Though King Theron had guessed why his mother was here, King Theron still asked, “May I know the reason for this visit, Mother?”

“I am sure my smart son can guess it without much effort,” she replied.

King Theron tiredly massaged his aching temples. “My apologies, mother. But I don’t know what I should do either. I cannot make Esther understand that there is no need for me to get a concubine. She refuses to talk to me!”

“I understand you, my son, but you are only giving importance to your own feelings and thoughts.”

“It’s not like that, Mother….”

“Do you think she is doing it for herself?”

He shook his head.

“Or you think she is only doing it for this kingdom?”

At that, the young king sneered. “She wants me to have an heir for this kingdom—”

“The main reason she decided this is you, Theron. Only for you. This is a decision Esther made for your sake, and the other reasons were simply additional advantages that came together with it,” the old queen sighed.

King Theron froze and stared straight at his mother.

Queen Theodora met his gaze. “She wants you to have your own child, a child who carries your blood and inherits your will, a child who will grow up listening to you and idolizing you the same way you looked up to your father. Isn’t that such a selfless wish? She wants you to experience the same kind of happiness that I and Esteban had while raising you, and have the satisfaction we had when we realized you grew up to be a fine young man.

“My son, all this time, Esther has been suffering in silence. She might be seen smiling whenever she sees a noble lady show off her baby during afternoon tea or catches sight of her old friends like my former ladies-in-waiting who had children of their own as well, but I had observed the longing in her eyes back then—how she blames herself for not being able to fulfil being a mother of your child, and she continues to do so up to this day.”

The young king tightened his hands into tight fists, his knuckles white as he continued to listen.

“Besides, knowing Esther, even if she won’t be the one to give birth to your child, she must be willing to accept it as her own. After all, won’t that child be the child of her beloved man? Your son is her son, and your daughter is her daughter as well. Will you rob her of the happiness of being a mother?”

King Theron closed his eyes as he let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. “But—”

“You will be happy, she will be happy, the nagging old nobles will be happy and the people of the kingdom will be happy. Having just one child can solve so many things, and I will be lying if I were to say that Esteban and I do not look forward to having a grandchild before we get too old. A child that will bring happiness to all our lives, you should consider it. Even if you don’t feel the need to have a child, I know you will consider it if it is for your wife’s happiness.”

King Theron didn’t know what to say.

His mother reached out and gently patted his hand. “Have you tried to know how exactly she felt?”

“I tried, but she refuses to speak to me.”

Queen Theodora shook her head. “Well, try harder. Just as it is difficult for you to accept her wish, how difficult it must have been for her to decide on it and bring it up to you on her own? She loves you yet she’s asking you to have another woman. Can that be an easy thing for her to do? Which woman would not want to keep her husband for herself? Have you considered her difficulties? She must have fought with herself before bringing that up to you. You are hurting, and she must be hurting too. Do you think she is happy staying away from you? Nonsense! I have known that child longer than you! You must know as much as you yearn for her, she yearns for you as well. If not for your mutual feelings for each other, do you think I would have managed to easily convince your father to bless your marriage?”

“I…” The young king rubbed his face in frustration.

“Be wise, my son, and make the right decision. I believe you don’t want her to stay in that manor forever. Instead of pushing her away by not listening to her, you should listen to her and be together.”

After staying until they finished their tea, his mother bid her farewell and left him to think about her advice. Time flew by and before he knew it, his aide was knocking on the door of his study, asking him if he wanted to have his evening meal in the study or in the dining hall.

The young king was frustrated.

‘All I want is to have her with me for the rest of our lives. I made an oath to her that she’s the only woman for me, but she’s making me break my oath. But if doing so means losing her…’ King Theron made a painful decision. ‘If this is the cost of keeping her with me, I should pay it. If she can’t be with me, then there is no use of living like this.’

Stepping out of his study, he ordered Sir Galien to get his horse and left towards Esther’s manor, not even bothering whether his knight followed him or not. All his thoughts were on his wife.

When he reached the manor, the captain of the Queen’s guards informed as usual, “Your Majesty, the Queen—”

King Theron raised his hand and the knight stopped talking. This time, King Theron didn’t stay outside but entered the mansion without a word. No one dared stop him.

He went upstairs and stood in front of the door of Esther’s bedchamber. He simply knocked on it and said in a surprisingly calm voice, “Esther, it’s me.”

There was no reply from inside. It was as he expected but his gut feeling was telling him she was awake and listening to him. He didn’t open the door and simply put his palms flat against the door, lowering his head to stare at the marbled floor.

“Esther, remember what I told you before? That you are my wife, and that if you wish to ask me anything, you simply have to say it? I will honour those words. There is nothing that I will not give you, even if you ask for my life.”

There was no response, and he felt like he was suffocating as he spoke the next words.

“I will listen to whatever you say. Since you want me to have a concubine, then I will get a concubine. All I want is for you to return to the palace.”

He waited for her reply, but still, he got silence in return.

“I will take my leave then,” he said and turned his back on her door.

Even after he left the mansion, Esther didn’t come out to see him off.

On that chilly night at the outskirts of the capital, two people’s hearts were broken.

When her husband arrived at the manor, Esther was indeed awake, standing by the window and listening to each word he said, but she did not have the courage to reply to him. Only tears rolled down her eyes as she knew how much she had hurt him and that he was forced to take this decision.

When he said he was leaving, she wished to open the door and hug him, but she stopped herself. She didn’t wish her tears to shake his decision. She would wait till he accepted the concubine into his royal harem and there wouldn’t be any turning back for him.

“Theron,” she sobbed in a low voice, “Theron, I apologize but I am not strong enough to see you with someone else. I cannot welcome you with a smile knowing you came back from the arms of another woman after spending a night with her. Let it happen behind my back. Let me play blind for a while and pretend that you are only mine…”

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