The music swelled as Iyana and Easton joined the waltzing couples, the firelight casting a warm, almost deceptive glow over their figures. The elegant rhythm of the dance did little to quell the unease gnawing at Iyana's thoughts.
As they moved in sync, Iyana broke the silence, her voice edged with quiet tension. "Where have you been, Your Imperial Highness? You have been absent since yesterday."
Easton t her gaze, and for a brief mont, an apology flickered in his eyes. "I apologize for my abrupt departure. Urgent matters required my attention in the capital—things that couldn't be delayed."
Iyana scrutinized his expression, searching for the truth beneath his words. She was kind of glad neither of them were wearing masks. "So urgent that you couldn't send a single word? You vanished without a trace."
His grip on her hand tightened subtly, but the practiced smile remained on his face. "Sorry, I never intended to worry you. I know I should have kept you inford, but I didn't want to burden you with such matters."
"That's what you always do—take all the burdens on your shoulder all alone," she replied, her tone softening despite herself. "Anyway, what brings you back so suddenly?"
Easton's gaze darkened, sothing unreadable passing through his eyes. "There is sothing I need to tell you, Iyana. Sothing I should have tried to convey with words from the beginning."
"What is it?" she asked, her curiosity now tinged with a wary anticipation.
They danced in silence for a few beats, the music and laughter around them fading into the background.
"Iyana, I love you," he finally uttered, his voice betraying the vulnerability he rarely showed.
Iyana's heart dropped into a pit in her stomach, her response slipping out as an involuntary, muted "Oh."
Easton's smile turned wistful, as if he had rehearsed this mont countless tis in his mind. "I know I have danced around my feelings, expecting you to understand without saying it outright. I truly regret that."
He thought, with a trace of bitterness, how often one realizes the value of soone only when they truly were on the verge of losing them.
"And I also know that from the start, you weren't really for or against our marriage." He had assud that having her would be enough, that he could make her happy over ti. That was why he had convinced himself to be fine with her indifference. "But I can tell that as ti went on, you leaned more and more towards against. I am sorry I pretended not to notice."
"Your Imperial Highness," Iyana began, her voice faltering as she searched for the right words, "why are you telling this now?"
"It's just…" His voice wavered,the emotions he struggled to keep in check spilling out a little. "There are so many things I wish I could redo from the start, so many regrets in every little decision I made." He took a sharp breath and t her gaze, his eyes searching hers for any sign of hope. "But none of that matters now. All I have is the present and the future."
Iyana remained silent, her unreadable eyes fixed on him as she listened intently.
"Look, there is a lot at stake right now, sothing big coming up that I can't ignore. But there is only one thing I need to know before I decide whether to keep holding on or not," Easton continued, his voice clear and resolute. "Iyana, do you want to marry ?"
For the first ti, Easton asked her what she wanted. Not what was expected, not what was imposed, but what she truly wanted.
Until now, their engagent had been a decision forced upon Iyana, leaving her no choice but to comply. As a citizen of Haynes, she could hardly defy the imperial family, especially after being pawned off by her own.
Iyana didn't look away from him, a subtle, bittersweet smile tugging at her lips. "You know, if you had asked that a month ago, my answer might have been different."
It would have been easier to marry Easton, even without love, but now that her heart belonged to soone else, how could she do that to him?
Easton's smile tightened, barely masking the thousand painful emotions swirling within him. He had expected her response, but that didn't soften the blow.
"But right now, with the way I feel, I am sorry, I can't," she said, her voice sincere and filled with regret. "I cannot marry you, Easton."
"I understand," he managed to say, forcing himself to maintain his usual neutral expression. "It's… remarkable how this is the first ti you have used my na since losing your mories."
"I am sorry."
"You don't have to keep apologizing," he replied, his tone gentle yet strained. "I just wonder… if things would have been different between us if you hadn't lost your mories. Maybe our friendship from back then could have helped our relationship a little."
As her rejection sank in, Easton's heart ached painfully. He knew the consequences of the situation he was in. Princess Maria had escaped, and as soon as his father found out about it, his engagent to Iyana would be over. His father had given him one last chance, playing along with his whims, but this was it. His last chance was lost.
The thought of losing Iyana, of her never being his, gnawed at him relentlessly. He had never been denied anything in his life, and when he first told his father that Iyana was the only one he would marry, his father had agreed without hesitation.
But after countless troubles and mishaps with House Estelle, even as his father turned against the marriage, Easton remained resolute. She was his true love—how could he let go? How could he let go of the one person he wanted more than anything else?
Even now, a small part of him had clung to the hope of a different answer from her.
But as she repeated, "I am sorry," once more, she hamred ho that his first love wouldn't co true in this lifeti.
For a mont, he stood there, his hand still holding hers, the weight of everything unsaid hanging heavily between them. The pain was sharp, like a knife twisting in his heart, but he forced himself to maintain his composure, to keep the mask he had worn so well all these years.
He was the Crown Prince of Haynes, after all. People like him had no right to be emotional or prioritize love. His first and foremost duty should be towards the empire, not her.
How extrely foolish of him to think he could prioritize both when he had miserably failed in doing either.
Easton's gaze lingered on her, taking in the subtle sadness in her eyes, the way her lips curved in that bittersweet smile.
Oh, lord, how am I supposed to ever let her go even after all this—even after she has rejected ? How could I walk away knowing that she would never be mine?
The temptation to close the distance between them, to kiss her one last ti, flickered in his mind.
But as he looked into her eyes—searching for soone else—Easton realized that doing so wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't make her love him, wouldn't erase the words she had just spoken. All it would do was leave them both with another mory tinged with regret.
So, instead of giving in to that fleeting impulse, he gently released her hand, his fingers brushing against hers one last ti as if morizing the feel of her skin.
His voice, when he finally spoke, was quieter, tinged with a sadness that he could no longer hide. "Iyana," he said softly, "I truly wish things could have been different between us. I wish maybe we could be together in another lifeti."
He took a small step back, giving her space, even as every fiber of his being scread to pull her closer. But he knew better. Easton had always been the one who kept his emotions tightly controlled, and he wouldn't let them spill out now—not when it could only cause more pain.
"Goodbye," with that, Easton turned away and vowed to never falter again.
He would now dedicate himself entirely to his first and foremost duty, sothing he should have done from the first. Maybe that would have spared him the excruciating heartbreak.
But as he walked away, there was soone standing in the corner of the ball who gasped, covering her mouth.
"Oh, my fucking God, there was supposed to be a kiss between the main leads," she muttered under her breath in shock. "How the hell did the story plot line change like this?"
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