I Am the Ruler of All

Chapter 100

Much to the men's surprise, Cecilia's eyes turned red the moment she saw Kingsley, and the next second, she burrowed into his arms.

There was no distance whatsoever between them as she pressed her soft curves against his torso. The men in the cafe were so shell-shocked by this scene that their eyes nearly bugged out of their heads.

"What the—"

"The world's gone mad! I thought girls like her would be into good-looking men with money!"

"Shit! If I'd known that she needed a shoulder to cry on, I would have gone up to her first!"

Everyone was incensed as they cursed Kingsley's good fortune under their breaths.

Ignoring the jealous stares and pointed looks thrown his way, Kingsley asked quietly as he held Cecilia in his arms. "Hey, what's wrong? Did Shane pick on you again?" As soon as he said this, he shook his head to dismiss the possibility. "No, that can't be it. Shane wouldn't dare to make trouble for you now that Harry's watching him."

"It's not Shane..." Cecilia straightened up slowly and pulled the delicate straps of her top up to keep them from falling and revealing more of her skin. The miniscule gesture affected the men's testosterone so much that they were having a hard time remaining composed in their seats.

She sniffed and dried her tears, then said feebly, "He came by the house today and called off the engagement."

"What happened there?" Kingsley asked, frowning. "Are you crying because your family gave you a hard time after that?"

He could pretty much guess what had happened at the Larsons' place. Much like the Wynns, the Larsons were merely a second-rate family amongst the elite, and it was a miracle that one of them had been engaged to the b*stard of the Carter Family. It was not a stretch for one to say that the future of the entire Larson Family hinged on Cecilia getting married to Shane.

It went without saying that Shane had dealt a devastating blow on the Larsons by calling off the engagement out of the blue. Kingsley could already imagine how they had treated Cecilia after she supposedly failed to hold onto Shane, who was the key to their having a glorious future in the most exclusive echelons of upper-class society.

Cecilia nodded miserably now as she said, "My parents told me I was good for nothing, that I couldn't even manage to keep a man even with my pretty face..." She trailed off tearfully, her voice breaking with the beginnings of a sob. "My dad didn't start out with much money, either, and he knew he was marrying out of his league when he settled down with the young lady of the Fox Family. He's always been looking for ways to prove himself to my mom's family. The Foxes are throwing a family banquet tomorrow, and he wants me to make it look like I'm doing well in front of my uncles, so... I have to do everything I must to change Shane's mind, or at least bring home a man who is much better than him."

She took a deep breath and stared at Kingsley with glistening eyes, then went on to say, "So I told him that I already found myself a boyfriend, and that he's far more excellent than Shane could ever hope to be!"

Upon hearing this, Kingsley froze, and he suddenly understood what kind of favor she was asking of him. "You... want me to pretend to be your boyfriend?"

Now that he had put it into words, she blushed and explained hurriedly, "It'll only be for show, and it's just until my parents shut up about it."

"I..." He let out a derisive laugh as he asked, "Are you sure I'm the guy for the job? You did tell your dad that your new boyfriend is more excellent than Shane, you know."

She nodded solemnly. "I'm sure, and for the record, I know you're a million times stronger and better than Shane!" Her fingers intertwined as she asked cautiously, "You're not going to say no to being my pretend-boyfriend, are you?"

Scratching the back of his head, Kingsley replied hesitantly, "I'm not against it. If this is really what you want, then of course I'll help you out."

He had been wanting to meet Matt in person anyway. This was the man who had killed his parents, and he would be remiss to turn down Cecilia's suggestion that they enter a ruse.

"That's great!" Cecilia beamed at once. She clutched his arm and said earnestly, "I owe you one."

"And how do you propose you repay me? Are you going to offer yourself up to me or something?"

He was only joking, but she unexpectedly nodded without even stopping to consider this and said, "I can do that."

She looked at him so seriously that he knew he had to put an end to the joke. He cleared his throat awkwardly and reminded himself that this was no time for him to be playing footsie with a girl, even if the girl was a temptress like Cecilia. He had his parents' murder to avenge, and he couldn't afford to be distracted while he had a real chip on his shoulder.

Perhaps there might come a day when he had finally avenged his parents, and only then would he be able to settle down with a nice girl and start a family with her.

When Cecilia saw the embarrassed look on Kingsley's face, her expression stiffened. "I-I'm kidding! Haha! Hahaha!" Her laughter sounded forced, and there was no hiding the disappointment in her pretty eyes.

