Deviating from the original plot

Chapter sixty-six

"What was the meaning of that performance?" The queen hissed once they were alone, her voice cutting like steel. "I told you to rectify your mistake, yet you did the opposite."

Cassius met her glare without flinching. "You can't dictate my every move anymore. I am tired of bending to your will. Nothing I do ever satisfies you."

Her lips curled, her tone sharp with disbelief. "So you dare humiliate me before the court?"

A deeper voice came. "Must you always be so harsh with everyone around you?"

The queen stiffened, whirling to see the emperor. Her eyes narrowed. "You knew."

"I did," he admitted, unruffled. "Cassius came to me, discontent with the match you arranged. In our discussion, he confessed there is another woman he has admired for some time, someone he wishes at his side as crown princess."

The queen's jaw tightened. "So the two of you conspired behind my back."

"Don't act wounded, as though you care for anyone beyond yourself," Cassius cut in coldly. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I've said my piece. I must begin preparations." He gave a perfunctory bow and left without another glance.

The queen's chest heaved, but the emperor only leaned against the table, watching her with amused detachment. "Can you truly blame him? He will be emperor, and an emperor should have what he desires. Why deny him the woman he fancies?"

She snapped. "That same selfishness, that entitlement and arrogance, it came from you. Neither of you spare a thought for the hearts you trample. It disgusts me."

She turned to leave, but his hand shot out, gripping her wrist, yanking her back with force that made her stumble.

"Don't sulk like a child," he murmured, leaning close, his breath brushing her ear. "If you had only cooperated instead of defying me at every turn, things would not be so difficult for you. I would have made you Empress. Your word could have been law. But you chose to rebel."

He shoved her against the wall, the air knocked from her.

He chuckled, leaning in with a cold, amused smile. "You're lucky I find you...adorable," he said. "I could have had you sequestered in one of my rooms, no duties, only to sit pretty and wait for me while I came and went as I pleased. Perhaps then you'd finally be perfect. It seems I've been too merciful by allowing you some dignity."

The queen's eyes flashed with anger. She freed an elbow and shoved him hard enough to stagger him back. Her voice went ice-cold.

"Touch me again and you will regret it before dawn," she said.

He smirked, as if amused by her statement, but the amusement died in his eyes when hers met his without flinching. Then the queen turned on her heel and walked away.

"Always fighting," he whispered before turning away as well.

✦ ✦

"How disappointing!" the Duke thundered, his voice echoing against the panelled walls of his study. He slammed his fist onto the desk, making Celeste flinch. "You couldn't even hold the Crown Prince's attention. Tell me, then, what use are you?"

Celeste's hands clenched at her sides, her voice tight but steady. "Perhaps it's for the best. The Crown Prince isn't worth the price of my dignity."

The Duke's eyes blazed, his lip curling in disgust. "Pathetic. Justifying your failure will not change it. You had one duty, one chance to secure this family's future. And you squandered it."

Celeste's hands tightened at her sides, nails digging into her palms. "You speak as if I alone bear the blame. He was the one who cast me aside. He humiliated me!"