Chapter 2

It was the dead of winter, the kind that chilled one to the bone and froze everything in sight.

Oliver spent the entire night kneeling in the snow, and by morning, his strength gave out and he collapsed onto the frozen ground.

He had yet to recover from his war wounds. After that night in the cold, he fell so ill he was bedridden.

Rumors were flying all over the capital.

Every coffeehouse and tavern was buzzing about how I was way too petty, that it was totally normal for men in power to have concubines.

Others chimed in, saying I was past her prime and way too domineering. Someone like her could never match up to a battlefield legend like Oliver. They said I should just disappear into a nunnery and live out her life all alone.

Inside the carriage, my maid, Lucia Gray was fuming.

She said, "How could General Patel treat you like this, your highness? He was born to a concubine and lived through all the toxic infighting at home. So why is he choosing to make you live through that?"

Both Oliver and I have been burned by all endless family feuds. I never wanted to deal with scheming women, and I definitely didn't want my children involved in that mess.

I thought Oliver got me, that we saw eye to eye on it.

But now, he was willing to be punished just to marry Wendy.

Guess he was totally head over heels for her.

The carriage rumbled as I parted the curtains. Outside, the royal cemetery stretched out before me, buried in endless white. Everything was quiet and cold, and so desolate.

I stood before my mother, Caroline Foster's grave, preparing to pay my respects.

None could rival the king's love for Caroline—she was absolutely his favorite.

After the queen passed away, the king didn't give a damn about his ministers' protests—he was hell-bent on making Caroline his new queen.

But Caroline's health grew weaker with each passing day, and eventually, she died.

Someone had killed my mother and I knew it. But I was just a kid back then; I couldn't even begin to hunt down the real culprit, let alone get revenge for her.

The court was always changing, old faces replaced by new ones.

After Caroline passed away, the king was soon surrounded by a whole new crop of concubines, all vying for his attention and trying to outshine each other.

Bit by bit, the king stopped caring about me, and with no one to back me up, everyone felt free to walk all over me.

One day, several princesses caught me and lashed me with whips, only to be witnessed by the king.

He was furious. He punished those princesses on the spot and then sent me to be raised under the Queen Dowager's care.

With the Queen Dowager backing me up, nobody dared mess with me anymore. I dealt with everyone who killed my mother or ever laid a hand on me.

That was how word spread that I was arrogant and domineering. And so, the young nobility of the capital avoided me like the plague.

"Mother, if I can't have undivided love in my marriage, I'd rather give it all up," I murmured.

I bowed at her grave, then straightened up and gently brushed the snow off her tombstone.

But before I talked to the king about breaking off the engagement, there was something important I needed to retrieve from Oliver.

The servants at the general's estate acted as if I didn't exist, their eyes cold and distant when they glanced my way.

After all, I was the reason Oliver was now lying sick in bed.

I sat in the front hall for two whole hours before a delicate, pretty girl finally emerged from the rear courtyard.

As soon as she caught sight of me, her eyes welled up with tears and she dropped straight to her knees.

Wendy pleaded, her voice trembling, "Your Highness, if you're upset, please vent your anger on me. Don't punish Oliver anymore—he almost lost his life over this."

She looked so heartbreakingly pitiful, it almost made me feel like the villain in her story.

"I'm here to see Oliver," I said, keeping it simple.

I didn't want to get tangled up with her, so I started walking toward the rear courtyard.

Suddenly, Wendy clung tightly to my leg, refusing to let go.

She looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. "Oliver's still unconscious, Your Highness. Please, I'm begging you—don't hurt him anymore," she pleaded.

She clung to my leg with desperation, which made it impossible for me to get free. Then, suddenly, I spotted something around her neck and was stunned in place.

"What's this?" I demanded.

I leaned down, reaching for the ruby pendant at her throat, but she jerked away before I could grab it.

Still kneeling, Wendy threw her arms up, shielding the pendant as if she was protecting something precious.

