Bastien was suspicious from the start, something about those photos didn’t seem right, they made his stomach turn. Then there was the fact that he hadn’t gotten wind that these were in existence, let alone being sold, he had never before in his life missed something like this. He had caught the compromising photos of Beth and Liam from New York so easily, so how had he missed these? He felt a tinge of jealousy when he saw the photos of Beth and Liam, a feeling that surprised him.
Liam’s reaction to the truth behind the pictures solidified that something truly awful was going on. Bastien knew he had to get to the bottom of what was going on, for her. He wished he could have protected her somehow, Beth never should have had to endure what Tariq had done to her. Watching her struggle with emotions and the hatred of the court made his heart clench in his chest. She didn’t deserve such treatment, couldn’t they see the truth?
Her friends were the worst of all, turning their backs on Beth, making her feel so lost and alone. The looks she received from everyone in court, treating her like a harlot when he knew the truth made his blood boil, but his hands were tied, he couldn’t do anything—his duty was to the crown. He spent as much of his time as he could trying to find out who could have been behind this attack. How else could you explain there being photos of this atrocious crime? It had to be a set up, but who? Everyone wanted Beth to be the new queen, so who could be behind this horrible crime?
Bastien couldn’t figure it out, but he was determined to find the person behind the horrible attacks, releasing photos of such a horrific crime was an attack in of itself. He would do whatever it took to ensure that she was safe, that nothing else would ever happen to her again. All he wanted to do was make sure she felt safe, felt loved.
Bastien wasn’t sure when things changed for him concerning Beth, maybe it was when he’d visit her at the Beaumont’s, no he felt drawn to her long before then. He would never push he, make her feel uncomfortable, she’d been through enough already. All he ever wanted was to make Beth feel safe and secure. Bastien didn’t know if she could ever feel the same way about him as he did about her, but he hopes she could, oh how he hoped she could.
All he wanted to do was to be the one who made her smile, the reason she was happy again. He wanted to make things better for her. He knew he couldn’t change what happened, but he could at least find Tariq, find who was behind the photos. He could find out if the plan had been for Tariq to do what he had all along or if Tariq had gone too far, he could make sure the monster behind all of this paid. Oh, how would the monster behind this pay. Both of them, Tariq and whoever put the dominos in place would both pay, he would make sure of it, even if the king wouldn’t.
That puzzled Bastien, that King Liam seemed bothered by any talk about finding Tariq, the culprit behind Beth’s attack. Why wouldn’t the king want the bastard who had done that to her to pay? Why wouldn’t he want them to find who had arranged the photos to be found? Why did Liam tell him to stop every time he mentioned it?
Bastien stopped bringing it up to the king, but he didn’t stop his search. He let Liam believe he had, but he would never stop until those who caused Beth this pain had been found, until they paid for their crimes.
He didn’t care who it was he would make sure they paid for breaking that sweet girls spirit. Beth was completely alone and broken, was that the point? Did the sick bastard get off on seeing her broken beyond mending and alone with no one to turn to?
Beth wasn’t alone though, she had him, he was the only one who didn’t push her to be more than she could be. He was just there for her, he listened to her if that what she needed, he just sat with her in silence if she needed that instead. He never made her feel like she was wrong for how she felt, he was there for her, he was her friend, but he wanted to be oh so much more. Bastien wasn’t sure if he ever could be more to Beth, but for her he’d wait.
