Betrayed By The Hero, Loved By The Lord-Chapter 260: Walking away (1)

"I brought wine," Francesca announced.

Selene smiled, welcoming Francesca with a hug. "Thank you. I have been busy recently, so I am sorry if I forgot something we had planned."

"We didn’t," Francesca said as she handed Selene the wine. "I wanted to come see you since it felt so long since we last talked. Also, my husband is busy, so there’s nothing for me to do. We will be moving soon."

"Right. You have mentioned this," Selene said, saddened by the news.

Francesca was the one person Selene could count on to speak to when she needed a friend. Francesca’s departure would push Selene to find other friends, but at this point, Selene didn’t know if she had time for it.

"Don’t look so sad since it might not be forever as long as the attacks end. Those attacks are the only reason we are leaving our home we have built from the ground up. I want to come back since my work is here," said Francesca.

"Your workers might hate to see you go. What can we have with wine?" Selene wondered, inspecting the decorative bottle it came in. "It is beautiful."

"I am told it is a human craftsman who makes them. I am thinking of employing him to make art for me. Oh, that reminds me that I have a few more gifts for you since you liked the art I have. I bought a few pieces of art for you," Francesca said, starting to follow Selene.

Francesca examined the inside of the estate. It was a rare sight since Xavier didn’t have too many guests before Selene was here.

"There is so much space for art," Francesca noticed.

"I think you would be better at figuring out where each piece should go. You should return to do it," Selene joked.

"Do not joke about such things because I would. It is something I enjoy, and it is an honour to do for you. No one steps into the estate these days, but I would get the chance to decorate it. It is a story I could tell to my children," said Francesca.

"I don’t see how it is so important, but since you are eager to do it, then I will not stop you. I will speak to Xavier about the pay-"

"No pay. It is a well-needed distraction, so how could I ever make you pay me? There is much I need to thank you for. I have used your shy act, and now I understand why you do it," Francesca said, reminiscing over a recent moment with her husband.

Selene’s brows were knitted as her mind was plagued with confusion. "What act?" freёwebnoѵel.com

"You know, it is the one where you have a man who is ready to touch every part of you, but you play shy to it and make him wait for your touch. I have tried it and it is exciting. I feel like I am one of the women in the theatre playing a role," said Francesca.

Selene regretted asking. "It is not an act."

"Whatever it is, Henry enjoyed it. It seemed like torture since I avoided his touch as much as I could. I wouldn’t hold his hand or kiss him goodbye before he left to go to work. Then one night he returned when I was getting ready-"

Selene covered Francesca’s mouth so she wouldn’t hear the rest of the story. She knew Francesca would gladly give every detail.

Francesca was tempted to bite Selene’s hand but feared the servants and guards would come running after the slightest sound of Selene in pain.

Selene moved her hand from Francesca’s face. "I am glad to hear you had fun, but you mustn’t thank me for it."

"I want to. As fun as it was, I will be going back to my old ways. So, have you used any of my gifts?" Francesca asked as softly as she could. "You haven’t, have you? What are you doing, Selene? I have given you what you need to have that man on his knees."

"What man?" Josephine asked, interrupting the talk. "I wasn’t told you would be having guests, or I would have stayed on my side. I will be out of your way soon."

"Lady Josephine," Francesca greeted Josephine, in awe of the woman standing before her.

"You are Henry’s wife. Francesca it is, right?" Josephine inquired.

"It is," Francesca nodded her head. "It is wonderful to see you again."

"Likewise. I will get out of the way so you two can speak in peace. I don’t want to overhear anything about men on their knees since one of those men is my son," said Josephine.

Francesca folded her lips to hold her laughter since she knew Selene had to be dying on the inside. She would too if Henry’s mother overheard her speaking about him.

"Harold," Selene greeted the butler. "Your face tells me there isn’t good news."

Josephine stared at Harold, trying to place how Selene knew Harold was bringing bad news when he always had the same expression.

"There is a visitor at the door. Nathaniel Blackthorn wishes to know if his wife is here, and if she is, he wants to speak to her," Harold shared.

Josephine looked at the front door. It was long overdue for Nathaniel to find her.

Josephine knew Selene couldn’t make the terrible decision to invite Nathaniel in so they could speak. "I will go to the gate to see him. I know well that if he sees you, he will act a fool. Excuse me."

Selene thought it wasn’t best for her to go elsewhere while Josephine went to speak to Nathaniel. If Nathaniel wasn’t here to listen to how Josephine felt, then the two would end up arguing, and at that point, the guards would need to send Nathanile away, which would start another fight.

Selene waited for Josephine to reach the front door to then say, "I want to keep an eye on her."

"I am not against it. I have plenty of time for us to get back to what we were saying," Francesca said, following Selene to a window.

Francesca had heard talk of Nathaniel and Josephine being away from each other, but she hadn’t thought it was true.

"Do you think this would be us one day? Out of the home while our husbands try to apologise and win us over? I am not angry with Henry, but I would love to see him beg a little to keep me at his side," Francesca said, curious as to how that would end.

"I am starting to get the feeling that you always find a way to torture Henry. Should I be concerned for him?" Selene wondered.

"Henry is perfectly fine with the things I do. He laughs it off and enjoys himself. He loves to be tortured, which is the inspiration for my business. I have not forgotten that you aren’t using my wonderful gifts, and we shall speak about them soon," said Francesca.

Francesca wouldn’t rest until Selene finally caved in.

Selene planned to find a way out of speaking about Francesca’s gifts later, but for now, her full attention was on Josephine.