Between the East and West

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"A desperate heart will always find its way to what it desires."

A queen, desperate for destruction, and a king, in search of redemption—within the sea of repressed sighs and voiceless cries, their parallel paths crossed, marking the beginning of a journey against fate.



**Excerpt:**



From where he sat on the ground, Theo silently stared up at Torin's face. At times, he wondered if Torin was truly comfortable discussing his rejection and humiliation, or if speaking of it only deepened the ache within. It puzzled him because he knew that anyone else in Torin's position would have avoided such topics, rather than addressing them as plainly as Torin did.



"My king," Theo began, respectful as always, his head lowered. "Do you still think about it often? About… that day, I mean."



Torin hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Why don't you try to stop? I know it hurts you inside, so why not avoid thinking about it?"



Torin's eyes narrowed, and with a face filled with mirth, he leaned down towards Theodore until their faces were just inches apart. Theo didn’t move back; to hell with protocol—he wanted an answer.



“Well, I don’t have much of a choice, do I? Not when you keep calling me ‘my king,’ ‘your majesty,’ every time you see me. If you’d stop that, maybe I could stop thinking about that day too.”



Theo finally moved, lowering his head to avoid Torin's gaze. Perhaps he was at fault as well, but like Torin, what choice did he have? He would rather die than stop seeing and addressing Torin as his king.



“Unfortunately, your majesty, I can’t stop doing that. I don’t care what those broken orbs think. All I know is that they don’t see my heart, and to me, you are still very much a king. I still see a crown on your head, a throne for you to sit on, and a people for you to watch over.”



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