THE QUEEN’S FORBIDDEN ROMANCE

Lila stood in front of the tall mirror in her bedroom and stared at herself. The dress was beautiful. White silk with tiny diamonds on the sleeves. Her hair was curled perfectly. Her makeup was flawless. Anyone who looked at her would say she was the luckiest woman in the world. But Lila didn’t feel lucky. She felt empty. She had been Queen Lila Moreau for two years now. Married at twenty-two to King Rafe Santoro. It was supposed to be the wedding of the century. Two kingdoms that had hated each other for generations were finally at peace because of her. Her father had told her she was doing something noble. Something important. She had believed him. Now she knew better. The king never touched her. Not once. Not even on their wedding night. He had kissed her cheek in front of the cameras, smiled for the photos, and then slept in a different room. Every single night since then, he slept somewhere else. Lila touched the mirror with her fingertips. “Why don’t you want me?” she whispered to her reflection. No answer came. She turned away and walked to the big window. Outside, the palace gardens were full of roses. Servants were trimming them. Guards were walking in straight lines. Everything looked perfect. But nothing felt real. She was twenty-four years old. She had never been kissed properly. Never been held like she mattered. Never felt a man’s hands on her body in a way that made her heart race. At night, when the lights were off, she would lie in her huge bed and cry quietly. She would press her face into the pillow so the maids wouldn’t hear. Sometimes she touched herself, biting her lip hard, trying to feel something. Anything. But it always left her feeling more alone afterward. She was a queen with everything, and she had nothing. Lila sat on the edge of her bed and looked at her flat stomach. She had always wanted children. Even as a little girl, she used to draw pictures of herself holding a baby. She wanted to be a mother more than anything. But how could she have a baby when her husband never came near her? People in the palace whispered. She heard them sometimes when they thought she wasn’t listening. “The king doesn’t like women.” “He only wants men.” “He can’t have children. That’s why he married her.” Lila hated the whispers. Not because they were mean, but because deep down she was scared they might be true. She remembered the day her father told her about the marriage. He had sat her down in his study and said, “This is your duty, Lila. You will bring peace to our kingdom. The king needs a wife. You will be that wife.” She had been scared, but she had said yes. She wanted to make her father proud. She wanted to be useful. Now she felt like a doll. A pretty doll that was put on display during the day and locked away at night. Sometimes she wondered if the king hated her. Other times she wondered if he even saw her as a real person. He was always polite. Always distant. He would ask her how her day was, but his eyes never really looked at her. It was like talking to a wall. Lila stood up and walked to her closet. She pulled out a simple blue dress and changed into it. The white one suddenly felt too heavy. Too fake. She sat at her desk and opened her phone. There were no messages from the king. There never were. Only messages from her father asking if everything was going well, and messages from the palace staff about events she had to attend. She put the phone down and sighed. Her body felt hot and restless. It had been like this for months. She would wake up in the middle of the night with her skin burning, her thighs pressed together, aching for something she couldn’t have. She was a woman with needs. Normal, human needs. But she had no one to help her with them. She had tried to talk to the king once. One night after dinner, when they were alone in the hallway, she had asked softly, “Do you… do you ever want to be close to me?” He had stopped walking. Looked at her for a long moment. Then he said, “You are a good queen, Lila. Let’s keep it that way.” And that was the end of it. She had gone back to her room and cried so hard she couldn’t breathe. Now, sitting at her desk, she felt that same ache in her chest. The kind that never really went away. She was trapped. Beautifully trapped. The palace was huge, but it felt like a cage. The dresses were expensive, but they felt like uniforms. The crown on her head was heavy, but it didn’t make her feel powerful. It made her feel small. Lila looked at the clock. It was almost dinner time. She would have to sit next to the king again, smiling for the cameras, pretending everything was fine. Pretending she wasn’t dying inside a little more every day. She stood up and smoothed her dress. “Just a little longer,” she told herself. “Maybe one day he’ll change. Maybe one day he’ll want me.” But even as she said the words, she didn’t believe them. Deep down, she knew the truth. This was her life now. Lonely,Cold, Empty. And she had no idea how to escape it. Little did she know, escape was coming. It would come in the form of one reckless text she should never have sent. And once she sent it, nothing would ever be the same again.