#Chapter 9 The Blame
"What the fuck happened?" William stormed into their room and brought all of his anger with him. It'd
been a long time since she had seen him that angry. The sight alone made her insides want to cower
away from him like she used to—but she stood tall. Doris had only just gotten their baby back to sleep
when he arrived, only for William to wake him again and set him screaming. William crossed the room
and took Alec from her grasp as if she was the one that had done that. He eyed her as if she was an
intruder in their own room and it sent a ping of hurt through her heart.
"The... the maid drugged me and took the baby." Doris rubbed her temples. Her head still ached from
whatever drugs she had put in her drink. "But Cordelia woke me and I got to him before she was able
to do anything—"
"How could you let someone near our child like that?" He shouted over Alec's screams. Did he realize
that he was the one causing his distress? "I told you that I don't want any servants near our baby and
you let her in here!"
"William —" Doris was stunned at his reaction. He used to be furious that someone would dare do
something to her but now it was like he didn't care that she was drugged. He only saw her at fault for
something she couldn't control. "She came in to drop off lunch and poisoned my food. I told her to
leave—"
"You shouldn't have even let her through the door! If your wolf didn't wake you, she could have killed
him!" Doris took a deep breath. She understood his anger, but she didn't understand why he was
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtblaming her. " I am not to blame for this, William. I told her to leave and she drugged me. You know that
I haven't let any of the servants touch our baby since he was born."
William started to rock the baby back to sleep. He didn't take his eyes from his little face. "I just think
you need to pay attention more and be more responsible. I told you that I didn't want anyone else
watching the baby."
"And I told you that she wasn't watching the baby! She took him from me when she knocked me
unconscious with the drugs! I never let anyone touch our baby unless it was Beth and Beth would
protect him with her life!"
"I'm sure she would until someone offered her a nice price on his head!" William hissed. Doris took a
small step back away from him in shock.
"How could you even say that? Beth would never do that to us—to him. She doesn't care about money
over family, she never has."
William just looked at her. She raised her chin slightly as if she was daring him to doubt her. He only
shook his head.
"Just tell me everything that happened."
"She came in with lunch and when she started to linger, I asked her to leave. Something about her set
off alarms in my head soI got up to get her out but it was too late. She drugged my food and I fell
before I could stop her. Cordelia forced me awake and I found her out in one of the old sheds behind
the palace. She told me that some man offered her millions for the baby but she didn't know his name."
Doris took another breath and continued. "She said she killed the real maid named Penelope and took
her place just to get to our baby. I don't know how long exactly she has been here, but she must have
worked her way up just to get near me.
Everyone else trusted her."
"T wish you didn't kill her." William grumbled.
"Why? She took our baby—" "Because I wanted to fucking kill her! " He growled. Doris sat on the edge
of the bed and ran her fingers through her hair. "I think I'm going to take Alec to my meetings from now
on."
Doris looked up. "What? Why would you take him to all your meetings? He wouldn't be able to sleep—"
"T just think you need some time to yourself. You need more sleep or whatever it is that keeps you up."
William grumbled. He barely even looked at her and it made her realize that he truly did blame her for
this. "You don't trust me to watch our own baby?" Doris asked in a small voice.
"You need more rest. For now I will watch him. You can take care of him at night when I sleep." William
said before he turned and left the room with their baby.
Doris stared at the door foe a long, long time. She was too exhausted to yell at him, to run after him
and ask him why he was treating her like the villain. Perhaps she should have kept the woman alive
just so he had someone else to blame.
Anger replace her fear. She was furious at William for blaming her instead of comforting her. She did
everything she could and saved their baby. She curled her hands in her lap into fists. How dare he act
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmlike this!
"Why does he blame me? He only trusts me to watch the baby at night so he can sleep?" Doris snorted
and crossed her arms over her chest.
"He wants someone to blame and you are all that's left.'' Cordelia said in her ear,
"Why doesn't be blame his own staff! They didn't notice that this Penelope wasn't who she claimed!"
Doris wiped away her tears. "I just don't understand."
"He's anew father to his cub. He will do anything to protect that baby. All he sees is safety for the child."
"I do too and yet he doesn't see it that way. He sees it as me being a misfit mother because I went and
got myself poisoned." Doris fell back against her bed and stared at the ceiling. "I would do anything for
our baby. I haven't let anyone else touch him for a second. I would have killed an army just to get to
him. So why does he make me feel so awful?"
Cordelia was silent for a long moment in a way that made Doris feel as if she sympathized with her.
Doris closed her eyes and curled into the blankets and tried not to think about all that had happened.
"You know what..." Cordelia said gently. "You can lay here and sleep all day until he comes back—or
you could let me take control and go fora run. I have something to show you." Doris sat up instantly
and went to grab a cloak. It'd been a long time since she left her wolf free—since she was allowed to
wander out of the palace without anyone to follow. No one would care anymore, she wasn't a Queen
yet and the baby was already born.
A run was exactly what she needed. "Let's get out of here."