After a long pause, she drew in a breath and said hesitantly, "So... we should probably go back to my family's place. My dad wants to meet you."

"What? Right now?" Kingsley was dumbfounded by how quickly things were escalating. "It's a little too soon for us to meet, don't you think?"

This whole thing might be an act, but the idea of meeting his 'father-in-law' still made him uneasy.

However, Cecilia was insistent. "The Foxes' banquet is tomorrow, and my dad's worried that I would bring back any man just to fill Shane's shoes. He can't risk being humiliated in front of his in-laws tomorrow, so he wants me to bring my boyfriend home so that he could give him the once-over."

Kingsley couldn't bring himself to say no when he saw the pleading look she was giving him. Sighing, he said in resignation, "Alright, whatever. It's not as if I have anything better to do for the rest of the afternoon, anyway. Come on, let's go get me interrogated."

…

The Larsons' family villa was in an above-average residential community in Cleapolis. There wasn't much difference between the area and property prices here and those where the Wynns stayed.

Cecilia and Kingsley had only just walked into the front yard when they were greeted by the sight of a flamboyantly-dressed man.

He sauntered up to them and appraised Kingsley with a raised brow, then asked Cecilia skeptically, "Cecy, is this the boyfriend you were telling us about?"

Cecilia said curtly, "Kingsley, this is my brother, Asher." Then, she turned to her brother and snapped, "And yes, he's my boyfriend. Is Dad in the study? If he is, then we'll go in right now and make formal introductions."

"Mom and Dad are both in the living room. Come on, we'll go in together," Asher said as he gave Kingsley a contemptuous look, as though the latter was something that crawled out of the garbage.

In the living room, Michael and Megan were joined by a man who was dressed head to toe in designer clothing. The man was none other than Asher's friend, Zachary Dugray.

While Zachary's family was by no means superior to Shane's, they were on considerably higher rungs of the social ladder than the Larsons. He had been enamored with Cecilia's beauty for a really long time, but her family had had their hearts set on letting her marry Shane that they completely disregarded his existence. The moment Shane called off the engagement, however, Asher immediately rang Zachary up and told him of the news.

Following that, Zachary made haste to show up at the Larsons' house bearing gifts, and Michael, who previously couldn't be bothered to give him a second glance, had welcomed him with newfound enthusiasm.

Granted, Zachary's background was not nearly as impressive as Shane's, but he was still an heir to old money. That ought to be enough to stuff the Foxes' mouth, Michael had thought.

Presently, the Larsons were happily making conversation with Zachary when Cecilia and Kingsley entered the living room.

Asher shot Zachary a meaningful look before saying snidely, "Mom, Dad, Cecy has brought her little boyfriend home."

Zachary stiffened when he heard this. He had been sure that he would be the one to marry Cecilia after her engagement to Shane was called off, but now, it seemed as if some roadkill of a guy had shown up to hijack his plans!

Meanwhile, Megan was more than satisfied with Zachary's tall and broad-shouldered frame, not to mention his handsome looks. As such, she treated Kingsley with indifference. She had never heard of this man before, and she frowned as she pointed out arrogantly, "My daughter is one of the Five Beauties of Cleapolis. I wouldn't just let her marry anyone!"

Michael, on the other hand, was just as stoic as his wife, but he kept his tone neutral as he gestured at the seat across from Zachary, then said, "Take a seat, young man."

Kingsley did not bother with formalities as he accepted the invitation and sat down, his posture

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Zachary sneered, "You could at least say thank you after the master of the house has offered you a seat, you know."

"So, introduce yourself," Michael said, his voice firm and gravelly. "I should at least get to know the man who is seeing my daughter."

"I'm Kingsley." That was the end of Kingsley's introduction, apparently, because he merely turned to fix his steady gaze on Michael afterward.

There was a long and awkward silence in the living room that would have stretched on forever had Michael not cleared his throat and said, "Name aside, could you tell us a little more about yourself? Like your job or your family, perhaps?"

"I don't have a job or a family," Kingsley replied easily as if it was the most natural thing.

"Pfft!" Zachary sputtered. "Well, that explains the brief introduction! You're an unemployed philanderer!"

Asher didn't even try to hide his scorn as he interjected, "I'm a platoon leader in the Cleapolis Military District, Cecy. I can't have my sister dating some pathetic loser!"