“You ran into Prince Kin? Where?” Ren asked, his eyes never leaving my face as he watched my every reaction.
“I t him...in the garden of the inner court...around my palace,” I replied honestly.
“So, you’re telling that you coincidentally t my brother in the gardens of my inner court? Is that correct?” Ren asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
“Yes...” I replied. It was the truth so what else could I say. However, now that Ren had repeated my statent to , it sounded very suspicious even to my own ears.
“I see. Tell , have you seen these things before?” Ren asked as he took out so items that were wrapped in silk cloth.
My eyes widened when I saw the items that he had just placed on the table in front of . They were all presents and letters from Prince Kin that he had sent to . How did Ren find these? Did he search my room?
“Yes. I’ve seen then before,” I replied, knowing full well what this must look like to Ren.
“Tell about them,” Ren commanded.
“These are the presents that Prince Kin sent to and the letters that ca along with it,” I explained simply.
“Why would Prince Kin send you these gifts?” Ren asked.
Like...honestly...how am I supposed to know?
“I’m not sure. He said that he wanted to know better because I might beco his sister-in-law,” I answered with what Prince Kin did in fact tell .
“Do you know the aning behind a man gifting a woman with clothes?” Ren asked, his eyes glancing over at the clothes on the mannequin and my eyes followed his gaze. I was beginning to get the general idea.
However, to be fair, how was I supposed to know that?
“I don’t know. From where I co from, there is no significance attached to gifting clothes...” I replied, honestly. It wasn’t like I was in a position to receive gifts from anyone back in my hotown, but I was sure that no such custom existed there.
“It ans that I want to hold you and that I desire to touch and caress your skin just like the silk of the fabric when you wear it. That is essentially what it ans,” Ren said, his mood darkening visibly to my eyes.
I had nothing to say to that as I stood there in shock. Honestly, I had no idea that there was such a aning behind that seemingly innocent gift. Seeing that I had nothing else to say for myself, Ren continued with his question while I wondered when all of this would co to an end.
“Did you reply to his letters or send any gifts to him?” Ren asked.
“I sent replies to his letter because I thought that it would be impolite not to reply. I never sent him any gifts though...” I replied, my voice sounding small.
“Did it ever occur to you that corresponding through letters with another man behind my back is beyond impolite?” Ren asked, his eyes staring at ruthlessly.
I bit my tongue. His words hurt...a lot.
“I’m sorry...Ren...” I whispered as I felt tears sting the back of my eyes. It did occur to that it might have been inappropriate, but I just didn’t know what I should have done.
“Next question. Did you go et Prince Kin alone at his palace of your own free will?” Ren asked, his tone flat and emotionless.
“Yes. As we had agreed, I did go to see him of my own free will. However, I honestly thought that Lady Mimi would be there with us and that it wouldn’t be just the two of us. He ntioned that in his letter to ,” I said, trying to explain my intentions.
“Is there any proof that you didn’t et Prince Kin willingly to do whatever it was that you were caught doing?” Ren asked, his eyes watching like a wild tiger watching its prey.
I considered his question and its hidden aning very carefully. Of course, there wasn’t any solid proof that I was being held there against my will. There were only my words to say that I didn’t like it when Prince Kin touched and that I was unwilling.
“No...I’m so sorry, Ren. Trust , Ren! I would never do anything like that with Prince Kin. He drugged and forced . I felt sick and I couldn’t control my body at all...please, you have to believe ,” I pleaded desperately as I felt tears trickling down my face.
I didn’t care if no one in this whole world believed , as long as Ren believes . All I need is for Ren to believe . I want him to believe that I didn’t betray him.
“Stop crying right now. You’re a grown woman now so please compose yourself,” Ren said, without showing any sympathy. It wasn’t like I deserved any from him.
I bit my lower lip as I wiped my tears away from my face with the long sleeve of my dress. My eyes stung and I found it hard to breath and speak. Taking in deep breaths, I tried my best to compose myself. After seeing that I had managed to control myself sowhat, Ren continued.
“You’ve been exchanging letters and gifts with Kin. He invited you to et him at his palace and you willingly agreed. Then you et him alone at his palace where you were later discovered with him laying on top of you. Do you have any idea what this looks like to an outsider?” Ren asked, his tone dead serious and so were his brown eyes as they stared directly at .
I knew exactly what it looks like even if it wasn’t true. However, I wouldn’t dare voice my thoughts to Ren.
Ren nodded his head as he watched my reaction to his words.
“A love affair. This whole thing looks exactly like a love affair,” Ren stated, answering his own question.
--To be continued...
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