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Chapter 103 The prince would bring hell to bring you back to him.
Doris stood on top of the dresser again as she tried to peer out of the small window, but she was a tad
too short. It looked as if the frost from the outside had sealed it shut beyond hope. She still tried to shove
at the window even though she knew there was no hope for her hips to get through. Mr. Hugh was right,
it was quite literally big enough for a rabbit to fit through and nothing more. Still, she wished she could
open it if only to get a bit of fresh air and feel the cold snow on her face. She never thought she would
miss the feeling of it, but it was better than sitting in a room against her will.
A knock at the door made Doris scramble off the dresser and quickly right herself before it opened. She
straightened her clothes just as the guard entered-Joseph stood with raised brows as he looked her over.
“Are you alright?”
Doris tried to tame her breathing. “Yes, of course.”
When she gave no other explanation, he walked further into the room. “It seems you were wrong on your
assumption.”
“What do you mean?” Doris furrowed her brows.
“It seems someone from the prince’s party is already here to discuss your release. I’ve come to collect
you, Mr. Hugh wants you in the room. Apparently they want to make sure we haven’t tortured you.” 1
“What? That’s impossible. I saw them all leave before the attack on Enzo. He-they swore they weren’t
coming back.” “Well, they must have turned back for you.” Joseph opened the door a bit wider and held
out a pair of wrist cuffs with a sorrowful grin. “Sorry for this. Mr. Hugh is convinced you’ll run the second
you walk out the door.”
Doris rolled her eyes and held out her wrists for him to cuff. Mr. Hugh definitely wasn’t wrong. She may
not have known this part of Life Pharmacy, but she would have done her best to get out of his grasp and
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find a way out if she had a chance.
Joseph didn’t tighten the metal after he clasped it. His hands lingered for a moment before he released
her and let her walk in front of him down the halls. He directed which hallway to turn down until finally
she reached a set of large doors that stretched to the ceiling. She could hear distant voices already in a
deep conversation beyond the wood. Did William or Enzo send someone to come for her-1
Joseph raised arm around her and knocked on the door loud enough to silence them. A second later, the
doors opened and Patrick stood on the other side. If William’s beta was here, that meant William really
did turn back for her.
She ignored the leap in her chest as she walked further in. Mr. Hugh was seated by the fireplace near
where Patrick stood. She tried not to think about William and how he made it clear how little he cared for
her the last time they talked… but still. He came back for her, that had to mean something even if she
wished it didn’t.
“As you can see, she’s alive and well.” Mr. Hugh said and took a long sip of his drink. “Now we can
discuss our deal.”
Patrick looked her over top to bottom as if to make sure there wasn’t a new mark on her. She had a little
bit of bruising on her cheek still, but other than that she was fine. His eyes lingered on her wrist and how
close the guards stood to her, she wondered if they had their hands on their swords behind her back.
“Prince William was ready to declare war if you had harmed her.”
“Enzo knows it’s against everything I believe in to harm an innocent girl. That’s one thing we always
agreed on.” Mr. Hugh said lazily. He waved over one of the servants and they poured him a fresh glass. It
reminded her of how royalty was treated at the palace. Not even Enzo was treated like that, though she
had to wonder if it was his choice. She remembered Sir Anthony having servants around his home he
never ventured out of.
“What is it exactly that you want from Prince William? He could easily come in here himself—“
“If he wanted a ready army of rogues against him. It would be extremely unwise for him to test me and
underestimate what the true rogues are capable of. Enzo may have gone soft, but we don’t tolerate
royalty thinking they can control us and we certainly don’t welcome our enemies into our homes as
guests.”
Patrick clenched his jaw and clasped his hands behind his back. “Allow me to ask once more. What is it
that you want from Prince William in return for his lady?” 1
Doris shifted and Patrick’s eyes went right to her as if he knew he said the wrong
thing
“She told me she wasn’t his lady.” Mr. Hugh said, amused as he looked between them. 1
“She isn’t officially.” Patrick cleared his throat. Doris wanted to punch him for saying something so
ridiculous! She’d just spent her whole morning trying to convince everyone she meant nothing to him and
now Patrick all but confirmed she was lying. Not to mention what he said,
Her? His lady? That would never happen. Even if she stayed at the palace forever, she would never be
his lady. It was the complete opposite of what she wanted, being his lady meant she was trapped at the
palace for the rest of her life. Even if he decided to drop her like he did to all the rest.
“Interesting.” Mr. Hugh drawled. “To answer your question, I want the cure recipe written and tested
before she is transferred into his care. I might be willing to let him free as well if it works as well as he
claims.”
Patrick scoffed. “You wouldn’t have been able to take Prince William either way. He is not up for debate,
he is one of the princes of House Arnold.”
“You overvalue your prince. He may be part of that house, but not many would care to see him gone
considering he has no rank and no power over anyone but a few servants.”
“Prince William could demand an army and they would be at his beck and call within hours.” Patrick spat.
Doris nervously shifted her foot to the other side. It wasn’t smart for him to take it so personally when
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmthey were trying to bargain.
“So you say, but I have members of his own family knocking at my door trying to have us take care of
their rubbish.” Mr. Hugh smiled at Patrick when it only looked as if he was getting more angry. “Do we
have a deal?”
“Let me take Doris today and we have a deal. I’ll be back with the recipe—“
“No. She’s not going anywhere until the deal is done. I won’t risk losing an investment this large on your
word that means nothing to me and my people.” Mr. Hugh drained a second glass and waved off the
servant before they could fill his glass again. “There’s a church not far from here, a few miles north on
the top of the highest hill. In three days time, we will meet and make the official trade. No extra guards or
weapons, just us.”
Patrick’s fists opened and closed at his sides. He looked over at Doris and she could tell he felt a little
helpless. She nodded her head once to let him know it was okay.
“Prince William won’t like waiting three days for this trade. He expected her back at his side by tonight.”
“Prince William doesn’t call the shots here. He has no authority over what decisions are made. That is
my only offer or he can expect the rogues to be ready for him if he tries to come claim her sooner.”
Patrick straightened his shoulders. “Fine. If there is even one hair out of place when you return her, you
can expect wrath to follow.’
“Doris is a delight, who would want to hurt her?” Mr. Hugh smiled before he stood. “ Then we have a
deal.” He held out his hand. Patrick looked down at it with a bit of distaste before he shook it.
“That we do.” He said with a bit more bite than Doris expected. She was always told never to make a
deal with a rogue, and here was one being made for her. Rogues rarely came through on their promises,
or at least she had been told that when she was younger. Now she could only hope they would.
Patrick turned to Doris and bowed his head. “Rest assured, the prince would bring hell to bring you
back to him.” 3
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