Conquering His Cold Heart
Chapter 433 - 433: The Impending Doom

"Oh, hell no!" Vincent shook his head upon realizing what that silence meant.

He clenched his jaw and fists as if to suppress whatever it was that was boiling up inside his chest and asked crudely, "You've kept Caspian in the dark until now?"

"I…" The words disappeared before they could leave Anastasia's lips. The fear of impending doom was crippling all of her senses and had even robbed her of the ability to utter some words of reason.

"He's your husband, Queen Anastasia! How could you do that to him?" Vincent exclaimed in a voice that was slightly trembling with anger.

He couldn't believe that the very person whom Caspian trusted more than his own life was hiding something this serious from him.

"Why would you hide your terminal illness from him?" he asked, unable to understand why there was the need to do so. "Why would you not tell him that your time with him is limited? Way too limited than what he believes!"

Vincent's eyes began glowing with rage. If Anastasia didn't hold such precious space in Caspian's heart, he would have lashed out at her long ago, disregarding the fact that she was the Queen of Sorvando.

Tilla could feel the rising tension in the air.

Vincent was aggressively demanding answers while Anastasia was unable to even speak a word. Tilla was observing that Anastasia was beginning to tremble. The pressure from Vincent was pushing Anastasia close to having a panic attack.

Tilla couldn't let her already ill friend go through an episode of sickness at the moment.

Thus, she gestured to Vincent to calm himself down and begged, "Please, don't push her. Stress is too deadly for her. You don't want her to collapse right here and now, do you?"

No matter how frustrated Vincent was feeling right now, he didn't want the Queen to suffer because of his actions. So, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.

Then he mumbled to Tilla, "Alright! I won't push her for an answer at the moment. But…" He looked at Anastasia and then back at Tilla. And he said again, "I will be back soon."

"No!" Anastasia extended her hand in the air and hurriedly exclaimed, "Wait! Please!" Anastasia shouted because she thought that Vincent would go to the castle and tell everything to Caspian.

She quickly got up from the sofa, almost collapsing right after because her head spun around when she stood up so suddenly.

"Anna!" Tilla came to her rescue right away. Though her body was still weak, she had enough stamina to support her lean friend.

Vincent got worried as he watched Anastasia in need of physical support.

She was clenching her fist over her chest as if she was having difficulty breathing. She looked as though she would indeed collapse if she wasn't attended by a doctor right away.

He had never imagined that Anastasia was so weak. He had seen the signs, but he never thought that it was this bad.

"Do I need to call the doctor?" he asked while frantically taking a few steps closer to the ladies.

"No…" Anastasia whispered in a barely audible voice. "I will be fine. I just…" She sat down and said after letting out a grunt, "…need to breathe."

Tilla was helping Anastasia to gather her gown when Vincent asked while showing some empathy, "Um… Shall I at least call in the nurse? Maybe she can be of some help. She is right here in the mansion."

However, Anastasia denied being attended by the nurse too. What she needed right now was to clarify the misunderstanding, or rather, justify why she kept her illness a secret.

"Just wait here, please," Anastasia begged Vincent.

Tilla sprinted to the other corner of the room to pour a glass of water for Anastasia.

Vincent, on the other hand, had a deep frown line on his forehead as he waited for Anastasia to get back to normal… for her to stop hyperventilating.

"Drink this." Tilla offered the lukewarm water to Anastasia.

When Anastasia almost dropped the glass because of her unsteady hands, Tilla helped Anastasia to take a few sips of water.

After resting for a while and taking in a few deep breaths, Anastasia was finally ready to face Vincent's confrontational questions.

So, she began by saying, "I know that you might be seeing me as a villain in Caspian's life right now, Lord Vincent."

"I never said that…" Vincent quickly interrupted.

Anastasia wryly smiled. Although he denied it, she could sense the bitterness from him. She gestured for Vincent to take a seat before her. She had a lot to say.

But first, she looked at Tilla and asked, "Tilla, why don't you close the door and sit down?"

"Er… I think I might as well go out and ask everyone to stay clear from this area." Tilla took a glance at Vincent and said, "I don't want anyone else to eavesdrop on the conversation. The less people know the better."

Vincent breathed heavily and rolled his eyes after getting that subtle jab from Tilla. At the same time, he could also understand Tilla's frustration towards him. He wasn't supposed to listen to their private conversation.

'Oh well… it's not my fault that my ears are sharp. They should have been more careful…' he sighed as he thought in his heart.

And as if to punish his sharp ears, Tilla slammed the door loudly as she went outside.

"Argh!" Vincent grumbled and jolted when the loud noise almost hurt his eardrum. He then glared at the closed door as if he was glaring at Tilla.

When the sound of footsteps disappeared, Vincent looked at Anastasia and asked in a voice mixed with empathy as well as frustration, "So, why did you hide it from Caspian? And how long were you planning on hiding it?"

He was met with silence once again.

He disagreeingly shook his head as if he decoded the meaning of her silence and said, "Please don't tell me that you were planning to stay quiet and let the time tell him."

"From the sound of it, I gathered that you cannot be cured…" He looked at Anastasia with pity in his eyes and said with a heavy heart, "He deserves to know the truth beforehand, you know."

"I am aware." Anastasia's eyes dilated as she stared blankly. "I wasn't planning on keeping him in the dark for long. But I know that more than anything in the world, what he hates the most is losing the people who are dear to him."

Anastasia lowered her gaze. Tears started to brim in her eyes once more.

She then said in the most painful whisper, "That's why I hesitated. I was afraid that the news about my looming death would crush his soul. I was afraid to see him suffer. That's why I have been running instead of facing the problem head-on. I try every day… but I can't bring myself to say it to Caspian."

"But sooner or later, you know you have to face it." Vincent crossed his palms and looked down.

The madness that Caspian displayed after losing his brother began to dance before his eyes. However, he had also witnessed that madness dissipating with time. He was sure Caspian would overcome the grief, though it might take him decades or even centuries.

Vincent looked up again. He could see how Anastasia was struggling too.

Thus, he suggested to her, "I don't know how much time you have left until you completely succumb to the illness. But don't you think it's better to come clean to Caspian now instead of later?"

He recalled back to the conversation between Tilla and Anastasia and deduced that Anastasia was ill before she even came to Sorvando. He half-guessed that Anastasia was willingly betrothed to Caspian by her parents despite his bad image among the public because she was already dying.

Then he elaborated his suggestion somewhat calculatedly, "I think that you are more afraid about how Caspian would react after finding out about your… betrayal."

Anastasia's heart skipped a beat when she heard that.

Vincent was even surer about it now as he was carefully monitoring Anastasia's heartbeat as well as the change in facial expression.

So, he continued, "I believe that there is a valid reason behind your betrothal to Caspian. But even if that reason was something selfish, like your father wanting to have a strong ally or something like that, I believe Caspian will be willing to look past it as long as you come clean."

Vincent shrugged his shoulders and stated plainly, "He's hopelessly in love with you after all."

"You think he will forgive me?" Anastasia asked with doubt. That very doubt was the reason why she was so afraid.

"Well, he has a temper." Vincent clapped his hands and said with hope in his eyes, "But! I believe he will forgive you. It might take some time though."

He smacked his lips and frowned as he went into deep thought.

Anastasia dabbed her eyes and cheeks and mumbled dejectedly, "Time is what I lack though."

Vincent nodded. "That's why I am telling you, the sooner you explain everything to him, the sooner he will forgive you. You don't want to spend the last of your days feeling lonely and miserable, do you?"

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