Betrothed To The King

Chapter9

"My Queen, are you okay?” a guard rushed in and hurried toward me, panic clear in his voice. He must have heard the sound of the breaking cup.

Sage rushed in almost immediately after him, looking completely terrified.

“I am so sorry, my Queen. I totally forgot to take the cup away. The King will kill me!” she panicked as the guard knelt down and began picking up the broken pieces of the cup.

“My Queen, you’re bleeding!” she yelled in shock, fear filling her voice as she stared at my wounded legs.

“I will quickly go get the aid box before the King notices this,” the guard said and hurried out before I could say a word.

“My Queen, I am so sorry for my carelessness. I am ready to be punished. Just please forgive me,” Sage cried as I sighed heavily.

“There is nothing serious here. It’s just a small cut that doesn’t hurt much,” I said, frustrated by all the attention.

This kind of cut never freaked commoners like me out. We would literally lick the blood off and be done with it, but here they were, panicking as if I had fallen from a high mountain.

The King walked in quietly and his eyes immediately landed on my bleeding legs. I was about to hide them, but there was no point anymore.

I could see the fear in Sage’s eyes as she dropped to her knees. She was definitely going to be punished, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to help her.

“My Queen, here is the aid bo…” the guard froze at the sight of the King and quickly bowed. He was equally in trouble for standing outside my door.

I wished I could help them, but the anger burning in the King’s eyes sent shivers down my spine. A heavy lump formed in my throat, making me swallow hard.

“What happened to her?” he asked coldly.

“It’s ju… just a small cut. It doesn’t hurt at all. I mistakenly hit my legs on…”

“Shut up, woman. I didn’t ask you!” he yelled as I cringed in fear. Why was he so angry over such a minor cut?

“Sage, I assigned you to take care of her, and this is the best you can do? What made you leave the cup here?” he shouted, staring down at Sage, who was shaking uncontrollably.

“I am so sorry, my King. Prince Ray…”

“There is no need to explain, Sage. I assigned you to take care of my wife as the best maid in this palace, and you start by giving her a wound? You are definitely getting punished,” he said coldly before turning to the guard.

He said the word wife with so much authority, as if he owned me. And yes, he did own me, whether I liked it or not. I had to accept him, just as his brother had advised.

“Brooke, I least expected this from you,” the King said coldly, looking at the silent guard. His gaze drifted back to Sage and then to me. “Guards!” he called as three guards hurried into the room.

I expected Sage and the guard to beg and cry, but they didn’t. They simply bowed quietly, as if they were already used to being punished.

“Take them both to the stable. Make sure they clean everything and leave the place spotless,” the King ordered as the guards led them away without hesitation or resistance.

Cleaning the stable was no easy punishment. It was disgusting work, cleaning animal waste and all the mess they made, especially the horses. I was sure the task would be exhausting, considering how many horses the castle owned.

I was left alone with the ladies’ man, just the two of us in my room. The thought alone sent shivers through my body. I felt like I was choking on my own nervousness.

The way he stared at me was terrifying. I could almost see myself shrinking away from the spot where I stood.

He sat on the blue couch calmly and crossed his legs.

“Ouch, my ball… my ball!” he suddenly yelled as I moved to stand from the bed. “Never mind, just kidding,” he added with a soft giggle.

How could someone giggle without any expression on his face? That was exactly what he did, and his strange behavior scared me even more. It wouldn’t be good if the King got hurt or died in my room. Zinnia would never stop using it against me.

“Seems like you love me already,” he said as I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

“You wish,” I thought to myself as I kept staring at him, thoughts of how to get rid of him racing through my mind.

“Wait, you don’t love me?” he asked, raising his brows. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or simply playing with me, but one thing was certain. I was terrified of what might happen next. King Archer was not someone to joke with.

“I don’t love you,” I found myself saying, as if I had lost my mind for a few seconds. Realizing what I had said, I quickly covered my mouth with my palms, terrified of his reaction.

“Oh wow, I must say I married a brave woman,” he said with a slight smile that never reached his eyes. “Well, I don’t expect you to love me anyway. You are more than a wife to me, Pearl. You are my submissive. I married you so you would submit to me whenever I want, and that is exactly what you are to me,” he said with full authority as I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.

“Why do you think I warned all my wives not to get pregnant? Babies won’t only make me responsible, they will also take full rights over what belongs to me. I will have to share you with them,” he added.

That was the dumbest thing I had ever heard in my life. Who even speaks about children like that? Definitely King Archer. He respected no one.

“But you, Pearl, ruined everything by getting pregnant. You defied my rules,” he yelled angrily as his veins popped. I could see him fighting the urge to stand up and hurt me as he kept rising slightly and sitting back down. “But I am not angry anymore. You have won, and I have no choice but to accept defeat, right?” he said, leaning back on the couch and smiling without warmth.

I was shivering badly, sweating as if I had run a long race. I needed air. This man wasn’t giving me space to breathe or think straight. He was suffocating me with fear.

“You might be wondering why I suddenly decided to let you keep the baby, right?” he said as I nodded slowly.

Indeed, I wanted to know his reason. None of his wives were allowed to get pregnant, and the rule was enforced strictly. Knowing who he truly was made me curious as to why he spared me.

“As you can see, I respect my sick father’s wishes deeply. He seemed to prefer you over all the women I married for some reason, and I think I know why,” he paused, running his fingers through his hair and rubbing his palms together. His sudden calmness confused me even more.

“You know, you are the only woman my father genuinely chose for me. The rest are married to me because I found them lustfully attractive or because they offered more power, like Zinnia. I found her at a party, and her body drew me to her. My father patiently waited for you to recover so we could get married, and I am sure he made me sleep with you because he wanted a child, and he wanted it from you. So, as a good son, I decided to keep you. Maybe that will help him recover faster,” he said with a sigh.

At least I would escape intimacy until after childbirth. What could be better than that?

“My father might see you as a perfect match for me,” he scoffed, “but I see you as nothing more than my young, sexy submissive with the perfect body, a nice bum and breasts, mouthwatering lips, and to sum it all up, your red hair. You are everything I want in a woman,” he said as he gazed at my body lustfully. The way he looked at me made me feel filthy.

I remembered Zinnia saying that the King hated red-haired women. I had believed her, thinking I was safe from his desires, but here he was, admiring every part of me. I should never have trusted her.

“And if you think being pregnant will keep you far from my bed,” he clicked his tongue, “you are very wrong, because I will not hesitate to take you the way I want.”

My throat went dry at the sound of his voice.

Just when I thought I had escaped again, he was planning something even worse.