The Vindication Gents

Chapter 1.31

Kathleen Remes’ POV

All of my life, I have been pointed out to be who I was, what I have to wear, how to be graceful and all the other etiquette that I knew I was not fond of. Unlike my sister. I was born to be wild and all I could think was that I wanted to strip off my title and just live in the woods.

But of course, my father, King Aaron Remes of Finland, has another decision for the course of my life. For this one moment, I wanted to get out and I hoped that he would agree with me.

“No? Did you know what you are denying yourself, Kathleen Aurora Remes?!” He said my full name and now I knew that he was pissed off. I was looking at Kai as I knew I could never take him with me to this low.

“I will give my crown to Katherine. I know she would make a fine Queen but you have to make sure that Kai will be the King, he is the right choice for you,” I said that statement, ignoring all the heartache in my heart right now.

“What do you mean?” My father was confused about that. I looked at him before I made my face to be as stoic as possible.

“You forced him to marry me, even though he never knew me, and now, he has stuck with me for almost two months. I have tested him on everything that the King needed to be handled and believe me, father, when I say this, Kai will be the king and Katherine will be his Queen of the throne,” I said. My heart still beat but it had died for a moment after I said that statement.

“Kathleen—“

“Kai, I know that you don’t want to be King and all, but believe me, it was for the best of us all. Father, I will annul my marriage to Kai and Katherine will take my place immediately,” I said as I looked at them before I went out of the room. I cannot bear to look at Kai’s face as I knew that he still had feelings for my sister. He would have been so glad that I was letting him go.

“If you excuse me, I will retire now,” I said before I was mildly running toward the door. Kai was saying something to my father before he called after me.

“Kathleen!” he shouted as I was running to our quarters. I can barely hold my dam right now. And with him hot on my tail.

“Leave me. I know you would be glad to go to her,” I said as I was trying to make my voice stoic as ever and I was not running anymore. I sucked the tears and faced him. He was breathing heavily when he stopped in front of me.

“Is this what you want?” Kai asked me. I looked into his sea-green eyes and answered him.

“Yes,” I replied. Kai looked at me for a moment before he continued to speak.

“Will you be willing to let me go?” He asked. Can I? Deep down, I knew that I would never let him out of my arms, but knowing that his feelings were clearly for someone else, why should I be holding it against his will?

“Yes,”

“Is this your decision?” He asked me again. I inhaled a deep breath before I replied.

“Yes,”

He was looking at me for a moment before he nodded.

“Very well, I will let my lawyer get the contract for you in the morning,” he said before he left me in the bedroom as he went out of our quarters. I was holding my breath when I heard the door closed and then, for the first time, I cried to myself at that very spot where Kai had left me.

The next day, he did not come. He sent his lawyer and he had instructed me to sign when it was necessary to annul the marriage.

“Mr. Virtanen has set up alimony—“

“It’s fine, I don’t need it,” I said as I closed my pen after I signed the damn divorce paper.

“But, he instructed me to—“

“And I said that I didn’t need anything from him. I can survive without his generosity. If that’s all, you will be escorted to the lobby,” I signaled to my servant as she came to me and curtsied. The lawyer sighed as he looked at me.

“Very well, Your Highness,” he said as he bowed to me. I bowed to him slightly before he was getting out of the room. I had done some of my packing but I hid it away. I didn’t want people to know that I was planning on running away and this time, on my own, a knock interrupted me from my thoughts as I saw who it was, Katherine.

“Are you busy? Can I talk to you for a minute?” She said as she opened the door a bit. I nodded at her as she ushered in and closed the door behind her before she went to take a seat in front of me. I had just finished some tea with the lawyer but there were leftovers.

“Tea?” I asked her. She shook her head.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” I asked her as I was looking at the leftovers. I feel slightly hungry these days.

“Do you have to annul your marriage to Kai?” She asked me. I looked at her before I nodded.

“Yeah, I just signed the papers just now before you came in,” I said casually. She was looking at me like trying to get a read.

“I don’t understand why,” she finally said. I was about to sip some tea before I sighed as I put the cup down.

“I cannot hold him with me. He did not love me, he loves you,” I said truthfully as I looked at her. Her face lightened up a bit. I tried to overcome the ache in my heart.

“And the throne do you refuse?” She asked me again. I arched my eyebrows at her.

“Do you want to know or do you just want to rub it in my face?” I asked her. She shrugged.

“I guess I was curious as to why you abdicate it,” she said quietly. So, she was honest in asking me.

“Well, I can never see myself being pushed around and making decisions and running around to meet another royal family. You know I just wanted to do my things from when we were small,” I said as I smiled at the memory. Katherine also smiled as she remembered it.

“Yeah, and you would always sneak around the castle to piss father off,” she said. I laughed at that memory.

“Yeah, good old days I suppose,” I said as I was looking at my cup. I smiled before it faded from my lips.

“Thank you,” Katherine finally said that word. I looked at her and I was surprised to hear that.

“Whatever for?” I asked her. She shrugged.

“I guess for everything. You always put my needs first before yours and you even tried to make yourself like me,” she said as she looked at my faded black hair.

“Well, I guess I just wanted to be like my sister, I suppose,” I said as I was trying to hide my regret. Now, I know that I should never stand in her shadow again.

“And I’m sorry for being such a b***h to you 5 years ago,” she said as I looked at her. She was looking at the ground.

“Nah, that's old news. It’s not like I will hate you for that,” I said.

“Well, aren’t you?” She asked me. I arched my eyebrows.

“You’re still breathing, aren’t you?” I asked her before she knew what I was implying to her.

“Then, I guess it’s—“

“I love to stay and chat but I have some things to do. Some arrangement that needs to be made,” I said as I got out of the seat. She stood up as well. We were standing there awkwardly for a moment before my sister drew me into a hug.

“Thank you for being kind to me,” she whispered to me as she drew me into the hug. I was standing awkwardly as I didn’t know what to do with my hands. Then, she released me.

“Well, have a good rest. I will see you at dinner,” she said as she went out of the door. I waved at her before I released the breath that I didn’t even know that I was holding.

“I don’t think I would be around for dinner,” I said as I looked under my bed, knowing that my backpack was almost ready for my departure.

In the evening, I told my family that I felt a bit under the weather. All I had to do was to run my nose, and I put some onions in my armpits and the magic was done. The maid sent a tray of dinner to my room which I packed into the zip-lock for my journey later. I told the maid to attend to the fire as I was feeling cold and without Kai to warm my bed anymore, I just looked at my left side. It felt empty just like my heart.

It was almost midnight when I decided to do my course of action. I will be gone for a very long time. I looked up in my journal, there was this place that my mother used to tell me about. I closed my eyes as that memory was still vivid in my mind.

“In the high mountains, there was to believe that there was a family, hiding from the monsters before there was the civilization of mankind,” she told me and my sister that story every night.

“People will go there to make amends or to redeem themselves, but if you were not worthy enough, you will never find that place,” she said as she was tickling us before we went inside the duvet.

“And what if they do?” I asked her. She smiled at me.

“Then they will find their way into their hearts and their loved ones,” she said before she touched her forehead with me. I smiled before I snoozed off for the night.

I opened my eyes and went to put my backpack on. I looked at my bedroom one last time before I jumped from the window on the fourth floor.