about this? Am I not part of this family?"

​"You were sleeping, so he didn’t want to disturb you... I was instructed not to as well," Maria confessed.

​"It’s just breakfast. Why am I getting so angry?" Arianna muttered to herself as she walked into the inner room and began taking off her jewelry.

​"If you ask me, my lady... I think it is wise you don’t miss this," Maria advised. She set the tray down on top of a stool and began hanging the white clothes in their appropriate places.

​Arianna gave it a thought. Her curiosity grew, and she decided to hurry and catch up with breakfast while it was still ongoing.

​In less than ten minutes, she had bathed and gotten dressed for the day. Outside, the day was still young. With Maria leading the way, she easily found the open pavilion where the royal family was eating.

​They all seemed to be in a happy mood, tossing jokes back and forth. Arianna stood at the entrance, hesitating over whether to step inside or turn back.

​At first, she felt a pang of guilt for interrupting a family moment, but a second thought reminded her of how evil they were—and that they didn’t deserve Kane.

​"Arianna, come." It was the king who first spotted her standing at the entrance. He wore a smile that melted her heart.

​She returned the smile. This morning, she was wearing a yellow silk dress.

​"Thank you. Greetings," Arianna said, curtsying respectfully.

​As soon as she took a step forward, a sharp voice cut through the air.

​It was Aunt Freya. "You came late."

She was sitting next to Ethan, who was seated to the king’s right, while Samantha sat to his left.

​"I woke up late, and no one informed me about breakfast... This is all new to me," Arianna explained, walking over toward where Selena was sitting.

​As much as Arianna hated the idea of sitting next to her, it was the only empty seat available, leaving her with no choice.

Just when she was about to sit down, the king spoke. "You should sit next to me. It is more appropriate that a queen sits next to her king."

​Samantha’s face grew cold with anger. Her lips tightened, but she dared not disobey the king. Standing up from where she was sitting, she yielded her place to allow the queen to take her seat.

​Arianna sat down beside the king, feeling all eyes on her as if they were silently judging her, even though she hadn’t done anything wrong. It had been the king’s idea for her to sit beside him.

​"Thank you," she murmured.

​He nodded, pushing his bowl of soup toward her. "Drink from mine."

​"No one is supposed to eat from the king’s bowl," Samantha said, stunned that he was offering it to his wife as if the tradition meant nothing.

​Lately, he had been breaking rules for Arianna as though they were never made in the first place. Samantha wondered how he would react once her mother accused his wife of stealing her ring.

​"Samantha is right, Father," Ethan added with a deep frown. It was sacred that only kings ate from that bowl, and no one else.

​Even as a child, Ethan had never once eaten from his father’s bowl—nor had he ever received such an offer from him the way his wife just did.

​"The children are correct. The king’s bowl is sacred, and the Moon Goddess herself carved it for the kings of the tribe," Aunt Freya spoke up in support of the children. She looked better after what had happened last night. "Over the years, none of the kings have broken this rule, and no one has eaten from the bowl except them. It would be wrong for the queen to eat from it."

​"Are you done?" came the king’s quiet reply.

​His question left the others surprised, and they could only stare at him in silence.

​"Who is the king in this tribe?"

​Aunt Freya didn’t understand where he was heading with these questions, but she answered anyway. "You."

​"Who has the final say?"

​"You, of course, my child," she faked a smile, trying her best to stay calm.

​"So if I deem it appropriate, who are you to speak against it?" His voice came out harsh and sharp with anger. "Do you think I have forgotten about the marriage alliance you created with the Alpha of the Silver Pack without my permission?"

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