The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 96: The King’s Apology

Chapter 96: The King’s Apology

Damien watched as the King moved to stand in front of the open window as he looked at the vast land outside.

’What do you want to tell me, Your Majesty?’ Annalise asked as she moved to stand behind the king. Her beautiful face was decorated with a little frown as she waited for an answer.

’Annalise, have you ever felt the burden of your title?’

’Huh?’

Annalise stared at the back of the King’s head as she was taken by total surprise because of the unexpected and out-of-blue question.

’My apology, Your Majesty but I didn’t...’

The king finally turned around to face her as he cut her off before she could have finished speaking. ’Being a noble or a royal is not only about living lives in comfort, respect, and holding immense power, it’s also about making sacrifices for those who look up to for protection and help.’

’Being the King of this land, my ultimate duty is to protect this empire and my people without thinking about the sacrifices that I have to make.’

The king stopped speaking to take in a deep breath before he turned his attention back to Annalise and continued, ’Today, I once again need to take care of my people and land, and as usual, it needs a sacrifice. Unfortunately, I have to force you to be that sacrifice for me and this empire. I’m aware of just how wrong this is all for you but I don’t regret my decision.’

’You can despise me all you want but I really wish you all the best for your married life. May the Stars compensate you with a really beautiful and bright future. I’ll look forward to the day when you will successfully win your husbands’ love and support. That day will change many things and we will meet again. I hope you won’t disappoint me.’

Damien listened to every word that King spoke and though his words sounded like an apology to Annalise, he didn’t miss the change in his tone in the last sentence.

’Princess Annalise, I’ll personally attend your wedding as a thank you from this entire empire.’ The King notified her with a small warm smile on his face before he moved towards the door to leave the bed-chamber.

Annalise hurriedly bowed as she watched the King leave, the powerful presence of aura in the air also disappeared almost immediately, allowing her to finally take a deep breath.

Several long moments passed before she finally reacted and it was a humorless chuckle that left her mouth as she shook her head. ’Beautiful and bright future? Successful marriage? Winning my husbands’ love and support? What was all that? Would I ever be able to have any of these?’

Her eyes shone brightly because of the unshed tears that she was holding back as she too looked out of the window and towards the horizon, it was the direction of the mountain peaks where the Cursed Castle was located.

- -

Damien was pulled away from his wife’s memories with a powerful push that landed him on his back against the headboard.

His eyes flew open and immediately settled on the woman who was staring back at him with her ocean-blue eyes brimming with tears that were ready to spill out at any given moment.

She was aware of it... aware of exactly how he had misused their bond to pry into her memories without her permission.

Their bond was so new but he had already broken one of the major rules of the sacred soulmate bond by using its power against his mate and also without her consent.

"Princess..." He tried to approach her but she moved away to the other end of the huge bed.

Her eyes were looking at him with full of accusations and he felt his heart clenching in response. His intention was only to find the truth, not to hurt her.

"I know that you are probably mad at me right now... but can you at least, let me explain why I did that?" He requested as he tried to keep himself from approaching her again as it would have only resulted in her moving further away from him to avoid him.

"You wanted to know whether I’m really plotting something against you and your brothers, or if I’m indeed innocent. So, have you found the answer?" Her tone didn’t give away whether she was mad at him or just hurt by his action.

"Annalise, we are going to spend the rest of our lives together. If I didn’t get this cleared up now, we will never be able to move forward in our relationship." Damien tried to make her understand the reasoning behind his actions.

"As for my findings... Yeah, I agree that I was wrong about you all this time. Your intention was never bad, it was actually me who ended up misunderstanding you."

Annalise remained silent as she stared at the man while biting her lower lip. She had somehow managed to shut her thoughts and emotions completely from him which was making it hard for him to understand what she was feeling even through the soulmate bond.

He wasn’t sure if she had done it deliberately or if it was just a defense move from her just on instincts, but he was actually impressed to see her hold over their bond as it had been only a couple of hours and she was so new to everything related to a soulmate bond.

"Annalise, can you forgive me? Just for this one time? As your husband and mate, can this be considered as my first offense? I promise I’ll do my best to make it the last one too. I will get to know you for exactly who you are and will never misunderstand you in the future."

He sounded too sincere for her heart to not melt. Besides, being her soulmate, he had some perks in his favor.

"Before that... Can you at least explain why you misunderstood me in the first place?"