"Your Highness, Oliver gave this to me. He said it would watch over me and keep me safe forever," she said.

Watch over her and keep her safe?

I couldn't stop myself from laughing, even as tears threatened to spill.

My mother had given the ruby pendant to me. It was the only thing she ever left behind. She wanted me to live safe and sound.

But six years ago, before Oliver headed out to the battlefield, I put this pendant on him, hoping he'd come back safely.

"Oliver, you have to make it back in one piece. I'll be waiting right here for you to come back and marry me," I had whispered.

Oliver wrapped his hand around the ruby pendant, his dark gaze locked onto me, voice full of promise. "Wait for me."

I waited six long years—only for him to come back with another woman behind him. And this pendant? He went and handed my only keepsake over to her.

I couldn't stop shaking. My eyes were tearing up.

"Give me back my pendant," I demanded at once.

I lunged forward and tried to yank the ruby pendant away, but Wendy clung onto it like her life depended on it. Her grip was iron-tight as she wailed, "Oliver gave this to me. You don't have the right to take it from me, your highness."

We were locked in a tug-of-war, neither of us willing to let go, until suddenly, the thin cord gave way under the strain and snapped.

The ruby pendant fell straight to the ground, splitting into two broken halves.

It was as if my own heart was shattering into pieces, crumbling along with what was once my only keepsake.

Wendy looked absolutely devastated, sobbing as she tried to gather up the shattered pieces of the pendant.

"Oliver, I'm useless. I couldn't even take care of the one thing you gave me," she cried.

Just as her hands were about to reach for the broken pendant, I couldn't hold back anymore. In a flash, I drew my whip and struck out at her.

"Don't even think about touching my pendant. You go around taking what's mine and still act like you're entitled to it?" I yelled.

The whip cracked harshly against Wendy's back, making her scream out in pain.

Wendy curled up on the floor, pain wracking her body as she hugged her knees, shaking.

"Please, Your Highness, spare me. I won't fight for Oliver with you anymore. Just don't hurt me again," she sobbed.

"Oliver, please, save me," she cried out desperately.

Before I could strike again, a hand shot out and clamped down on my wrist.

"Your Highness, what exactly did Wendy do to set you off like this?" Oliver demanded.

He was pale as death, yet he still clenched down hard enough to make my wrist throb with pain.

I sneered, "What did she do? She stole what's mine. Tell me, Oliver, do you think she shouldn't be punished for that?"

Oliver's face went stiff, and he dropped his gaze. "If this is about me asking the king to marry her, then hit me instead. I was the one who begged for it. None of this has anything to do with Wendy."

I let out a mocking laugh. "Oliver, as if you're even worth my anger.

"Let me ask you—why did you give her the ruby pendant I gave you? Do you know that was the only thing my mother ever left me?"

Oliver stared at the broken pendant on the ground, completely frozen in place.

I spat out, "Wendy tried to steal from me, so I must teach her a lesson."

I raised my whip again.

Wendy huddled on the floor, sobbing and begging for forgiveness.

At that moment, Oliver rushed forward and threw himself over Wendy to shield her. The whip cracked viciously across his back.

A thin red welt instantly blossomed on his white undershirt, vivid streaks of blood showing through.

When I was a child and the other princesses lashed me, Oliver had always shielded me this way.

But now, he was protecting another woman instead.

I struck him hard, again and again, my whip landing with brutal force, all while tears streamed down my face.

I kept going until exhaustion overtook me, until there was nothing left in me. By then, Oliver was barely alive, collapsed in Wendy's arms, his breath shallow and fading.

I dropped the whip and walked away without looking back.

The icy wind and snow slammed against my face, every inch of me stinging and freezing, pain spreading through me from head to toe.

Even when my body was numb from the cold, I just kept trudging forward, moving on autopilot.

I didn't know how far I went. Eventually, my strength ran out, and I passed out right there in the snow.