Then You Look At Me

Chapter 23

That night the King received a sudden visit from the mysterious man from the shadows. Their meeting was brief but when the King learned what have been said in the dungeons, it finally pushed him to the edge. He ordered the mysterious man to proceed with the suggested plan and had him sworn to secrecy.

When the man left, the King went straight to the person he highly suspect of having something to do with what happened at the dungeon.

The Queen was taken aback when her bedroom door was kicked open. Upon seeing the look of rage in her husband’s face, she suddenly felt cold with fear.

“So this is the way we open doors now, my King?” the Queen asked with a calm voice but with heart racing.

The King never said a word but kept staring at his wife. His beautiful Queen who doesn’t love him back and never forgave him for something he did a long time ago.

“Your son really hates me so much that he will do everything to spite me! Or do you really also hate me so much that you will do everything to hurt me too? Have I not tried all these years to prove to you that I’m also worthy of your love?” the King asked with a trembling voice.

The Queen was surprised at her husband’s questions because for as long as she can remember, they both avoided one major sensitive topic.

She looked at the King and shook her head…

“Why are you asking me these?”

The King sat down as if he was suddenly drained of strength. He continued to look down at the floor and remained silent. When he still didn’t say a word, the Queen asked him again.

“What has happened for you to ask me these questions?”

Her husband finally lifted his head and looked at her with such longing and love. The pain reflected in his eyes was enough to force his wife to look away.

“Since that day, you’ve decided to hate me with every fiber of your being. And not only that, you also made sure that our son will hate me too. How long will you keep on hating me?” the King asked.

The Queen’s face started to look pale when her memories of that fateful day came rushing. The anger she felt for the King didn’t diminish over time. How she will ever forgive him…she honestly doesn’t know.

“You took away everything from me that day. My happiness...my freedom…my one true love. And you wonder why I still hate you after all these years?” the Queen cried.

As soon as the tears started and the floodgate of emotions has been opened, she found it hard to stop. The accusations and the heart ache over the years started to flow…

“I will keep on hating you for as long as I live! I will keep on hating you for who you are and for what you took from me! It’s Ethan who should be beside me today and not you! I hate you! I will always hate you!”

The King heard enough and he suddenly stood up and raised his voice. With tears streaming down his face, he finally told his wife the truth…

“He didn’t love you!”

The words of admission have shocked the Queen into silence. But after a while, she has recovered and the anger returned…

“You lie! You always do. You will resort to destroying his memory by telling me lies!”

The King walked towards his wife and was about to say something when she slapped him hard on the cheek. When he didn’t react, she hit him again on the other side of his face. She kept hitting him again and again until she stopped. That’s the time the King locked his wife in his arms in a tight embrace. Both were crying while the King tried to explain again.