Tangled By Fate

Chapter 72 - SOMEONE IS ANGRY

"We were but to think he would hide it from me…" Veronica mumbled. A few seconds later, she said with a smile, "It looks like I have to talk to him." Although her lips were smiling, her eyes were not.

'Ekk!' Adam flinched after observing her facial expression. For the first time, he found her scary. 'Maybe I have made a mistake. Poor Arthur.'

But, he had already told her. There was no way to take back his words now.

This was a beautiful day. The sky was clear with white clouds scattered throughout. The scorching sun at noon notwithstanding, it was as pleasant a day on a desert as it could be. Almost everybody in the camp felt really good except for one young woman eating in the kitchen.

Veronica slowly finished her meal and went to look for Arthur. She didn't have to look for him very long. Arthur came out of Major General's Orion's office and almost clashed with Veronica.

Veronica was startled but quickly composed herself. She smiled at him and said, "My partner, is there something you want to tell me?"

Arthur paused and carefully looked at her. In his eyes, he felt that she wasn't smiling at all even though her lips were showing a smile. He was uneasy about her expression. He opened his mouth and asked her in return, "Do I have something to say to you?"

"What do you think?" Veronica answered curtly, raising an eyebrow.

'She doesn't look like she is in a good mood,' Arthur pondered. 'Did I forget to tell her something?' he tried to take a trip down memory lane but nothing came up.

Her behavior was quite unexpected to Arthur. She seemed to be mad about something that he couldn't pinpoint. It was like she was ready to go to war for it.

Amusement flickered in his golden orbs. He smiled at her. He reached out and touched her neck. He rubbed her slender neck gently and commented, "I see your neck is better. Not a scar."

Veronica slapped away his hand and then glared at him. His playboy-type attitude was pissing her off even more. "Try to remember what you forgot to do."

Her eristic behavior confused Arthur. He had no idea what he did wrong.

His clueless behavior made her madder. She placed her hands on her waist and spoke with uncontrolled anger, "You have contacted Synetian soldiers beforehand and that's how you knew that they were going to attack the Riverhill camp. I'm your partner and yet you hid it from me. How could you do this?"

Arthur blinked. "Oh! You were talking about that. I'm sorry. I forgot to mention it to you."

'He apologizes way too quickly. It's not fun,' Veronica thought. She was thoroughly unsatisfied. She wished to have a fight with him to vent her anger. If he apologized so quickly, how could she do that?

To shove her anger on something else, she forcefully stomped the ground with her right leg. Her pale cheeks were flushed as she was fuming.

Arthur chuckled as she threw a fit like a child. "I always told you how cute you are when you get mad." Even though she acted like a child, he couldn't possibly see her as a child. No child had an exquisite body like hers.

Thinking of all that, he smirked. "Maybe I should give you a ride in the desert. Maybe it will make you feel better."

"I don't want that. Go travel by yourself," she retorted and then turned around and was ready to leave.

"Hold on a second," Arthur hurriedly grabbed her arm. "I just didn't want you to worry. I thought this way I will be able to keep you safe."

Veronica shook her head. She explained to him, "That's not what I wanted. I thought we were friends and you treated me like a partner when we acted as husband and wife. I thought you saw me as your equal."

Arthur told her, "I saw you as my partner. There is no mistake in it."

Veronica denied his claim, "You did not. If you did, you would have consulted me and trusted me with the secret information. You would have told me everything I needed to know. But you left me in the tent with Remus and went to look for the crystal magic ball on your own."

"Did you know how surprised I was? Now I just got to know that you contacted the camp beforehand. They were waiting for your signal." Veronica choked as she spoke. She didn't want to cry in front of him.

Thus, she took a deep breath to calm herself and asked him, "Tell me honestly. Did you ever work with someone?"

Arthur answered, "No, I did not. But how did you guess?" He was a bit surprised as she had guessed correctly. He didn't even give her a hint about that.

"It's easy to figure it out. Did you think everyone is as dumb as you?" Veronica reprimanded him. After shoving his hand, she left.

