Chapter 1190 Begging Him
“Bastien, you should count your blessings that my ‘daughter’ loves you and is willing to plead for mercy on your behalf.” Spreading his hands, King continued with a smile, “Once I become the king of Loang, you will be my ‘son-in-law’ and continue to enjoy the privilege and luxury you have grown accustomed to. In fact, I can give you more than that. If you can marry Lunetta, I’m sure you can marry Helma too.”
Helma had a special place in King’s heart. Even though he didn’t acknowledge her as his real daughter, he couldn’t deny the strong biological bond that they shared. Therefore, he was willing to spare Bastien on Helma’s account since Mikhail was his true target.
After King had spoken, Helma walked up to Bastien’s side. Tugging on his suit, she persuaded him in a tone brimming with sincerity. “Bastien, did you hear that? As long as you marry me, he’s willing to let both of us off the hook. We can then be together and enjoy unparalleled riches! Therefore, you have to agree to his proposal. Do it quickly!”
Under the circumstances, no one could deny how tempting King’s offer was.
Even Frieda’s stance began to sway as she wanted her son to agree to Helma’s request.
However, without a moment’s hesitation, Bastien pried Helma’s hand away from his sleeve. “I don’t care about his proposal. It’s no loss for me. I would rather die than marry you.”
No sooner had his words rolled off his tongue than Helma burst into tears.
“Why?”
“There’s no why,” Bastien flatly replied.
“There has to be a reason!” Feeling utterly humiliated by Bastien, the emotional Helma raised her voice. “Why can you accept Natalie and Lunetta but not me? I was clearly the fiancée you were supposed to marry and the one who can be the biggest help to you. And yet, you reject me without even giving it a second thought! Do you know that I’ve had feelings for you since I was young? In order to be together with you, I strived hard to make myself better, hoping to show you the best version of myself! Unfortunately, you only had eyes for them and never for me!”
Even though Helma’s crush on Bastien carried a hint of her inferiority complex, the depth of her feelings for him exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Expecting her words to move Bastien—even a little—Helma was shocked that he didn’t even bat an eyelid as he then replied, “There’s no real reason. However, if you insist on one, I can only say that I have no feelings for you, and she is the only person who has my heart.”
Bastien’s brief reply dealt Helma a devastating blow.
She had bared her soul to him, expecting him to be, at the very least, touched by her sincerity, even if he didn’t reciprocate her feelings at the same level. Little did she expect him to outright reject her, leaving her no space to even indulge in her fantasies.
Despite all my machinations and the dire circumstances he is facing, he still refuses to choose me?
The next moment, she collapsed on the ground in a puddle of tears.
When King saw how Bastien repudiated Helma, he couldn’t help furrowing his brows as he aimed his gun at the younger man again. “I had wanted to let you go on Helma’s account. However, do you really think that there’s no limit to my tolerance when you continue to hurt her?”
Bastien turned to look at King, his gaze calm as ever.
“I’m willing to compromise on anything except accepting someone I don’t love. Death would be less painful for me.”
Love was something that Bastien would never back down on.
If not for this principle, he wouldn’t have taken such a huge risk for Natalie’s sake. After all, there were plenty of other girls who could help him solidify his position in the royal family. In fact, Natalie was one of the poorest choices for that purpose.
