She put it down immediately, her hands taking the thick pile of papers with great urgency as she hastily flipped from one page to another of the withdrawal history. Most of it was recorded transactions. But other than the numbers, nothing much was on the report.
“Jin…” Eugene sighed as she tried to piece the puzzle together, placing the documents back on the table.
They were so different from each other. So different from how they lived their lives. Where in her original world, she struggled to save even just a couple of dollars every day, here, Jin didn’t even need to think twice about spending so much.
She could almost tear up at the amount of money gone to waste with just a wave of her hand. It didn’t matter she hadn’t known about it until today.
“How could she just spend that much in over three years?!” she hissed to herself in frustration. She huffed out angrily until she finally calmed down, before she picked up the withdrawal history once more.
Every withdrawal was made through a postdated check.
The check was simple enough, though nothing she’d seen in Mahar, but she could understand it’s basic principle. There was her name stamped on the check as the guarantor, her personal stamp most likely.
She went through the withdrawal history one more time.
Each and every time, the date and amount varied. Which meant Rodrigo must have withdrawn from the accounts whenever he needed it and how much he needed. Which also meant Jin had provided him with a bunch of post-dated checks.
At the reminder of where all the money went, Eugene’s throat dried up as if someone was choking her. Jin had given him the money on a ruse that she was buying ancient books from him, but she knows now that isn’t the case.
Rebels. She was supporting the rebels.
Half of Jin’s money went to the rebels, giving them a hundred billion dollars to aid their cause. She couldn’t imagine just how big such an organization was to need that much money. Would her freezing the account fix the mess she found herself in?
“No,” she told herself, “It’s not nearly enough to stop them.”
Despite everything she’s learned today, she found it fortunate that at the very least, the public didn’t see the rebel organization as devil reincarnated. So, fortunately, it meant she won’t be stoned to death.
Still, the amount of money Jin brought with her was too much to have all been from her family. Despite her wealthy origins, their whole fortune combined wouldn’t even amount to how much she had amassed.
She leaned back on the sofa, rubbing her temples with a sigh before she stared blankly at the ceiling above her. So much to do, and she didn’t even know where to begin. After some time, she finally let out a smirk.
She might have found a way to turn things to her favor.
No time to waste. There’s much to do.
***
It was a very busy day for her. After she met with the president of the bank, she had immediately thrown herself to her duties of keeping the palace in order.
For the past three years, the task was delegated with the General to handle the internal affairs, which should’ve been the queen’s role. So now, Eugene figured she should begin by spending the afternoon by receiving the duties and responsibilities from the General first and foremost.
And while she was at it, she also took the time to convert a small space in her bedroom into her work office, and there, Eugene spent the whole afternoon taking off some of the load from the General’s work.
Moreover, it provided her a private space to work. She’s a little unsettled by how freely people could come in and go while she was unraveling Jin’s secrets little by little.
She also needed a little assistance every now and then when it came to official affairs. And with the number of files she’ll be needing to go through, she had to make sure it went to the correct person.
Still it wasn’t enough to keep her busy for a few days, only for a while perhaps.
As soon as the busy hours of the afternoon finally passed, she found herself finally relaxing. And while physically she was unable to move from her current position, her mind was still running miles.
She found herself unable to concentrate on dinner, so lost in her thoughts, she completely missed the concerned glances Marianne sent her way.
And just like every evening, the king’s servants would come to her. It had been going on long enough, that by now, it was already routine for the palace staff to see the king’s servants visiting the queen.
As soon as Eugene heard from Marianne that the king’s servants had arrived, she found herself reluctant to move. In the end though, she nodded in acknowledgment as she figured it would be best to put her mind to rest by thinking about something else.
The sun had sunk, blanketing the palace in shadows as the night arose.
With the servants leaving after their final tasks were done, Eugene found herself alone in her bedroom with a dim lighting.
A voice shook her out from her thoughts.
“His Royal Highness, the Desert King.”
She stood up from her bed and found herself nervous despite the fact they’ve been doing this every single night by now.
The king appeared in front of her, making his way towards her. Over his shoulder she could see the servants scurry away, closing the doors behind him with a soft click until they were finally alone.
It came to her that she never really saw anyone else with him around her. Had it always been like this? She found herself embarrassed by his impatient behavior, barely able to wait until the servants left them to their privacy.
Once he reached her, he wasted no time gathering her in his arms and pulled her close. He pulled away slightly, a hand gently holding on her chin as he dipped his head to kiss her on the lips, moving his against hers in sensual motions, prodding his tongue to part her lips open.
Eugene found her eyes fluttering close as she took deep breaths to her nose as she enjoyed the sensation. She found him deepening the kiss, as her grip on his shoulders tightened up.
She peered up at him gently, finally opening up her mouth as his tongue quickly darted inside. She watched him as he kissed her passionately, head tilted for a better angle.
Her eyes raked over his face, on his smooth nose bridge, to his long eyelashes…
This too, she noted, was her reality.
Suddenly, she found herself slightly nauseous as her stomach churned and her cheeks flushed. She needed to get away. Not because she wanted him gone, but because she was still too confused to understand her own feelings.
Her palms moved from his shoulders, and gave a slight push on his chest, when he finally pulled away.
Kasser stared at her inquiringly as she averted her gaze from him.
“Can we not do it tonight?” she finally asked him, and he became even more confused.
“What is it? Did I make you angry? Or do you feel unwell again?”
Eugene shook her head in response.
“None of that.” she told him, “I’m just not in the mood right now.”