Chapter 2
The next day, I was carried to the Crown Prince's Palace in a carriage, quietly and without fanfare.
No elaborate rituals, no joyful music.
Like a shameful secret, I was delivered directly to Henry's... no, Edward's bedchamber.
The palace was cold, void of any warmth or life.
Dressed in a thin wedding gown, I sat alone on the bed, waiting from dawn until dusk.
No one came to attend to me.
It wasn't until midnight that the door was kicked open, a thick stench of wine wafting in.
A tall figure stumbled inside, wearing a black velvet prince's robe embroidered with gold, his long hair cascading loosely over his shoulders.
His handsome face was twisted with icy fury, his eyes bloodshot and ferocious like a beast pushed to the edge.
It was the face I'd known for ten years. My husband, Edward.
He froze for a moment when he saw me, then forced a cruel smile. "Oh? The Wynn family's gift?"
He stepped closer, his tall frame looming over me to cast a deep shadow. "You're quite pretty, but too bad..."
His hand shot out, fingers crushing my chin with enough force to snap a bone. "The thing I hate most is women like you, who claw their way to the top."
I was forced to tilt my head back, staring into his violent eyes.
This face had once smiled at me with the softest warmth; these hands had once painted my eyebrows and tied up my hair.
Now, he looked at me like I was garbage.
My heart felt as if it were squeezed by an invisible hand, pain searing through my chest.
I knew he was acting, putting on a show for everyone.
For his naive younger brother, for the court, for the entire kingdom.
A cruel Crown Prince would never make anyone suspect he was connected to the "gentle" exiled Edward.
I had to play along.
Enduring the sharp pain in my chin, I filled my eyes with tears and whispered tremblingly, "Your Highness..."
"Don't call me that!" he snapped, roughly throwing me onto the bed.
"From today on, behave yourself. Don't think being Crown Princess gives you the right to do as you please. Otherwise, I won't mind showing you what true suffering feels like."
His harsh words cut into my heart like a knife.
I lay on the bed, trembling all over, not from fear, but from heartbreak.
In my previous life, he'd sheltered me from all harm, protecting me from every storm.
I'd thought that was love.
Now I realized it was probably only because I was a useful pawn in his plan.
And now, Victoria had stolen that pawn's place. I was disposable.
A disposable pawn deserved no tenderness.
In the darkness, I heard him turn and leave without a second glance, the door slamming shut so hard the walls shook.
I curled up in the cold sheets, doubting the meaning of my second chance for the first time.
If coming back meant enduring the pain of abandonment all over again, I would have been better off dying in my previous life.
The days that followed were even worse than being a concubine banished to a derelict annex off the palace grounds.
Edward never stepped foot in my bedchamber again.
The servants in the palace were all opportunists.
Seeing that I had fallen out of favor, they began mistreating me openly and secretly.
The food they brought was always cold; in the winter, there wasn't even a decent pile of firewood in my place.
I fell ill, burning with a high fever, my body hot all over, my consciousness fading.
My personal maid, Rose Summers, cried, begging me to send for the royal physician.
I shook my head. I knew it was useless.
Without Edward's order, no one in the Crown Prince's Palace would bother with a disgraced Crown Princess.
Just as I thought I would die silently here, Edward came.
He still had that cold, unfeeling look, followed by a royal physician.
He stood over me, his eyes void of any warmth. "Sick? How useless."
The physician examined me nervously, then wrote a prescription.
Edward tossed it to a nearby servant after a brief glance. "Go brew the medicine. If she doesn't recover, you'll all die with her."
As he spoke, his gaze fell on me.
It was a threat, plain and simple.
A chill ran down my spine, jolting me awake.
He was warning me that my life was still in his hands.
I couldn't die. Not yet.
After I drank the medicine, my fever gradually subsided.
Edward didn't leave; he sat in a chair not far away, twirling a ring in his hand, saying nothing.
The place was so quiet it was terrifying.
I had no idea what he wanted.
This unknown fear was more tormenting than any beating or scolding.
After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice low, "Has there been any word from the Wynn family?"
My heart skipped a beat. I nodded. "Yes. Mom sent a letter, asking how I'm doing."
"What did you tell her?" he asked.
"I said... everything is fine."
Edward let out a laugh, sharp with sarcasm. "Everything is fine? Charlotte, you're quite good at painting a pretty picture."
He rose and approached the bed, leaning down until his warm breath ghosted over my ear, raising gooseflesh on my skin.
"Tell them you are thriving. Tell them I dote on you, cherish you, that I spoil you rotten. Tell them I have sworn to beg the King for a Duke for your mother's family the moment you bear a legitimate son."
I froze. I couldn't fathom why he wanted me to do this.
Why curry favor with the Wynn family now?
A terrible suspicion took root in my mind.
While my father was merely a civil official, my grandfather, Alice's father, held the empire's military power in his hands.
In my previous life, Edward's smooth ascent to the throne had owed much to my grandfather's backing, all secured through me.
But now, since I was the Crown Princess, the Wynn family would naturally distance themselves, throwing their weight behind Henry, the "future king" of their choosing.
So, was Edward now trying to mend fences? Was he attempting to win the Wynns back through me?
My heart plummeted.
To him, I was nothing more than a pawn to be bargained with, both then and now.
I wrote to Alice as instructed, pouring every ounce of my energy into describing his "devotion."
I claimed that beneath his cold exterior lay a heart of gold; that he had cut off all trivial entanglements for my sake; that he had vowed I would be his only love, for life.
I even included his promise to elevate my mother's family.