Chapter 4
Oliver said, "Mike, what am I going to do with you? You know Olivia's got a fiery temper. Why did you have to humiliate her like that at the banquet?"
Mike spoke up next.
His voice wasn't calm and indifferent like it usually was.
Instead, there was a hint of hurt and... bottled-up frustration I'd never heard from him before.
Mike replied, "I... I never thought Princess Olivia would take it so hard."
Oliver snapped, "Honestly, you had it coming! I can't believe you still haven't learned—now she's determined to divorce you. So, what are you planning to do about it?"
There was a brief silence in the room.
Then I heard Mike's voice, trembling and choked with tears.
He said, "I just... I can't stand it when those men keep staring at her."
I froze.
He kept going, his voice shaking, like he was finally letting out all the frustration he'd bottled up for ages.
"Ever since the banquet, those newly minted scholars just couldn't tear their eyes away from her!
"And that Captain Noah Johnson—he looks at her like he wishes he could glue himself to her side!
"And all those guards who hover around her every day—every single one of them deserves to die!"
Oliver snorted with laughter at Mike's words.
He teased, "Come on, Mike, how long have you been nursing that jealousy?"
I held my breath, my heart pounding in my chest.
I heard Mike's voice, choked up and full of all that pent-up frustration.
He said, "Eight years.
Ever since Your Majesty ordered us to marry, I've been jealous."
Standing outside the window, my heart felt like it was hit by a bolt of lightning.
It was as if thunder crashed right inside my head.
Everything I thought I knew for the past seven years was smashed to pieces.
"Mike Smith," I called softly.
The same Mike who always kept his distance, cold and aloof, treating me like a stranger.
The Mike I always thought despised me, saw me as nothing but a chain holding him back.
Wait...
Was it all because he was jealous?
All this time—for eight years?
Since the day we got married?
The thought was so ridiculous, my mind just couldn't wrap around it.
I stood there, frozen in place, my mind totally blank.
Inside the Library, Oliver's laughter echoed on.
He teased, "Mike, honestly, your temper... I don't even know what to say about you."
"If you'd just told Olivia how you really felt a little earlier, none of this drama would've happened."
Another long silence filled the room.
It was so quiet, I thought Mike might never speak again.
Then, I heard him, his voice barely audible, almost like he was speaking in a dream.
He said, "I just couldn't."
She's the moon above, an unattainable light forever out of my reach,' Mike whispered.
'Just being able to marry her felt like I was reaching far beyond my station—like I was undeserving.'
Day and night, I was always afraid it was just a dream, and that when I woke up, she'd vanish.'
I feared that if she ever discovered the dark, unworthy thoughts in my heart, she'd despise me, she'd think less of me.'
So all I could do was watch her from afar, holding her in reverence, keeping my distance.'
I told myself that as long as she was still by my side, still in the Smith family, even if we had to pretend to be husband and wife for the rest of our lives, I'd be content with that.'
'But I never imagined...'
His voice was thick with pain.
He said, "I never thought she'd be the one to ask for a divorce."
"Those two words hurt even more than having my heart cut out with a knife."
My heart clenched tighter with every word he spoke.
That's the truth,' I thought.
That's... really the truth,' I realized.
Seven years of distance—it wasn't because he didn't love me, but because he loved me so deeply, and felt too insignificant.
Seven years of coldness—it wasn't hatred, but fear that I'd turn him away.
I always thought I was the one locked in a cage.
But I never realized the walls he built around himself were even stronger than mine.
My eyes filled with tears, completely out of nowhere.
Hot tears slid down my cheeks.
Just then, the door to the Library creaked open from the inside.
Oliver stepped out.
He immediately caught sight of me, standing beneath the window with tears streaming down my face.
There wasn't a hint of surprise on his face.
Instead, he gave me a knowing smile, like he'd seen it coming all along.
Oliver grinned, "So, Olivia, you heard all of that, huh?"
I wiped my tears away in a hurry, nodding and then shaking my head, not even sure what I was doing.
My brain was just a pile of mush.
Oliver sighed and gave my shoulder a gentle pat.
He said, "You two, huh? One keeps everything bottled up, the other's all fire and thunder—honestly, you're a match made in heaven... or maybe in a boxing ring.
Don't worry, I already chewed him out for you.
As for what you want to do with him now, that's your call."
With that, he tilted his chin toward the Library, signaling for Mike to come out.
He called out, "Mike, get out here and escort your princess home."
A moment later, Mike stepped out.
He'd changed out of that moon-white robe and was back in his official purple robe.
But on him, that robe—the symbol of supreme authority—looked strangely bleak, almost out of place.
His eyes were red.
Tear stains still marked his face.
The moment he saw me, he froze, like he'd turned to stone.
His deep eyes flashed with shock, then confusion, and finally, panic and embarrassment completely took over.
He probably never thought I'd catch him at his messiest, at his most pathetic.
His lips moved, like he wanted to say something, but he just couldn't get the words out.