She sat in the suffocating darkness of the private psychiatric ward, her knees hugged tightly to her chest.
The room that had once been pink and beautiful, brimming with warmth and whimsy, was now a scene of destruction.
Tables lay overturned, chairs broken, and shattered porcelain lay scattered across the plush carpet like forgotten remnants of a dream.
In the far corner, she whimpered, her body trembling with despair.
A group of spectators stood near the doorway, their whispered conversations piercing the heavy silence.
"She's in her depressive phase," she heard him explain to them, his voice steady but strained.
"I can't believe she's in this miserable state again," her mother hissed, venom dripping from every word.
Her father chimed in, his tone filled with impatience. "When will she be better for the honeymoon? We don't have time to waste on her episodes. The honeymoon is essential to the family's image!"
A bitter laugh bubbled up in her throat, escaping as a dry, pained chuckle. Why had she ever thought they would care?
To them, she was nothing more than a failed project, a moneymaker who needed fixing.
"I'll do everything I can, but we can't push her too hard," he replied, his frustration barely masked.
"She needs to be well to run the company in a week!" her mother spat, each syllable a lash against his patience.
"She is sick!" he shot back, his voice teetering on the edge of anger before he reined it in. "I'll do my best."
Her laugh turned into a sob.
Why did he care? This cheater.
The thought twisted in her mind, a dagger of doubt. Had he kissed that woman? Let her touch him? Wasn't she enough?
She bit her nail until the sharp pain of breaking skin jolted her, blood pooling at the edge of her thumb. Her cry of pain was a raw, guttural sound.
Her parents winced, their faces twisted with irritation, and without another word, they exited the dark room, leaving her behind like discarded baggage.
He moved swiftly to her side, his blue eyes filled with a concern that made her heart ache.
Even in the darkness, she could trace the lines of his face, the sharp angle of his jaw, the shadow of stubble on his cheeks, the exhaustion etched into his features.
Her heart cracked open. She was making him worry.
Her prince charming wasn't sleeping well.
He retrieved a kidney dish and forceps with practiced efficiency, cleaning her wound with a spirit swab.
She hissed at the sting, her body recoiling. He pressed a gentle kiss to her now-clean thumb. "I'm sorry. You're hurt," he murmured, his voice soft and filled with remorse.
Her thoughts faltered. Did cheaters show this much care?
Could the voices in her head have been wrong about him?
She reached up, cupping his face, her thumb brushing over the curve of his lip. "Can I kiss you?" she asked, her voice trembling. "I don't want my husband to know..."
His breath caught, and she stared at him, wide-eyed, her mind struggling to reconcile the man before her with the one who had hurt her.
He looked like her husband.
But he wasn't.
Leaning in, she kissed him, a painfully sweet kiss, as if she could pour all her confusion, love, and longing into that single moment.
Because in her eyes, he wasn't just a man.
He was the prince she wanted her husband to be.
The man she wished she could love.