Page 84 of Knotted By the Triad

The color in his face deepened. Daemin laughed, and Zian gave him a look that only made him laugh harder.

I looked back at the open chest. “This is way more than I need.”

“It's yours,” Zian said. “You can never have too many treasures.”

“It’s ours. I’ll put it up for us,” I told him.

“Whatever you want, mate.”

Allie looked from him to me, and apparently decided she'd seen enough. She gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up behind Zian's back before heading for the door. I narrowed my eyes at her. Her grin widened, and then she was gone.

“I’ll give you and Z a moment to talk alone,” Daemin said before winking at me. Then he added, “I’ll be back. I’m still moving into your courtyard.”

“Okay, alpha,” I told him.

He left my room with a smile on his face, leaving me alone with Zian. I moved to sit down on the edge of my bed and met Zian’s gaze.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered out of nowhere. Zian took a deep breath, releasing it slowly before continuing. “When you came here, I saw things I should have challenged, and I said nothing. I let Kai make decisions because that was what I'd always done. It was easier to stay out of it than tell him I thought he was wrong. That wasn't fair to you. I didn't know you, but I didn't need to know you to know you deserved better than that. And I was rude to you. I'm sorry. You’ll never know how sorry I am for that.”

I looked at the five chests behind me.

“Is the gold part of the apology?”

Zian shook his head. “The gold is yours because I’ve been collecting it for years just in case I one day found my Fated One. I’ve found her. It’s yours now. Whether you accept me or not, this treasure was collected for you. The apology is because I was wrong.”

That made me smile. If he thought money could buy my forgiveness, he would’ve been wrong. But I was getting money and an apology; of course, I was willing to let the past go.

“Okay,” I told him.

His brow furrowed slightly. “Okay?”

“I accept your apology.”

“Are you serious?” he asked.

“Very serious, my alpha.”

Some of the tension left his shoulders, and tears shimmered in his eyes. He wiped them away.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t expect you to forgive me so easily. I was prepared to kneel in front of your courtyard all night to earn your forgiveness.”

I rose and strode over to him. I stared up at him and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I now have a second chance at life. So, I’m willing to give you a second chance. But there won’t be a third.”

“No third needed,” he told me. “I’d rather die than hurt you in any way.”

“Well, then, let’s leave the past in the past, Zian. Let’s start over. After you finish with the Prime Minister, and after my father is no longer an issue, let’s put all of that behind us and start over.”

Zian hugged me back. I rested my cheek against his chest, breathing in the familiar warmth of black tea and vanilla.

“I'm definitely keeping the gold,” I mumbled.

His deep laugh rumbled through me. “As long as you keep me too, I’ll bring you a chest of gold every year.”

I smiled and hugged him tighter. Being his princess was going to be fun.

And lucrative!