The Duke's Passion

Chapter 765  Can't you just apologize?

"Karo isn't that big, but it isn't small either. However, it seems we're meant to be… don't you think so, Your Highness?"

When Florence heard those shameless remarks, she was rendered speechless. Now, she was certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that she wasn't seeing things. This man was that insufferable brother-in-law, Fabian.

"I'm not sorry," she breathed out, eyes blazing angrily. "Forgiven."

Florence clutched his chest and spat out through her gritted teeth. "I said, I'm not sorry!" "Oh…" His smile remained, nodding in understanding, raising his hand in surrender. "... but that doesn't mean I will not forgive Your Highness. However, there's a limit to my benevolence. I forgive you for crashing into me, but not if you defiled me."

"What?" Florence gasped in disbelief, a bit surprised at that random remark. Seeing Fabian arch a brow playfully, she froze for a second the moment she realized she was literally sitting on him. A short squeal escaped her mouth, jumping from him in a hurry. Her eyes shook, jumping even further to create a good distance from him. She watched him lazily sit upright, breath hitching as he snapped his eyes at her. "It's alright, Your Highness. At least now, I am certain you do not intend to defile me," he reassured politely as he stood up, brushing off the dust off his clothes.

"Why would I defile — I mean, are you following me?" she asked with a shaking voice. "Why did you suddenly appear out of nowhere? What else do you want from my brother now? Lest you do not know, I don't have anything to do with him now. Thus, whatever business you need to deal with him, go straight to him and don't use me as leverage."

Fabian tilted his head to the side. "Your Highness, our meeting tonight is purely a coincidence."

"Coincidence?" Florence narrowed her eyes suspiciously, looking around to see if there were other people. "Why should I believe you?"

"I didn't see you have to." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Very well. If that is all, I'll be on my way."

Florence took a step back in case he planned to catch her off guard. When she saw ‌Fabian turn on his heel and walked away, she clutched her hand closer to her chest. 'He is really leaving?' she wondered, looking around at the empty and dark alley. She waited for a second if someone would appear, but no one slinked out of the shadow. Not that she felt another presence aside from him, but knowing how capable the people from the Heart's Empire were, she didn't want to lower her guard.

"What did you do to me?" Florence asked, stopping Fabian from walking away. "You did something to me, didn't you?"

"I don't seem to understand what her highness is talking about." He turned around to face her, only to see her raise her chin as she dropped her hand to the side. "I remembered everything," she stressed through her gritted teeth. "After what you did…" her hands balled into a fist as her eyes grew fiery. "... I woke up with my memories intact. Don't lie to me, brother-in-law. What did you do to me to return my memories?" Fabian didn't answer immediately, sizing her up. "An… experiment."

"An experiment?"

"That's interesting. I didn't think it'll work…" his smile stretched until his eyes were squinting, waving her goodbye as he turned his back on her. "I'll gather more data on the road to prove this theory."

"You…!" Florence ground her teeth, remembering how she was also used as some sort of experiment subject in the past. The first time they met, Fabian was also proving something that she didn't fully understand. And then now? Just how much more disrespect should she have to endure from this man?

"Stop!" she yelled, stopping Fabian from his tracks. Florence stomped her feet towards him until she was standing in front of him, blocking his path. "Just what did I do for you to insult me from then and now?"

"I believe you are misunderstanding something, Your Highness." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt

"I don't!" she harrumphed aggressively, balling her hand into a tight fist. "First, you claimed my lips despite knowing I'm not only the Empress and the mother of the nation but also your brother's wife. You never apologized, and then now… you poisoned me. I might not be relevant in the land of Karo now, and your brother might not have valued me as his wife. But… how dare you?"

Fabian slowly opened his squinting eyes, noticing how the corner of her eyes turned red. "I… simply returned your memories to help you and the land of Karo," he said calmly. "Satiating my curiosity for repayment sounds fair, don't you think?"

"A repayment?" she scoffed, only for her breath to hitch at his response.

"I did save you back then when people should've slaughtered you in your chambers. That's my repayment for my rudeness for forcing you into my experiment for the poll," he explained. "And now, I had returned your memories and taken you out of the dark as a repayment for whatever stupid decision you had made before the regression."

"What…" she let out a dry and short laugh, perplexed at his twisted logic. "... can't you just apologize?"

"Why would I?"

Florence balled her hand into a fist, realizing it was pointless. Asking him for a proper apology for everything wouldn't happen. Fabian was already convinced himself that what happened was a give-and-take situation. Tears pooled in her eyes, keeping her mouth shut, afraid her voice would crack if she speak another word. "If that is all, then I'll be on my way." Fabian tilted his head down slightly, walking past her silently without looking back. However, Fabian stopped once again when she spoke. This time, he didn't look back. "What happened to me when I lost consciousness?" Florence inquired, slowly turning on her heel to face him. She wiped the tear that managed to escape her traitorous eyes with the back of her hand, sporting a brave front, chin raised. "That night of the regression… what happened to us?"