THE Knight's Hidden Princess
Chapter 81: Couple Struggles

Chapter 81: Couple Struggles

DAHLIA POV

I rested my elbows on the window, hands on the cold windowsill as I watched Reagan and his guards prepare to leave. The morning sun shone brightly across the courtyard, the muffled clinking of armor and the occasional whining of horses filled the air. My gaze did not leave Reagan as I continued to watch him, his demeanor as serious as ever, as if the course of the world weighed heavily on his shoulders.

As I continued to stare at him, I couldn’t help but notice how few his guards were compared to the last time he went on a campaign. Maybe this mission wasn’t as serious as the last one! I thought as I leaned on my elbows watching him from a safe distance.

"You know you should be out there you know?" Heather spoke softly from behind me.

A snort was my response. "And for what exactly? Lady Marina and her evil spawns will just find a way to just make things worse for me." I muttered under my breath, "Besides, it’s not like Reagan will care if I was there or not!"

Actually, I know that he wouldn’t care, he told me so himself that he never cared about me and I believed him! The look in his eyes when he told me so yesterday, his harsh words burning in my memory, I wasn’t going to be a fool again by trying to enter a space where no one desired my presence. The lack of interest from Reagan also served like a surgical blade which destroyed all remaining hope I dedicated to.

"You can’t possibly know that." Heather tried again softly.

"Trust me, I know." Came my reply as I continued to stare out the window, watching him hug his mother and ruffling Adrianna’s hair.

Heather stepped closer and towards me, her hands reaching up to part my shoulder. "I don’t think so because what if he is actually hurting just like you are." She whispered before she turned to look at Reagan through the window, "Men like Sir Reagan... they carry their burdens in silence. They think it’s strength, but all it does is push the people they care about further away."

Frowning I turned to look at Heather who was still busy staring at Heather, "Why does it sound like you are defending him?"

Heather turned to look at me, her eyes widening for a bit. "Of course not, I’m not on his side."

"Hmm mm." I hummed as I narrowed my eyes at her, "You shouldn’t be, "Besides you were there yesterday, you saw how he watched his family humiliate me?"

Heather shrugged, "Like I said, he was just misunderstood, perhaps you should try seeing things from his point of view. You don’t know what’s going on with him, perhaps he is just as helpless as you are."

I turned to look at Heather at what she said, my eyes narrowing at her suspiciously. "What is with you?" I asked narrowing my eyes at her, "You sound like you know him better than I do."

"That’s not true!" Heather answered a little bit too quickly for me, "Look, all I’m just saying is that clearly this whole thing is a bit of misunderstanding and also being in this house is toxic for both of you. Your relationship cannot progress when there are a lot of people who are against it. Besides you can see how it worked out when you stepped out of the house, perhaps you need to do that again." Heather suggested.

I mulled over her words, turning them over in my mind like a frustrating puzzle I couldn’t solve, Heather wasn’t wrong though, being in this house could be quite frustrating because everywhere I went to, I was constantly judged every room weighed down with the presence of occupants who watched for my every mistake so they could see me fail.

I would give anything to step out of the house again, to get away from the suffocating walls and toxicity of the occupants that dwell within but taking Reagan? I wasn’t going to lie though, those moments that we spent away from the manor with Henry and Edwina was one of the happiest moment of my life. It was also the first time I would see Reagan happy, truly happy unlike here where I feel like he is being crushed by the weight of his responsibilities and the constant scheming of those around us.

But here? When he was inside the manor, it was different. I could see the way he was also struggling, in the way his shoulders were always tense, the way his words were clipped and his expressions guarded that it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

I sighed heavily, my fingers gripping the windowsill as I turned to stare down at the courtyard when I caught Reagan looking up at me from where he was seated on his horse. Oh shit! I immediately ducked, yanking a surprised Heather down with me.

"What’s the matter my lady?" Heather whispered.

I stared at her fearfully, "It’s Reagan! He is outside!"

"Yeah, he has been for quite some time now!"

"Oh and you didn’t think to um, let me think, freaking warn me?" I hissed, flicking her arm slightly.

Heather frowned at me, "Why should I warn you about your husband standing outside your window? He was bound to pass sooner or later!"

"But a warning would have been nice, he didn’t need to see me staring into space like a fool."

"A fool in love!" Heather responded with a smile while waggling her eyebrows at me.

I glared at her not sharing her excitement. "Do you want to visit the gallows early?"

Heather’s eyes widened with fear, "No, no, my lady." She swallowed while I sighed, "By the way don’t you think it’s even weirder with you hiding here, in your own house?"

When she puts that way, it does sound weird! "You know what? You are absolutely right, if anything he should be the one hiding his face not me, I did nothing wrong!" I said with conviction to which Heather nodded her head in agreement, "Fuck it!" I cursed and popped out of my hiding place, staring down at the window below, except by the time I did...

"He’s gone!" I muttered out loud.

Heather stood up from where she was hiding, "What?"

"He’s gone!" I whispered again as I stared at the gates where I could see him riding out with his company, "And he didn’t even say goodbye." I mumbled feeling something inside of me shatter at the sight of him being gone.