King Solomon didn’t expect that Esralda would refuse to be his woman. He had already made the arrangents. He planned on letting her stay in the Lotus Pavilion as his secret woman.
He didn’t want to stop his affair with Esralda. He was so in love with her that he couldn’t let her go.
King Solomon had been depressed by Esralda’s rejection. As ti went by of not seeing her, he felt as though he was going crazy. His longing for her grew each day.
He tried visiting her in the servant quarters but Esralda refused to see him. She had been avoiding him ever since he revealed his real identity.
"Zaldy, I can no longer endure this! I’m going crazy without seeing her." King Solomon confided his feelings to his loyal servant.
"I can’t get her out of my mind. I keep thinking about her. What did I do wrong? Why is she making things hard for ? She is just a re servant! How could she reject ? I’m the King of Averion!" King Solomon lanted, unable to accept her rejection.
"Is she hoping that I will make her my Queen?" He slamd the table with his fists.
Zaldy took a deep sigh. "Your Majesty, I don’t think she wants to be a queen. I’ve talked to her several tis and her decision is firm. She wished for your happiness with your family. Please forget about her."
"She already made her decision," Zaldy added.
Deep inside, Zaldy admired Esralda for choosing the right thing. Though she loved King Solomon, she decided to let him go because their love was forbidden. She wasn’t tempted by the king’s extravagant offer. She chose to live freely with a clear conscience.
However, King Solomon was stubborn enough to understand Esralda’s feelings. He refused to think from her perspective. He was the one who was making things difficult for Esralda.
"No! I will let her know that I’m the King and she can’t defy . I’ll get what I want! I want her!" King Solomon declared, clenching his fists.
Zaldy looked at him worriedly. ’If he keeps acting like this, he will just end up hurting her further. He must respect Es’s decision.’
The servant could only sigh deeply as he shook his head helplessly.
The next day, King Solomon gave his command to make Esralda suffer. He thought if the other servants began bullying her again and dumping her with so many household chores, she would co to him and beg him to accept her again as his woman.
King Solomon tried to punish her with this thod, hoping she would finally give in to him. However, one month passed, Esralda continued avoiding him while enduring the maltreatnt she received from the people inside the palace.
And one day...
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Es collapsed from too much exhaustion. She fell ill!" Zaldy urgently inford King Solomon.
"What?! Where is she?! Bring to her!" King Solomon couldn’t hide his concern for Esralda.
He imdiately visited her in her quarters as he disguised himself as a servant. That was when King Solomon realized that she lost so much weight with her poor health.
The cheerful woman he had known was gone. She was like a withered flower lying on the bed. He started to regret his actions.
He kneeled by her bed, his eyes filled with remorse and guilt as he looked at her poor state.
He held her hand and called out her na. "Es..."
Hearing his familiar voice, Esralda forced herself to open her eyes and looked at the man. She smiled faintly upon eting his worried gaze.
"Why are you stubborn? If you need help, you can always co to ," King Solomon said, gripping her hand tightly. "Why did you let yourself suffer?"
’Because I want to forget you... I endured everything, hoping I could finally forget my Cristoff. I deliberately occupied myself with so much work. And I never complained because this is my way of coping to nd my broken heart. But still... I miss you.’ Esralda thought to herself. She didn’t want to voice it out to him.
Her gaze lingered on his face for a long mont. She didn’t say a word. She chose silence.
"I can no longer stand this. Whether you like it or not, I’m taking you to the Lotus Pavilion. You will need to recuperate and recover quickly," King Solomon stated firmly.
But Esralda shook her head vehently.
"Please, let go. Just forget about . Allow to live quietly and peacefully here."
"This is my command as your king. You can’t defy . I order you to stay in Lotus Pavilion and recover your health! You must stay healthy!" King Solomon had made up his mind. He would bring her to Lotus Pavilion even if it was by force!
Esralda was too weak to argue with him further. She slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
King Solomon beca true to his words. On the sa night, he brought Esralda to Lotus Pavilion. And he stayed by her side the whole night, just taking care of her.
He lay on the bed, cuddling Esralda’s frail figure. Her complexion was pale and her body was burning up because of the fever.
Though Esralda was in poor health, King Solomon grabbed this chance to be with her. At least, she didn’t have the strength and energy to push him away at that mont.
"I missed hugging you like this," King Solomon mumbled as he pulled her closer to his body.
He watched over her, imprinting her beautiful face in his mind. He had to admit that Esralda was the most beautiful woman he had ever t in his entire life.
However, he didn’t fall in love with her just because of her beauty. She possessed a lot of good qualities as a woman.
"How I wish I t you sooner..." He murmured, gently caressing her face.
"Forgive , Es. I will do things against your will because I can’t give you up. I promise... I will make you happy and protect you."
Reviews
All reviews (0)