Chapter 129

[Evelyn’s POV]

Honestly, the more I thought about having a second wedding, the more I was really beginning to like the idea.

Alexander made a good point about us deserving a real wedding that was actually about us and not just some random match. Given all that’s happened and the real-time we’ve spent together, having a proper ceremony that truly represented the two of us together was deeply alluring.

Alexander and I got ready to head down to the dining room for breakfast. As the two of us walked hand-in-hand we were met with numerous nervous looks. Scattered all over the top of the table were the newest printed issues of the morning newspaper and various other articles.

My heart climbed into my throat.

Was it really possible that so many news outlets had already written about yesterday’s trial?

It was truly a stupid question to ask, considering the number of reporters that were waiting outside of the courthouse. It was like every single one of them was aiming to be the first person to get the full coverage of what happened.

Each bold headline read more obscure than the one before it.

‘Kingston Brothers in Court!’

‘Michael Kingston Imprisoned by Stepbrother!’

‘Is Michael Kingston Truly Crazy?’

‘Alpha and Luna Dominate the Courtroom!’

I shook my head in disgruntled frustration. “Oh my God, all of these sound utterly ridiculous,” I commented.

Nina blew out a short breath. “You’re not wrong,” she said. “But you’ll notice that these are just mainly all the trashy tabloids. None of them are usually filled with any real, valuable information.”

“She’s right,” Oliver remarked. “These are just the usual gossip columns that people like to believe are the actual facts.”

That may be so, but I was eager to find out just how much those journalists were able to guess correctly based on what little information Alexander was willing to tell them yesterday after the trial. I was honestly surprised that Alexander and I weren’t pressed for further answers by the intimidating crowd.

Against my better judgment, I reached for the article that made Michael’s sense of judgment their main headliner.

‘Is the second Kingston brother truly unwell? Much to the public’s surprise over the secret trial that had been held just this morning, many people are still wondering what could have provoked the Alpha Alexander Kingston to take such action against his own family.

Unnamed sources have claimed that although the doors to the courthouse were sealed shut, there was no containing the words that were shouted out by Michael Kingston himself. “This is a mistake! I’m not crazy!! You’re all going to regret this!!”

‘It truly begs the question as to what’s really been going on within the Kingston Family that the general public has been unaware of. Is it true that Michael tried to have his own brother assassinated? All we can hope for now is an official statement from the Kingston Family as well as the Alpha King for more information!’

My brows furrowed. Unfortunately, this one article didn’t seem too far off the mark. My guess was that they literally had their faces pressed up firmly against the doors to the courthouse in order to have heard Michael let out those chilling words.

“Is it true that the Royals would need to send out an official statement as well?”

Both Oliver and Alexander nodded.

“It normally happens when the Alpha King is present for certain, shall we say, ‘special’ trial hearings,” Wendy said with a knowing grin. “Normally, His Majesty is far too busy to be bothered with tedious undertakings.”

“Except he made sure to attend this trial,” I stated dully.

Alexander nodded his head. “Considering our family is as renowned as the Royals, it seemed only fitting that the king be invited to witness the first domino to fall from his network of minions.”

I narrowed my eyes in question. There was a lot more that Alexander either knew or theorized when it came to the King’s dealings and networks. I made a mental note to myself to ask him more about it later on.

“That certainly would explain his behavior in court,” I retorted.

Nina and Wendy lifted their heads with quizzical looks. Meanwhile, Alexander and Oliver rolled their eyes and snorted.

“Pretty much. He really wanted to believe that we didn’t have anything viable to use against Michael.”

“I will say, the look on his face was rather priceless when he was shown that video footage,” I said.

Yes, all sense of entitled smugness that the King had possessed when that trial first started had eventually depleted to nothing by the time the jury had reached an obvious verdict.

“My question is, do you think Caroline will try and release her own statement, given that Michael is her son?” I asked.

The room fell quiet for a brief moment. Alexander appeared as though he were calculating the probability of Caroline’s interference.

“Even if she were to put something out, it wouldn’t matter,” Oliver noted. “The judge has already made his decision and there’s no going back on it now. Not even the Alpha King would think it wise to try and swing something in Michael’s favor.”

“That’s true,” Alexander acknowledged. “Even if Caroline was to try and go above everyone’s heads and plead some kind of deal with the King, he couldn't lift the sentence without it causing some serious backlash to his own image.”

That made sense. Considering we were making it public knowledge that Michael had tried to kill Alexander, it would make the public end up questioning the King’s judgment if he were to release such a dangerous person back into society.

Part of the King’s shift in attitude had to have been because he knew Alexander placed him between a rock and a hard place with this court case.

“I guess, we’ll just have to see then,” Wendy suggested. “Now why don’t we all sit down and I’ll call the staff for breakfast?”

Sadly, she was right. There was no telling what Caroline would do once word reached far enough to inform her that her own son had been incarcerated. It felt like the calm before the storm...

Nina helped clear away the tabloids and all of us took our spots around the table. As soon as the coffee and tea were poured, Alexander reached over to rest his hand over mine.

“Do you wish to tell them about the news between us?” he asked quietly.

I raised my brows while my cheeks slightly flushed from almost forgetting the major development that had unfolded this morning.

I gently cleared my throat, gaining the attention of everyone sitting around us.

“So, Alexander and I have decided that we want to get married again,” I announced.

Wendy nearly dropped her tea mug on the table out of sheer excitement.

“Oh my God,” she gasped. “You mean that you’re looking to have a wedding with an actual ceremony?”

I spared Alexander a glance to find him peering over the rim of his coffee mug with a peeved expression. I also wasn’t entirely sure if Wendy was being sarcastic or serious with her evaluation. I stifled a laugh.

In her defense, it wasn’t as though Alexander made it possible for her to attend the initial ceremony; so, her questioning was understandable.

“Yes,” I said.

"We’re looking to have a real wedding that represents us,” he chimed in. “And, perhaps, weather permitting, we’ll be able to have it outside in the gardens.”

This sent Nina and Wendy into a complete spin of pure excitement. They nearly jumped up from their chairs and began bouncing ideas off of each other while my heart swelled as I stole a loving glance at my soon-to-be, already-husband.