The Courtesan

Chapter 51

ELAYNE

“My father… my mother…”

“Yes. Both of them ruined my life. After King Stanley died, I thought Mival would marry me. I only found out he married Moriah then. In the end, he tossed her aside too. In that big game, I was nothing more than a pawn. I was then and still am.”

Everything I knew about my life came crashing down. My father was kind. My mother was a little overbearing but she wasn’t…

“This is why I didn’t want to tell you. The whole reason I took care of you is because Greta asked me to.”

“Isn’t she your old friend? I thought you said you said you didn’t see her again?”

“Elayne, how did you escape from the palace when you found your family dead?”

“I…”

Back then, after seeing King Mival, I was frozen in fear. He would’ve definitely taken my head too but someone pulled me out of there and threw me outside the palace. I lived on the streets for a few more weeks before I heard about Andrella and went to live in the house.

“She saved you. Even after she was the biggest pawn in the whole game.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Greta was the one who assassinated your grandfather, King Stanley. Even when she did something like that, they erased every record of her and she became a fugitive. The last time I saw her was when she asked me to take care of you. Left to me, you don’t deserve anything from me.”

I didn’t. I really did not.

“The way you’re acting right now, you remind me of your father when he was acting out of noblesse oblige. He wanted to be the savior but in the end, he couldn’t even protect his own throne. And your mother, who thought herself better than everyone else, her end was pitiful too. Sacrificing everything you have for power isn’t always the way, Elayne. At least, I’ve learnt that the hard way.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“Leave Casella. You can return to your husband or just go start a new life somewhere. You’ve seen what that monster is capable of.”

I felt everything within me shake. It was hard to believe. Everything I held on to dearly, it was all a lie. Everything was fake. It felt putrid. It felt suffocating. It felt so awful…

“Elayne! Get a hold of yourself!”

“How… just how… my life… it’s…”

“I shouldn’t have told you. No amount of payment would have made me tell you. But you have to leave now. That’s why I invited him.”

“Who?”

“Your husband. I knew you would come back...”

“What?!”

“You have to go, Elayne…”

“No, I can’t go with him. Not with him…”

“Come out already. She’s giving me a headache!”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

There were a bunch of curtains around the room and one particularly hung behind Andrella. I wondered why she was standing and realized if she did, I would’ve noticed the human-like silhouette standing there.

“Ariana…”

“No… please, not you...”

“I’ve waited for you for so long. I can’t let you risk your life.”

“DO NOT TOUCH ME!”

Anything after that, I couldn’t remember. All I could remember was his defeated expression and the warm hands that lifted me off the floor.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a moving carriage. The cushion my head rested on was soft but it wasn’t a cushion. It was Kalvin’s lap. I closed my eyes back and wished I could just die at that moment.

“You can sleep for as long as you like.”

“How much longer will you mock me?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t need your apology. I don’t need anything from you. I just want you to forget me and move on. Is that too much to ask for?”

“I can’t leave you. Not like this.”

“I left you! I’m no longer a princess, I’m no longer pure, I’m no longer your wife! I don’t deserve you! Why can’t you just get that?!”

“Ariana, I think you’re the one who isn’t getting it.”

He lowered his head and his lips brushed against mine. I tensed, moving away from him. He sighed, running his hand through my hair.

“I liked it when it was white. Now, you just look like another person. I don’t like it. I don’t like what this place has done to you. You can’t stay here.”

“I can’t leave. I have to take care of him.”

“That prince? Now why would you want to do that?”

It was only for a moment but I felt a sliver of fear.

I was tired. Tired of cowering in fear. Tired of being tossed around by everyone.

“I will not leave with you unless you go back for him! If you don’t listen to me, I’ll kill myself.”

He sighed again. Like I thought, there was no way he would comply. I couldn’t leave, not now.

“I can’t take the child.”

“Why?”

“No matter how much he is hated by his father, he is still the king’s son. If word gets out that the prince was abducted by the Prince of Zerramond, it would be an excuse for that bastard to attack us. With the amount of power he has now, it would not be too hard for him.”

“So you want me to just leave him?”

“Ariana, I’m saying you can come back for him later. Right now, Casella is not a safe place for you. If anything happens, your life will be in danger.”

“Even with that, I’m still the princess…”

“You said it yourself, you’re no longer the princess. Or was that just an excuse to offset me?”

“What about your family? They will never accept me.”

“They don’t have to right away. Let’s leave first.”

“... Fine. But before we leave, we have to go to the Estate of the Duchess of Horps.”

“Alright. If we go there, will you follow me back?”

“I will.”

I felt bad for lying to him. I knew the Horps Estate better than him. I could escape him and stay under the radar until he has no other choice but to leave. He is a prince so he couldn’t stay for long.

“We’ll rest in front and then, we’ll go tomorrow. I hit you hard so I need you to rest. Please, lay back down.”

“I don’t want to sleep on your laps.”

“Even if you’ve changed your looks, I guess some things never changed. You never liked me touching you. Alright, I won’t touch you. But mark my words, I will make you fall in love with me.”

“You can try but I don’t think I will.”

All he did was laugh. Prince Kalvin terrifies me.