Chapter 979: Rowena's Dilemma

King Draco seemed happy to see Raphael was content. He could already smell the air in Cretea. He really couldn't wait for the day he would set foot in there again.

"When do you plan to invite us to meet your family?" he asked Raphael over breakfast. King Draco cleared his throat. "My inlaws are from the elven realm and I have finally found out who you are."

He wouldn't beat around the bush. Not at this stage.

"Oh, you do?" Raphael furrowed his brows. He had suspected Prince Jadeith would tell Draco his ident.i.ty, but the fact that Draco didn't show any strange att.i.tude up until today, he thought Jadeith had respected Raphael's privacy and didn't reveal his secret.

"Yeah. Not immediately," King Draco lied. "I only found out recently."

He looked at Raphael intently and smiled. "It is an honor, Your Grace."

Raphael felt weird hearing the honorifics used to address him. He was not used to it. The man waved his hand and smiled awkwardly, "No need to call me that way, Your Majesty. We are not strangers."

"Very well," King Draco raised his teacup and smiled. "You might as well call me father-in-law. It will be an honor."

Seeing how King Draco act so nice and friendly, Raphael felt it would be rude not to show the same courtesy, especially since he planned to marry King Draco's daughter.

"Well, okay, father-in-law," Raphael smiled faintly. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Rowena was playing with her food. She seemed uncomfortable with their conversation. Raphael wondered if something was wrong.

However, when he asked her about it after breakfast, Rowena refused to say anything. She only told him that she was feeling unwell, when in fact she was bothered by her father's excessive friendliness toward Raphael. She was now convinced that her father was after a man from Cretea for a long time and was using her to get what he wanted.

This was so embarra.s.sing. What would Raphael think if he found out? Rowena was sure that someday he would find out.

"Are you sure?" Raphael asked. He touched her forehead and felt her temperature. She didn't have a fever. "Do you want to rest?"

They were standing together on the balcony of her chamber. Rowena didn't feel like doing anything on that day. She just wanted to spend it with Raphael. She didn't know why, lying down in bed, in his embrace felt so serene and gave her mind peace.

"Can you just hug me?" she asked him shyly.

"Of course."

Raphael sat on the sofa, overlooking the window, where they could see the pond and a spread of cris, Rowena's favorite flower in the garden. He pulled her into his embrace.

He hugged her so gently and lovingly. He was not sure what she was feeling, but he guessed it might have to do with her father.

"Tell me more about Cretea," Rowena said. "I want to know your home."

Raphael nodded. He told her about the vastness of beauty that was Cretea. He told her about the people, the trees, the rivers, the culture. They were all very different from the humans realm.

Rowena tried to imagine the place but her imagination was limited. She listened to his stories, while her mind was trying to find ways to tell Raphael about her suspicion, that her father was after something in Cretea and was using her to get to him.

However, every time those words were trying to leave her mouth, Rowena was overcome with shame and guilt. What would Raphael do if he knew the truth? He would probably see the real Rowena and realized that she was not worth his time.

Could she really take the risk? She was in love with him and couldn't imagine a life without him. She couldn't handle another loss if he left her. She would rather die.

***

Rowena cursed herself for not being able to gather her courage and told Raphael everything until the last day and the man had to depart to Cretea.

"I will be back with the invitation," Raphael kissed Rowena and hugged her tightly. "I will miss you so much."

Rowena could not say anything. Only her tears streamed down hard to her cheeks. She clenched her jaws and held back from saying anything. She was scared

that her tongue would slip and she would suddenly tell Raphael that she was used by her father to seduce him, even though she didn't mean to.

She didn't even dare look him in the eye, but her voice was solemn and sincere when she spoke. "I will miss you too."

***

"You could just tell him the truththat's all you have to do when you meet again," Julian told Rowena.

When Rowena woke up one morning and saw Julian again, sitting by her window sill, she tried to ignore him, but then he told her what she was feeling and so she ended up talking.

"I could have told him when he was still here but I didn't." Rowena's eyes gleamed with tears. She had lost any appet.i.te after Raphael left. Every day felt like she was just waiting for the inevitable when Raphael finally knew who she was.

"What is holding you back?" Julian asked. "We're back in Ashland and you wanted to run away before."

"Julian if I tell him the truth, he will think I am in on it..." Rowena bit her lip in distraught.

"Why? Don't you trust his love for you?" Julian raised an eyebrow. "If you can't trust him, then the man doesn't deserve you."

"No, it's not that," Rowena shook her head and looked at Julian desperately. "It is I who don't deserve him, Julian. You are my friend and that's why you are biased."

"Rowena." King Draco stepped inside Rowena's chamber and narrowed his eyes. There was n.o.body else in the room except for her and yet she was speaking as if someone was with her.

"F-Father" Rowena clamped immediately. "W-what are you doing here?"

"You didn't join me at the dining hall for breakfast, you're skipping meals and eating late for the past few days," King Draco said. He didn't care if she missed meals, but she needed to look like a bride and not a corpse. "And now I can understand why."

Rowena's eyes widened. "I"

King Draco reached out and grabbed Rowena's wrist. "Come with me. We'll deal with thishow can you marry your husband when you're fantasizing about another man?"

"No! It's not like that! Julian is right there"

"You're in a much more terrible situation than I thought." King Draco dragged his daughter out of the room. "We'll be rectifying whatever it is that's happening to you. I'll call all the healers to come and fix you."

Rowena protested. "I don't need to be fixed"

King Draco grabbed her face tightly, squeezing it painfully. "Listen here, you insolent brat, if you want to have a better life then you need to follow"

Rowena tried to kick him and he caught her leg with his other hand.

"Must you really disobey me?" King Draco said. "Are you demented or possessed? This is disappointing, either wayyou're going to be the wife that this Raphael will like or I'll make your life a living h.e.l.l."

The expression on Rowena's face turned into horror.

"No!"

"Yes. It'll be the last thing you'll doyou've already given me enough trouble in raising you, finding you when you ran away, and now that you're about to marry a G.o.d you continue to kick up a fuss? You're ridiculous." King Draco spat.

"Me? You've deceived me!" Rowena cried out.

"No. You're an ungrateful child who didn't see how much I've sacrificed for you. Perhaps you need some reminders?"

Rowena was thrown back into the original tower she stayed in as a child, King Draco locked the door behind her.

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__________________________

From Missrealitybites:

I am sorry for not updating my books over the past few days. I have been feeling exhausted and uninspired. Now that covid is almost behind us, conferences are starting to open and I am getting more interpreting gigs. Writing doesn't pay nearly as good as months ago, so I can't prioritize writing over my interpreting work (which puts food on the table for my kids).

It doesn't help that "The Cursed Prince" is stolen by a company called Pocket FM which turned it into an audiobook without my cons

ent and makes a profit from it. What's worse, they slaps another person's name on the story as the author and didn't bother giving me credit as the author.

I mean, even pirates who stole my works still gave me the credit XD. Well, it sucks. WN doesn't help and only asked me to file a complaint on my own, which I don't have the time for. So, I guess, the thief will win this time.

Anyway... I still plan to end Harlow's story as soon as possible, but apologies, it might not be as fast as I wanted it to be. I am currently very busy and swamped with work. I will also lower all the privilege tiers for both books (TCP and TKW) starting next month since my update will not be regular as before.