"All of the noble ladies, aged 18-20, and all of the noble lords, aged 18-25, are invited to attend a betrothal celebration. On the first night, a masquerade ball shall take place, so you know not what the other person looks like. This is to keep th...
But Damien's reaction was of surprise, guilt, and sorrow. He knew I wouldn't be forgiving him for this; it was etched in the grief on his face.
"Emray-" he started, but I interrupted him with a glare as I struggled to regain my footing and stand up straight.
"No," I finally said, my face stony, not betraying any hint of the emotions that were whirling around in my head, "you don't have the right to talk to me like that. I am Lady Evergreen to you, Your Highness. And don't worry about that date today. It's cancelled; much like our relationship."
I turned on my heel, my high heels in hand, and walked down the corridor back to my room. I was proud of myself for not turning around when Damien called for me, and even prouder of myself for not breaking down until I entered my room, all physical sickness replaced with heartache and pain.
So much pain.
I guess he could fake it.
~o0o~
It wasn't until I had striped off my day dress and petticoat, replacing them with my nightgown, that I realized I had left my piece of cloth at the door to that room when I fell down. I didn't care, however. Hopefully Damien held it up to his face and caught whatever I had. There was only one more day of this betrothal celebration; if he got sick I could go home without confrontation.
I climbed into bed and placed the cold compress back onto my head. When I was done with that, I let the tears wash the world away.
How could Damien do this to me? I thought everything was going well; and I wasn't even against the prospect of marrying him once upon a time.
Now I was counting down the days until I could leave.
There was some knocking on my door, but I wasn't about to get up and open it. I was done disobeying Tyra's orders. Not listening to Tyra caused my heart to brake. But maybe it was for the best. After I got over this, I could move on to a man that would be loyal and kind to only me.
The knocking stopped, and I heard Damien's voice call through the door, "Meet me in the gardens tonight. You don't know what you saw today, Emray. I really, really like you. Meet me in the gardens tomorrow. You won't regret it." I heard his footsteps recede down the corridor, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
It was a good thing I was sick, because otherwise I might go and punch Damien. Hard.
A couple minutes later, Tyra walked in with some soup and another compress. She set the ice water gently on my head and then set the soup down on my bedside table. After Tyra was done taking care of me, she left me in the room by myself.
I borrowed deeper underneath my blankets, feeling the fever reach a new high, but I didn't care. If I came out of my safe and comfortable borrow, not only would I be freezing, but I would be vulnerable.
Vulnerable to my raging river of regret and despair and utter sadness of feelings. I knew at some point that this would dissolve into rage and anger, but for now, I slid fully underneath the blankets and disappeared into the pitch black surroundings of the underside of my covers and the all consuming sadness I was feeling.
And I fell into a feverish sleep.
~o0o~
I don't know when I woke up from my horrid dreams. Sometime between Amelia's echoing giggles and Damien's pleads for me to met him in the gardens.
"Emray, please! Wake up!" Leta said, shaking me awake, and as I became more aware, I felt myself shaking and sobbing.
"What's wrong?" Tyra's worried face was right next to Leta's and I flushed with shame and heat. I didn't want to worry Leta and Tyra like this, but I couldn't control the sob that escaped me as I came out of my bed borrow.
"S-s-sorry," I stuttered, "I don't know what's wrong with me."
But that was a lie. And I didn't know if I could ever forget what Damien did to me.
~o0o~
What hurt even worse than the sting of rejection and relentless feelings were the things that I could hear when I was sick. Amelia's giggles coming down the hall and Damien's deep sigh. It seemed that he was happy with her, after all.
No matter to me! I got out of bed and made myself another cold press. Maybe that whole thing with Damien was a lie. Surely it was.
A small note slipped under the door. It wasn't mail; it didn't have a seal. Picking it up, I squinted at the tiny writing and nearly cried.
It's fine that you don't forgive me. It's fine. That part doesn't disappoint me nearly as much as the fact that you didn't even come and hear me out. Sorry, Emray. There's nothing else to say. Prince Damien Lovette
~o0o~
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Word Count: 1687
Hey, hey, hey! Sorry for the shorter chapter, but I'm well over the 14k word mark and the last chapter was looonnngggg. So thank you for reading. The banner is made by me, so there aren't going to be any credits for that so what's next?... Oh yeah! Thank you for all the comments, votes, and reads, they mean a lot. And if you want a hint as to Emray and Damien's future relationship, look at the cursive quote on the banner. Hehehehehe.
Love y'all, thank you for waiting for this chapter :) ~happyperson081
