Conquering His Cold Heart
Chapter 453 - 453: More Betrayals

Not just Anastasia, Caspian also spent a sleepless night.

How could he get any sleep after knowing that his wife's lifespan was about to come to an end? And how could he fall asleep after showing the darkest side of him to his wife?

The servants and maids had cleaned the bodies from the bathroom and also the blood-tainted water in the tub.

After they followed his wife's order, he submerged himself in the cold water again, only his face barely above the water.

He spent the whole night in the bathtub, sometimes cursing himself, but mostly, cursing all the unseen forces for robbing him of the happy life that he had imagined with his lovely wife.

Even the freezing water couldn't soothe Caspian's heart which was set ablaze by the devastating revelation from his wife.

Before he realized it, the morning rays of the winter sun were already making their way through the meshed window of the bathroom.

Caspian finally came out of his dazed state when he heard Martha's voice outside his chamber. He could hear her conversing with Percy. He was even more saddened upon hearing that his wife hadn't slept the whole night and was worried about him.

'What should I do?'

A deep frown etched on Caspian's forehead as that question rose in his mind.

'What should I do now?' He was wondering how he should move forward now that his wife's incurable illness had come to light.

He slowly folded his knees so as to prepare to get out of the tub. And as he did so, he kept on questioning himself, 'Can I even do anything to save her? She clearly said yesterday that she had already seen all the doctors and tried all the medicine.'

Then suddenly another question came forth in his mind. 'But what do I do with her? It's true that I shouldn't be mad at her knowing that she is… sick. Nevertheless, the fact that I was lied to from the very beginning makes me wonder if any of it was real at all.'

No matter what Anastasia said to him the night before to make him see that she had indeed fallen for him, his trust in her had been severely damaged.

He felt greatly betrayed.

And no matter how much he wanted to run back to her chamber and embrace her till death did them apart, he could not bring himself to do so.

'What if all of it was a lie? What if she just said that she loves me because she pities me? What if she just said that so as to make herself feel better before dying? If that's true, wouldn't I be just making her feel uncomfortable by clinging to her?'

Caspian could not come to any conclusion at all. His heart was broken into several pieces and each piece of his heart told him different things.

Not just Anastasia, he couldn't trust his own judgments anymore.

He buried his face into his palms and mumbled softly, "I need some time… I need some time to think properly. I need some time to sort out my feelings and her feelings, and then only I should decide on what to do with her."

For now, he abandoned the idea to send Anastasia to Orsenia. 'I will just stay away from her for the time being. That way, I won't accidentally hurt her or traumatize her like yesterday.'

He lifted his head from his palm and then thought with determination, 'In the meantime, I think I should at least try to find out what's wrong with her. If we are lucky, maybe I can find a doctor in some corner of the world, someone who can treat her.'

He suddenly pushed himself up on his feet. He stepped out of the tub. And without caring about the water dripping down his body, he crossed his bedchamber as well as the antechamber and pulled the door open.

"Your Majesty!" Percy instantly looked at the King, holding an expression that was mixed with relief as well as concern.

"Ah! Just the person I wanted to see," Caspian said while staring back at Percy and then he ordered the head servant as if nothing had happened, "Get Zenon here. And send someone to dress me up."

"Yes, of course, Your Majesty." Percy quickly ran down the gallery and vanished in no time.

Caspian saw a bunch of eyes awkwardly gazing at him and then turning away.

The few officials who had waited the whole night so that they could talk with the King and ask about the problem couldn't bring themselves to do so when they saw that the King wasn't dressed at all. It was simply rude to approach the King when he was like that. So, they kept their distance, waiting for the King to strike up the conversation on his own.

Caspian didn't mind their awkward glances, and neither did he bother to explain what had happened yesterday. It was his private matter that he didn't need to discuss with everyone.

Thus, he simply turned around and went back inside.

A few servants followed him to his walk-in closet. The last of them closed the door behind him so that the people outside wouldn't keep on glancing inside the chamber.

While Caspian stood still, surrounded by the servants who were helping him with his clothes, Zenon entered the chamber.

He stood at the closet's door and then after greeting the King, he said, "Your Majesty, I wasn't aware of yesterday's incidents. I had already departed for my home. If I knew, I would have come to you as soon as I came to the castle."

Zenon just got to know a few details about the King's display of violence and sadness from Percy. So, he apologized because he assumed something bad had happened in his absence and he was not there to support the King.

"What can I do for you, Your Majesty?" he immediately offered his assistance to the King.

Caspian didn't bother to correct Zenon that even if he was still there in the castle, there was nothing that he could do.

He simply looked at Zenon with his empty eyes and ordered, "Zenon, send some of our men to Orsenia and have them find out about the Queen's health condition since she was a child."

Zenon immediately felt a sharp pang in his heart when he heard the King mentioning the Queen's health.

'Does he know?' he wondered.

But when the King went silent, he just thought, 'Maybe the Queen is severely ill this time. That would explain the wailing that Percy mentioned. Is that why he wants to know about her medical history?'

Caspian realized that Zenon was still not moving from his place.

Zenon seemed lost in his own thoughts.

So, Caspian frowned at his advisor and asked him in a pressing tone, "It is an urgent matter, Zenon. I need to know everything regarding the Queen's health – her symptoms, the names of the doctors who have already checked her, the medicines they gave her, what worked and what did not, and everything."

Zenon's heartbeat abruptly escalated, making it somewhat audible. He also looked stunned because he was sure that the King now knew about the Queen's condition.

Caspian could sense that something was not right with Zenon. But he ignored the signs and continued to say, "Our men can directly seek an audience with Anastasia's parents. If they deny providing the information I require then tell them that I will take over their Kingdom within a week."

Zenon's jaw almost dropped after hearing that passive-aggressive instruction from Caspian.

Although the tone of the King's voice sounded calm, it was too obvious that he was suppressing an emotional storm inside his chest. And it was also very clear that Caspian was indeed aware of the Queen's limited time.

"I will send them right away, Your Majesty." Zenon stiffly turned to face the main door.

He already had most of the information that the King had demanded just now. He had hidden the file that the spies had brought the last time because he did not want to create any dispute between the King and the Queen.

However, he could not say that to Caspian right away because he feared his own fate.

He was afraid of getting the brand of the traitor from the King.

He slowly moved his feet towards the main door. His mind was already imagining several scenarios where he would die at the hand of the King.

'I thought of waiting for the right time to present that file to His Majesty. Right now, it seems like the worst time to do so…'

He gulped as he grabbed onto the door handle and asked himself, 'But do I have any other choice than confessing everything to the King?'