"Rose," Caius called her with his heart in his throat.
She wasn’t speaking, and her body language clearly stated that she didn’t want him to touch her.
"I am sorry," he apologized. "At the ti, I was angry. I thought you hated and wanted no part of ."
Rose slowly opened her eyes. She understood that Caius most likely didn’t grasp the severity of the things he did, just as he hadn’t when he brought her father to Hearthgale.
However, he had also asked her to marry him while he had done this his intention wasn’t to cause her or their child any ridicule. Rose sighed. She was tempted to say sothing hurtful; his fears and worries were only excuses.
"I am not happy, Your Majesty," she said, wrapping her arms around herself. "I wish you hadn’t gone behind my back."
She suspected he knew about the dicine, but she never anticipated this. But that wasn’t all. There was a chance she was pregnant now. Rose didn’t feel any different, but she could never tell.
"I know that now, and I can only offer my sincere apologies. But I promised never to go behind your back again, and I ant every word of it."
"What did you plan to do when I got pregnant?" Rose queried.
"I was going to ask you to marry ."
Rose blew air out of her nose. His reasoning baffled her. "I would have had no choice, Your Majesty."
"That was my intention. I didn’t think you’d want to be with any other way, not after everything."
Rose sighed and untangled her arms from around her body and lay back on his chest. Caius didn’t realize just how tight the knot in his chest was until it loosened. He could breathe again.
"I do, Your Majesty, and I wish you had let show you instead of assuming. Your actions made from assumption hurts more."
Caius wrapped his arms around her. "I didn’t know any better, Rose. I promise, I didn’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to make any excuses for my actions, but I promise you won’t have to go through such again."
Rose closed her eyes as she clung to him. He could have kept it a secret; he didn’t have to tell her. After she was going to marry him, what difference would it have made? But he had told her before she said yes.
He realized it was wrong and apologized for it. He wasn’t perfect, she knew that, but Rose wasn’t looking for perfection—just soone who cared and loved her as she did him. Soone perfect for her.
However, she shouldn’t expect Caius to get the hang of it so quickly but he was doing better than she could ever imagine. He was so different from the arrogant crown prince who had stopped her in the marketplace and made demands as though she was nothing more than an object.
And now, look how far they have co.
Rose raised her head and looked at him. He bent his head so he could et her eyes, and she could see his worry behind them. "I’d really like that," she said with a smile.
Caius kissed the top of her forehead, and she closed her eyes.
"How did you get Lady Delphine to betray ?" Rose blurted.
Caius froze. He didn’t expect her to figure that out.
Rose could clearly recall how weirdly Lady Delphine had acted when she went for a refill. She hadn’t thought too much about it at the ti, but it was clear now.
Rose knew Lady Delphine couldn’t refuse his orders, but she would have warned her, whether subtly or directly. But Rose didn’t pick up anything odd, except when she ntioned it tasted a little different, and Lady Delphine didn’t comnt on that.
She had no reason to suspect Delphine and didn’t think much about her odd silence, even though she had asked Rose about the dicine herself.
"I may have threatened her," he mumbled.
"You what? With what?"
"I found the map you were going to use to run away, and I was angry about the lost child. I blad her for both."
Rose took a deep breath. She knew she shouldn’t be surprised by the words that ca out of his mouth, but each ti, there was always sothing she couldn’t anticipate.
"Are you vexed with ?"
Rose shook her head. Lady Delphine was family to her. She couldn’t believe he would threaten her like that. "I am just wondering what else you may have kept from ."
Rose had intended to make it lighthearted; there was even a hint of laughter in her voice. But Caius seed to stiffen at her words. He didn’t speak, but his hand that held her tightened.
"Your Majesty?" she softly called. "Is there sothing else?"
"There is, but I am unsure how to tell you this, and I worry you will leave this ti."
Rose sat upright and glared at him. "Do you still not trust ?"
Caius’s eyes road her face, and he could see the hurt disguised as disappointnt. "That’s not it," he said and lightly touched her face, wondering how he was going to tell her about sothing he had refused to think about since that night.
"I trust you with my life," he added.
"Then prove it," she said with a smile.
Caius couldn’t help but smile back. He could stay right here for the rest of his life.
"Co," he said, and pulled her down so she was lying on him again. "I need you right here."
Rose closed her eyes as she felt warmth flood her cheeks. She couldn’t believe she had thought Caius wasn’t a romantic.
He lightly caressed her back as he braced himself for what he was about to tell her. Rose had said he should trust her. He didn’t want to speak about it, but he knew he would be hurting her indirectly, and this wasn’t sothing he wanted to deal with alone.
The worst part was that his cousin wasn’t much help. Rylen only seed to make things worse.
"Rember the morning I ca to your room when you thought I was mourning my father? That wasn’t it."
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