Esther looked at the man who was staring out of the window blankly. She could smell the alcohol in the air, and it looked like didn’t even sense her presence, as if he had numbed his mind from thinking or blocked himself from feeling anything.

“Theron?”

It was a soft voice, almost a whisper, but King Theron felt as if he was stabbed in the chest upon hearing the sadness in that familiar sweet voice. He thought it was an illusion caused by his drinking at first, but then he realized that the invisible pull in his soul was urging him to turn around.

Slowly, he turned his head to look at the woman standing in the middle of his bedchamber. Her beautiful eyes were moist and full of guilt. The sight instantly sobered him up.

It was his wife, the same wife he loved more than anyone else in this world, yet seeing her standing there felt so strange.

She was not the same Esther who would smile at him the moment their gazes met, and she was not the same Esther who would run into his embrace every time they found themselves alone. This time, she neither smiled nor did she come to him.

The small distance between them inside the bedchamber made him feel like they were poles apart, destined to never be together.

His lifeless-looking eyes remained gazing at her, unable to comprehend the situation. He didn’t know what to do, and he didn’t know what to say. It was as if his mind was detached from his body, and the raging emotions inside him made his body as heavy as lead. Before he could gather himself and react, her soft voice filled with sorrow reached his ears.

“I am sorry, Theron.”

Sorry?

Sorry for what?

Sorry for saving Megaris?

Sorry for sacrificing yourself?

Hearing her apology, a strange emotion spread inside his chest. He could not name what it was, but it was a kind of emotion that made him feel like the world was an empty, lonely place. He only stared at her for a few more seconds, and then he turned back to look at the starless night sky.

Esther closed her eyes as her hands trembled. She had already expected his anger, but when it happened, the tears she was holding back spilled uncontrollably, and she could only cover her mouth and try to keep her husband from hearing her sobs.

‘This is the price I paid.’

The trust they had between them was destroyed so brutally, and the fact that they love each other only hurt them more.

Esther came here with the thoughts of telling him the truth about herself, about the reason why she made that decision, about how she wished to apologize for hurting him, but now, not a single word could make its way out of her throat. She could only let out stifled sobs as she grieved over the things she lost.

‘My Theron is gone.’

Knowing that staying here was useless, she turned around to leave, deciding to accept this distance between them and his silence as her punishment.

Just as she reached the door, a cold voice stopped her.

“Stay here for the night.”

She almost didn’t recognize his voice. His tone was indifferent, frigid like ice as if he was talking to an unpleasant stranger and not his wife.

Esther knew why he had asked her to stay though her presence must be disgusting to him.

Both didn’t wish to accept it, but soon, she would be carrying a child in her womb, and in order to preserve the reputation of the royal family, she needed to stay with him.

For the past few months, both of them had been busy trying to deal with the problems the curse had brought onto the kingdom. Because they were dealing with issues day in and day out, the two of them had never shared a night for some time. In the palace, servants were always aware of when their king would spend the night with the Queen or his concubine.

Servants were the eyes and ears of the palace, and the moment it was announced that the Queen was expecting a baby, rumours would fly about.

King Theron didn’t wish to leave any doubts behind. Regardless if he loved her or not, Esther was still the Queen of Megaris. The reputation of the royal family could not be sullied. And although the child was not his, it could not be changed that the child was the result of her sacrifice for the sake of this kingdom. As the King and as her husband, he could not let his Queen’s sacrifice be stained with unwanted rumours.

After drying her tears, Esther turned around to look at him, but she was still greeted with the sight of his broad back. Not looking at her even once, he sat in his chair that faced the window, leaning back as if to say she should take the bed all for herself.

Esther understood what she should from his action and moved towards the large, empty bed. From there, she could only see the back of the armchair yet it was as if she could see his lonely silhouette drowning his sorrows with liquor.

She could not help but blame herself and her destiny that was meant to fulfil by hurting the person she loved the most.

The entire night passed by quietly, neither husband nor wife saying anything to each other. Esther continued to stare at the high backrest chair, while Theron, after finishing off the last bottle of liquor, finally closed his eyes.

When he woke up the next morning, he found a quilt covering his body. He looked around the room but it was empty. Though she was no longer there, he knew it was her who put this quilt on her. Her lingering fragrance told him so.

=====

Dear readers, the second book from “The Devil and Witch” series is out today. New novel is related to this novel as well so I hope you all will read it.

The title is – The Devil’s Cursed Witch

It is an entry for Webnovel’s WSA 2022 contest. You can search it directly in the Webnovel app or you can find it in my profile.

The COVER of the new novel you can see in the comment section.

I hope you all will support me in this new journey just like you have supported me till now for this novel.

P.S. Both novels will continue to update together.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.