Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

Brielle's eyes welled up, but she couldn't find the words, her throat feeling like it was on fire. Dustin, noticing her distress, promptly had someone bring over a glass of water and placed it in front of her.

After a few sips, Brielle felt the burning sensation in her throat ease. Dustin sat across from her, his suit jacket discarded at the entryway, now just in a crisp dress shirt. His fair skin seemed to glow in the sunlight streaming in, but Brielle was too preoccupied to notice. "So, what's the deal with you and Arthur? Keep your distance. Ever since the royal family started that organization, I've had a bad feeling. And now, the media's having a field day with you two."

"He played me. I never thought he'd gamble with his own life."

Dustin didn't need to spell out how the headlines would sensationalize their story. Naturally, they'd go for the most scandalous angle. Brielle was fuming, partly at herself, for not immediately pulling away when she saw Arthur, giving him an opening. She had been focused on keeping the peace because of the Lynch family's agreements with the royals, and now she was in a tight spot.

"Where's King?" Dustin asked, glancing around, noticing the absence of the man who usually stuck to Brielle like glue. It was odd, given his usual insistence on being close, yet today, he was nowhere to be seen.

"He left," Brielle replied, her voice barely a whisper. Her grip on the cup was so tight her knuckles turned white. She hadn't slept all night, troubled by Arthur's actions, and now, just thinking of King made her heart ache.

"Left? Where to? Grocery shopping or something?" Dustin's guess wasn't far off, considering King's usual eagerness to please Brielle, but it was shocking to hear he had left North America. Just the other day, everyone had been enjoying themselves at the Lynch's, and now he had taken off with his child to Saudi Arabia, showing a clear intent of not returning.

"He's gone back to Saudi Arabia. Says he's not coming back." Brielle's voice cracked, nearly breaking into tears, though she tried to convince herself, 'It's just King, not Max.' Even so, her heart couldn't help but feel heavy.

Dustin was taken aback, then frowned deeply. "What about Isaac?"

"He left with him."

"Did King ever talk to you about Isaac?" Dustin asked carefully.

"Yeah, his kid with his first love. All that talk about his 'greatest love,' what a joke." Brielle didn't realize the bitterness in her voice as she spoke.

Dustin rubbed his forehead, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. "So, what now? You two just gonna leave it at this?"

Brielle fell silent, her eyes growingText content © NôvelDrama.Org.

distant. "I don't know. I'm always torn. My indulgence towards him-is it because of Max's face, or because of King himself? I wonder if my concern for him is also because of Max. Everything's a mess in my head. I can't stand seeing him hurt, yet I feel utterly guilty towards Max."

Brielle's head throbbed with pain, her feverish cheeks flushed. She didn't chase after King last night, realizing in that moment what she had been doing always indulging him. His clinginess, his mood swings, The loneliness he radiated when alone felt like a knife to her heart.

"Maybe it's good for us to cool off. Doesn't he have his first love?" Brielle muttered.

Dustin remained silent, knowing well that Brielle was the 'first love' King had mentioned but had been asked to keep i under wraps. Speaking out now might complicate matters especially with the royal family's schemes looming. Arthur's sudden move-what was his intent?

Dustin tapped his fingers on the sofa, considering if the goal was to pressure Brielle into marriage using public opinion-a truly sinister plan.

"Little Dove," Dustin began, using a nickname to soften his words, "now everyone's talking about you as a future queen, a president's wife. Maybe King saw all that and decided to leave."

It seemed King lacked trust in Brielle. If it were Max, things might have been different.