Alpha's Rejected Mate Returns as Queen

310 Emotions And Interests

Selma Payne’s POV:

Aldrich laughed out loud because of my strange metaphor. “You’re saying that because you’ve become a Princess, everyone’s attitude towards you has changed drastically?”

I nodded gloomily.

“I knew this would happen sooner or later, and I was prepared for it, but I still can’t help but feel disappointed. Could it be that I can’t have a pure friendship without any schemes and benefits again? I don’t want every word I say to be weighed on a scale before I express it. It’s so exhausting, and I can’t bear it. ”

Aldrich rolled me into a ball and stuffed me in his arms, patting my back like he was coaxing a baby to sleep.

‘Don’t be so pessimistic. You already have friendships that are pure and without any conditions, haven’t you?” His voice was extremely gentle. “You have me, your adoptive parents, brother, and a group of like-minded friends. Isn’t what you have now more precious?

“I understand that you’re all the most important people to me, but the thought of having to talk to people like Teresa every day in the future makes me feel mentally tired. People are complicated. When they pursue benefits, they hope to obtain them without putting in any effort with their emotions, but when they pursue feelings, they put benefits on the table and weigh them. In the end, your feelings are all gone, and you don’t get any benefits. Isn’t that exhausting?”

Aldrich didn’t answer me, instead, he said, “I don’t know what other people think, but do you want to hear my story?”

“What?”

“It’s about my mother’s family and my childhood.”

Aldrich’s mother had passed away when he was very young, and Duke Frank had raised him alone. It wasn’t that there weren’t any other relatives who popped up during this period, but it wasn’t a heartwarming story.

Duke Frank was born a commoner and did not have many relatives. On the other hand, the Duchess was born into a noble family, and her family was a long-established noble family that lived in seclusion in a certain pack. Due to the huge difference in status, the Duchess’ parents did not agree to her marriage to Duke Frank. They even said, “You can either continue to be a noble lady, or you can go to the horizon with that beggar and never come back again.”

The young Duchess was so angry that she secretly eloped with Duke Frank, and her parents ignored her as they had promised.

Later, Duke Frank made a fortune step by step and worked hard to get to his current position. The Duchess finally led a good life. However, the good times did not last long. After a few years of enjoyment, the Duchess passed away, leaving behind the heartbroken Duke Frank and little Aldrich, who was still in his cot.

The Duchess’s family, which had disappeared for a long time, suddenly reappeared. They tried to please little Aldrich so that the young and ignorant Aldrich would quickly regard them as family.

However, they could not wait to show their greedy fangs, urging Aldrich to ask Duke Frank to provide them with benefits, and even tried to murder the father and son. As the maiden family of the Duchess, they were only qualified to inherit her inheritance when her husband and children died.

Of course, the clumsy plot was easily seen through by Duke Frank. From then on, the family disappeared, and the heartbroken little Aldrich also closed himself off for a long time, unwilling to make friends again.

“That was until I entered the military camp. I met many of my comrades and my first instructor, Frank.” At the mention of Frank, Aldrich was a little dejected. “I was just a cocky kid back then. I didn’t like anyone and always felt that others were plotting against me.”

Of course, nobody liked this Aldrich, so after a month of training, his peers in the same class could tell each other everything they had, and he was still a lone wolf.

It wasn’t that others didn’t want to get close to him, but he refused to let anyone get close to him. He even used sarcasm to dig out the purpose of others trying to build a good relationship with him. This made him a condescending noble young master in other people’s hearts. No one dared to provoke him, but no one was willing to get close to him.

As an instructor, Frank saw everything. One day, he called Aldrich over and beat him up in the name of private guidance. Aldrich, who had an inflated ego during puberty, couldn’t take it. After many failed counterattacks, he couldn’t stand his ground and exploded.

He accused Frank of abusing his authority for personal gain and was using the opportunity of guidance to vent his grudges against him. When Frank asked why he thought he was targeting him, Aldrich answered without hesitation, “Just because I’m a noble, you’re biased against me, so you’re trying to torture me?”

After he shouted this, the furious Frank suddenly calmed down and asked, “You think I’m biased against you?”

“Yes!”

“Don’t talk nonsense, kid! You’ve always been the biased one!”

Frank’s punch landed on Aldrich’s face, interrupting his anger and knocking him out of his senses.

How could it be his fault?