Royal Princess: Doted On By The Mafia King

"When he leaves, I really need to send you to Hill Mansion," Damon said hoping to make his second son stop his babyish behavior and stop pouting.

"Uh?" Jace asked in horror with his mouth left agape.

"Yes. You cannot remain a cry baby after he leaves because no one who leaves after becoming the heir can return."

This information made Jace cry from the depth of his heart as he hugged his brother tightly. "Please don't leave okay?"

"I need to do something," Liam told him and pried open his brother's fingers which were tightly holding unto his hand.

"I really don't mean anything to the both of you," he dropped his head till his chin touched his chest when he heard the coldness in his brother's voice.

"When he returns, I will let you know why he has to leave and why helping the princess is more important than his life. Without the late queen, we won't exist as the powerful family we are now. We have to repay her although your brother is going beyond I have ever gone," Damon narrated too his sulking son.

"I don't care about the princess just as much as the two of you don't care about me," he mumbled before running upstairs.

"Do you know what it means to abandon your duties and leave?" Damon asked his older son when Jace left.

"Yes, I do," Liam answered without hesitation.

"It automatically makes you a traitor."

"I know."

"Why can't you do it here in this family?"

"I don't want to."

"There has to be a reason."

"There is no reason."

Damon sighed when he noticed he was not going anywhere with the argument. "Are those three going with you?"

"I don't know. They will have to decide it on their own."

"Don't try returning when you leave or I will personally break your legs," Damon threatened hoping to break down his eldest son's determination.

"Yes sir," Liam replied with a bow of his head.

"And don't deceive yourself that you are leaving to protect this family because there is no family as strong as this family." Liam nodded expressionless as ever. "You know the rules. Keep off while you are gone or I am not sure my boys won't hurt you. What subordinates hate most is getting abandoned by their leader."

"I am not their leader, you are," Liam told his father respectfully. He nodded one more time before walking off to his room.

Damon frowned at Liam's leaving back and shook his head. He suspected Liam was planning to leave since he returned to from the Hill Mansion but after a lot of investigations, his subordinates could not find out why his son wanted to leave but he knew it was for something very important.

He might tag him as a traitor as soon as he leaves officially but he hoped Liam stays safe and finishes what he has to do soon so he could return even if he had to get punished for leaving but he wanted his son to return.

***

"Hey, thief," Jace said with the last word murmured under his breath as her sat on the empty seat close to Rose glaring at her.

Rose narrowed her eyes at the last word and looked at him with a puzzled innocent expression waiting for him to explain himself.

Jace who thought no one heard the last word raise his head to see Rose staring at him and he dropped his head blushing in shame.

"What do you mean by that?" Rose had to verbally ask him when he did not give her an explanation immediately.

"Mean by what?" Jace decided to play the innocent card as he tried to stand up but Anna placed a hand on his shoulder and pressed him down gently but with enough strength to send him back to his seat despite his struggle.

"My sister said what do you by that?" Anna echoed. She stepped in the moment she saw the unhappy expression on Rose's face demanding an explanation. She gave him a bright smile still exerting pressure on his shoulder.

"I . . . I . . .," Jace lost his tongue as he stared into Anna's bright obsidian eyes that sparkled like the most precious black gem in the world. "Ouch," he cried quietly clinching his teeth with a distorted expression when Anna increased the pressure on his shoulder.

On a normal day, Rose would have stopped her sister immediately but after being accused by Jace, se had no intention of stopping Anna until she got the explanation she wanted.

After getting accused for crimes she never committed in the orphanage, one the thing she hated most was getting wrongfully accused. She knew Jace was not unreasonable and thoughtless so, there had to be a reason behind it which was what she wanted to hear.

"I . . . I did not mean anything," Jace lied as he glanced between the sisters. Rose was not a stopping Anna and Anna was not going to stop. He wanted to cry over his pitiful self but he held back his tears, he really thought Anna liked him just yesterday and here he was getting bullied by the girl he liked.

"Ok," Rose said and looked away but she did not stop her sister who proceeded to squeeze his shoulder as though she was trying to drain all the water from a wet cloth.

He gritted his teeth and stared around for his body guard but he remembered his body was called by a teacher to his office. What a terrible coincidence. "Fine. I will tell you," Jace agreed sighing in relief when Anna released her grip on his shoulder and gave him a light squeeze as though massaging his shoulder.

He concluded it was his wishful thinking when Anna went to sit down beside her best friend who was playing a video game on his phone and began disturbing him.

"You stole my brother," he finally said in a low tone with his chin touching his chest. He looked through his bent head to see everyone on the table staring at him.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Rose asked now wearing a more puzzled look. How did she still his brother she has never seen face to face?

"You stole him away from me. You also stole my father from us. You took everything away," Jace continued to accuse her. "You took the whole Hart family to yourself," he whispered the last three sentences that only Rose could hear him.

Now the accusations were getting much. "What do you mean by that?"

"You will not know now. Later in the future, you will know what I am talking about. You are just ignorant. You got back some of your memories but threw away some important ones. I want to hate you and my brother but I can't find it possible for me to do so," Jace continued in the same quiet whisper that somehow did not let others on the table hear but Rose heard him well.

Rose frowned lines forming between her beautifully shaped eyebrows. She opened her mouth to speak but she could not form the words. She got up and pulled his wrist out of the private room of the cafeteria. Closing the door behind her, she looked at him with her eyes clearly asking for an explanation.

"That is all I can say," Jace told her truthfully raising his hands. "If you want to know more ask my dad. I don't know much myself but my brother and father know it all. I only called you a thief because my brother left home because of you," he explained all he could at that moment.

"Oh . . ." was all Rose could say as her pink lips twitched slightly. He was still not making sense. She opened the door and walked in. Everyone at the table had their eyes wide opened at her with their lips parted. Rose remembered her behavior just now was not in line with the image she set in front her friends and felt really uncomfortable.

"You are about to steal my sister, right?" Anna saved Rose unconsciously with her question.

"I . . .," it was Jace's turn for his lips to twitch and for him to feel awkward.

"You want to steal my friend's sister," Wayne immediately supported his best friend dropping his phone which he was closely attached to on the table and folded his hands on his chest with an explain-yourself stance.

"I really wish it was the same thing," Jace murmured under his breath as he looked at Wayne who was shooting toy daggers at him with his eyes. He glanced at Rose who was smiling. He wanted her to say the word he was waiting for but she did not and it made him more heartbroken over his brother's departure.

If only they could finish it up and have her take the throne, it was going to relief his brother of whatever thing he was doing. That way, they will spend more time together but Rose obviously did not trust them or she was not desperate enough to cry out for help.