"My, my, I didn't mean to witness a lover's quarrel." Major General Orion came out of his tent and commented. Anyone who saw him could tell he was doing his best to hold back laughter.

Arthur then realized that they were arguing in front of his office. He sighed deeply.

Major General Orion was amused. He commented, "Here all women are flattering you and you get scolded by a woman who you called your partner. How does it feel? Is it karma?"

"I don't know. What do you think?" Arthur asked him in a gloomy tone.

Major General Orion replied, "What do I think? I think she has a unique charm. I like her already."

Arthur swiftly commented, "Too bad she won't even look at you."

Major General Orion gave him a challenging look. "How do you know that? I didn't even try."

"Why don't you try? Let's see if you can win over her heart or not." Arthur's expression was darkening by the second.

"You said it. Don't blame me later for snatching her away," Major General Orion winked at him and left.

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Veronica was strolling in the desert alone. She came out of the camp and walked a bit far. The scorching heat of the glazing sun tried to burn her skin. She covered her arms and walked a bit further.

"Veronica?" A female voice called out to her.

Veronica turned around and saw Ivona. She was wearing a healer's uniform. Her black hair was untied. It complimented her skin tone. She looked like an elegant aristocrat lady Veronica often saw in the temple.

Veronica smiled at her. "Are you taking a rest now?" she asked her. Everyone in the camp knew how hard Ivona was working.

Ivona answered, "Yes. It is a tiring day. Last night was also too exciting. I couldn't sleep properly. That's why I needed a break. I wanted to thank you for saving my fellow healers."

Her voice was as sharp as usual. Veronica understood after working with her a few times that it was just her vocal. And, she didn't know how to talk to others in a soft voice. She was more like a leader than a lady. It was Ivona's unique charm and Veronica liked it.

She responded politely, "Don't mention it. I had to leave that place as well. I thought why not bring everything with me. If it wasn't for Arthur, we couldn't see this camp ever again."

Ivona's eyes twitched upon hearing Arthur's name from Veronica's lips. She pressed her lips and stayed quiet for a moment. Then, she looked up and asked, "What's on your neck?"

Upon hearing a random question, Veronica looked at her neck. She was wearing a silver locket with a green gem. The color of the gen was exactly like her eyes. She quickly hid it behind her clothes. She was hiding it well all this time. She wasn't sure when it came out from under her clothes.

She saw Ivona staring at her. She hurriedly explained, "It's a good luck charm." She didn't want to say further about this unique locket.

Ivona casually spoke, "I see. Is that a present?"

"It is," Veronica replied. Although it wasn't a gift, she didn't want to tell her the details.

Ivona pestered her. "From whom?"

It was hard not to answer her question, considering her commanding personality. Veronica hesitantly answered, "…A well-wisher. Why don't we head back to the camp? Let's go." She changed the topic and strode toward the camp.

"…" Ivona stared at her from behind. Her eyes were also scorching hot like the desert sun.

She recalled some girls gossiping when she was taking a break. Girls were talking about Arthur and Veronica.

"Did you know Arthur and Veronica are a couple?"

"No way! I don't believe it."

"The soldiers were talking about them. Veronica saved our mission fellows. They are all worshiping her."

"She is really brave, huh. When I first saw her, I never thought she could pull off something like that."

"She isn't a healer but she is amazing. I could never be this brave like her."

"It's understandable. Also, Arthur was with her. He helped her a lot. Maybe that's when they fell for each other."

"Don't even talk about it. My heart hurts thinking about him being taken by someone."

"Did you know Arthur called her his partner?"

"What? Really?"

"Yes, apparently, they were arguing outside and I heard it. He confessed that he called her his partner."

"I'm so jealous!"

"She is so lucky."

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Recalling the gossip, Ivona's heart became unsettled. 'Did Arthur give this locket to you, Veronica? He had never called anyone his partner nor did he give any woman a gift. Do you think you are special? I'll prove you wrong!'