3 | Guilty

present

Though he was in love with someone else, he could help but wonder about his new wife. After all, he wasn't heartless as people assumed him to be. He had offered her to use his own private library, which had almost every book in the world (he did not read them, it was just for prestigious purposes). She looked like she had seen a ghost after he took her on a tour, and she exploded in happiness.

"Thank you." That's all she had to say, it disappointed him because he had never allowed anyone inside. But he wasn't surprised, she barely spoke anything to him. He left the library, leaving her alone. He saw Rylla walking towards him with her hands tied at her back, she was hopping merrily and that was a sight to him. His heart throbbed, he could never feel the carefree love again.

"Kaydn, why were you with that lady?" She asked, and he immediately understood what she meant. She was talking about Cassandra, and he hated it whenever she had to confront him.

"She seemed to be upset here, so I took her to my library" He answered. He had been visiting her for a while, but she barely spoke much to anyone except her maid.

"Why do you care? and you've never escorted me to your library like that. I had to sneak in," He wanted to tell her that he didn't care for her. But he was bothered by the fact that she seemed to be more upset here than in her kingdom. She must be missing her family, he assumed.

He had always cared, he always wanted Cassandra to like someone else so he would not feel guilty. Rylla was the only one who understood his pain when his brother was banished but it always felt wrong for him to love someone else.

"We can discuss that later, how about we have some fun?" He pulled her closer as he travelled deep into her eyes, wanting to see only that. He wanted her to feel that he loved her, and nobody can ever change that. She pulled him aside and walked away in a huff. He just stood there, without knowing what to do.

Why wouldn't she understand he had to comply to his dying father's wish.

Rylla turned around and looked at the man whom she had imagined an entire life with, and it all seemed like a fantasy now. She had left the palace immediately, not wanting to feel anything more for him. She sat on a fallen tree and cried her heart out.

She never loved him initially, she was forced by her parents to seduce him so they could marry her to him. Not that she did not develop feelings, but everything she sid felt so forced and slowly she started craving the Queen's diadam rather than being the King's wife.

3 months later.

Cassandra whimpered in her bed as her head throbbed in agony. She had never felt more useless and pathetic in her entire existence. She spent the entire night weeping, wondering what wrong she had done to deserve such a thing. She had seen her husband kissing Rylla outside the palace garden. It has been three months and he hasn't touched her yet. Not that she wanted her husband to be hers anymore, but she was termed as his wife and she had not expected him to be disloyal.

He had heard that she cried the entire night, and he was not able to sleep either. She was annoying him, that's the truth. He felt nothing for her, He loved Rylla and decided that he'll continue loving her even after marriage. Though he hated cheating on his wife, he didn't actually love her to term it as cheating.

"Good morning," He said, just to hear how her voice sounded as he entered her chambers. He didn't want to knock and disturb her, for some reason, he just wanted to see what she was doing when he wasn't around. He was trapped in an unknown boundary, which did not set him free for doing whatever he wants.

They had decided to sleep in separate rooms, and he had checked everything personally to ensure that she'll live comfortably. It was the least he could do for her.

She barely went outside, except for the strolls in the evening which seemed to put her at ease. He was genuinely curious about the girl whom he had known and yet he didn't know almost all his life, who had been married to him without his will.

"Morning My Lord, what brings you here," She replied as she woke up from the bed, turning the other side. She did not want him to see her puffy face, or that she had cried all night. She quickly resigned into the bathroom and removed her nightgown. She felt different as if she had given up on her entire emotions.

She wondered why was he here now. She even dismissed the maids to be alone, and sit in her cloud of melancholy. She was also annoyed that he did not bother to knock.

He stood listening to the water flow and stared at the wall. He wondered if she liked him, whether he was hurting her by spending time with Rylla, but even if she did, she had not shown him a single sign except the fact that she seemed to have cried a lot.

He examined the charm in his bracelet, which Rylla had gifted him yesterday and fiddled with it. He respected Cassandra, and just because he didn't love her, doesn't mean that he could cheat on her. His change of opinion caused chaos in his own mind. He simply cannot put any other girl before Rylla.

She stepped out of the bathroom and behind the partition wearing the same gown since she had forgotten to take another one inside. She skimmed through her wardrobe to find a perfect clothing material that would suit the royal family and also will be comfortable for her.

She found an Ivory body piece with a gradient frock that will hug her waist with a lace bordered tie. He smiled at her when she addressed him after dressing up, but it was not genuine. He was guiltily checking on her.

"You must be excited to see your brother," He said. It was the first time her brother was visiting her after the marriage, and she had almost forgotten about it. Now that she had something to look forward to, her mood shifted.

"I am," She replied, not giving away her sudden mood shift. She thought that he did not deserve to know. Who was he to her anyway? he did not feel anything for her, and she did not want to feel anything for a man who doesn't feel anything for her.

"Well, I will be in the court, anticipating your brother's arrival. Please inform me if you need anything," He stood up, not wanting to overthink. He visited her only because he didn't want the royal court to gossip about them not being close enough. But now he realized he was curious because she seemed to be a mystery.

He strode confidently through the halls, the soldiers bowed at him and his mind was elsewhere. He was worried about his father who would pass away soon since the fading powers were the first to sign of death. He didn't look aged at all, well, people who passed away rarely looked aged. It was so rare to see people who looked wrinkled and old.

He entered his father's chambers, and all he could smell was his musty cologne mixed with sweat and medicines to soothe his pain. He didn't want to lose another of his blood, but he knew it was time to let go. His face reassembled pale winter's moon, but it had no glory to it.

"Father," He didn't want his tears to blur his vision, this might even be the last time he's going to see him.

"Ahh, Kaydn," He grabbed his hands and let out a deep sigh as if his soul was escaping through it. It was funny how death was not a huge event anymore, the body would be burnt into ashes without addressing or conducting a ceremony.

It was believed that staying next to a person whose power was constantly fading, will reduce one's power. So Kayde was pushed out of the room and locked outside. His knuckles turned white as he curled them into fists, standing outside his father's room. He pursed his lips and huffed towards the court and he sat on the throne.

.

"My Lady, shall I decorate your hair?" Tatiana, her personal maid asked her when she saw Cassandra struggling with her hair. She simply nodded and looked at the mirror. Her green eyes were highlighted with black eyeliner and nude eyeshadow. Her lips were just slightly tinted in pink, but one would assume she wasn't wearing any lipstick.

"How old are you Tatiana?" She asked. She was tired of feeling lonely, and she didn't want to give her brother the slightest suspicion of being unhappy.

"I'm 138 years old," She replied as she examined her hair and pinned them perfectly to one side, adorning it with braids. Cassandra was jealous, she wished she was as old as her. She hadn't seen the world yet, and she had wanted to do it before getting married.

"Do you have children?" She asked her bluntly.

"Not yet, but we are planning to," She excitedly chimed as she clipped a few pearls on the braids. She did not reply anything, even though she was curious whether she had married the man who loved her.