Wife of The Demon Prince
Chapter 318: "Don’t go... please"

Chapter 318: "Don’t go... please"

The moon sat in the sky in it’s full glory, bright and casting it’s illuminating rays down onto the earth. A gentle breeze blew down the Autumn leaves drying onto the grounds.

Eadlin sat on the swing in the garden, her eyes gazing up into the sky staring at the full moon with an unreadable expression on her face.

Tonight was her last night at the Boxton mansion, and Findara itself, the next morning, she would have to travel off with Derian and Crispin back to Eringdalle, a new life awaited her there, and that was what she had been seeking, to move away, far away from Findara and everything her mother had done, it was the price she had to pay, but a tight ache clutched her heart at the thought of leaving everything behind.

Though she had prepared herself to let go, Eadlin still couldn’t bring herself to come to terms with completely letting go of the life she’d had here.

Her mind drifted off to Hamon, her dear brother. After she left, it was possible she would never return again, she might never have a reason to ever come back to Findara again.

Tears pooled in her eyes, and closing her eyes softly, they slid down her face. Even more than her own biological brother, Hamon had done a lot for her, shown her love and concern that she didn’t get from her mother and Cassius. Though she would have wanted to at least say goodbye, Eadlin still felt incredibly ashamed of all her mother’s crimes, how could she face Hamon with all of that?

And then there was Henry, the man she loved but gave her off to another, yes, she did accept that she wasn’t worthy of him, but his rejection still pained her heart deeply.

She thought of all the dreams she’d built in her ignorance of reality, the silent dreams in her moments of loneliness, she would have been willing to give anything just to get to be with him, alas her destiny had already been decided since the moment she was born as the daughter of queen Merona.

Eadlin shifted her gaze from the sky, she slowly wiped the tears in her cheeks, but the heavy pain in her heart didn’t diminish, she sobbed lightly, trying to stop the heavy emotions that clogged her throat, however she couldn’t stop it anymore, in the end she covered her mouth with her palms to muffle the sobs that came out.

The hardest thing to do in the world was letting go, and suddenly turning ones back on everything one knows and loves, starting a new life was like opening a whole new book filled with blank and empty pages while discarding the old one to leave nothing but memories that would eventually become like a cold and stale burden to ones heart.

Under the bright rays of the moonlight, amidst the creaking sounds of the night crickets, and the beautiful flowers glowing with the night rays of the moonlight, she let out her sorrows, letting her tears wash them away.

After some time, her sobs seized and her tears seemed to have completely dried off, Eadlin slowly picked herself up from the swing and left the garden.

She strolled through the spacious yards of the mansion her eyes taking everything in, she was immensely grateful for the time she’d gotten to spend here, even if it had been for a short while.

She was just about to turn around and head to the direction of her chambers when she suddenly paused her steps, her eyes falling on a particular room that still had it’s light turned on which she could see from the open windows.

Eadlin stared in the direction for a while before turning around to leave but suddenly halted once more.

She was leaving tomorrow, and might never return again, she might as well just say goodbye.

Also, this might be her last time to see him, one last time. She thought.

Eadlin made her way towards the room, feeling a lot of different emotions at once.

Standing directly outside the room, Eadlin raised her hands into fist almost landing on the door but she suddenly stopped herself, she made to retract her hand before finally just steeling herself, she knocked on the door subtly.

But immediately her hand touched the door, as if it had been unlocked the door slowly creaked open on its own. Eadlin was taken aback, she knew it was rude to look into someone’s room without their permission, but the door had opened wide enough for her to look inside, but the sight that met her eyes was one that astonished her.

Henry, a man who was stone cold and rigid at this moment was actually sitting on the floor in his room, all around him were empty wine bottles strewn across the floors, another one in his hand which he took a swig from with his head thrown back.

Eadlin couldn’t believe the sight before her eyes, she had never seen him in such a state before.

Just what could have made him drown himself in so much alcohol?

Eadlin couldn’t stop herself from fully pushing the door open, she slowly walked into the room, her eyes roaming around to take in all the mess even more. Who didn’t know Henry to be an incredibly meticulous and clean person, for him to have fallen to such a state...

Eadlin slowly crouched down before him, he had his head lowered, but upon sensing her presence, he slowly raised his head, his eyes looking slightly unsteady, she could see the red rims below his eyes, and how his brows were deeply furrowed.

Her heart ached deeply seeing him like that, Eadlin grabbed the bottle of wine in his hands snatching it from him as he made to take another swig from it.

He looked at her, his gaze still somewhat unsteady, she couldn’t tell if he was looking at her or past her.

"What happened to you lord Henry? What are you doing to yourself?" She muttered softly, her eyes filling with tears.

This was supposed to be her last goodbye to him, this would be her final image of him which she knew would forever be imprinted in her heart, though she didn’t know why he was like this, seeing him that way pained her heart.

"I’m here to say goodbye to you, after this, we will never get to meet again, I want to thank you, for everything you’ve ever done for me... Goodbye."

Looking at him, she pressed down the urge to help him and care for him out of whatever he must be going through at the moment, she should start from now, she should learn to ignore and let him go right from this moment, she would leave and soon become the wife of someone else, from this moment on, she should no longer concern herself with anything that had to do with him.

Placing the wine bottle far aside Eadlin got up and turned around, she was now turning her back to Henry and every other feeling she had for him, from now on... This was the end.

But Eadlin had just taken a single step when she suddenly stopped in her tracks, however, this time it wasn’t of her own accord, but a hand that had grabbed her wrist from behind.

She didn’t dare to turn around, the feeling of the coarse yet warm hand that grabbed her own made more tears pool in her eyes, until it trailed down her cheeks.

Even in his drunken state she didn’t want to show him her weakness, the vulnerability of her heart for him, not anymore. She was about to take a step forward along with an effort to extricate her hand from his hold but all of a sudden she was pulled backwards, she stumbled slightly but the next second she was safely wrapped in the warmth of broad arms that fully enveloped her.

Eadlin’s eyes widened as a deep masculine scent along with a strong whiff of alcohol filled her nose, but the pair of arms around her held her tightly.

"Don’t go..."

She suddenly heard him utter in a deep husky voice, "Please..."

The tears in her eyes spilled like a dam let loose, she could no longer hold in tears.

Henry’s hold tightened around her body as he spoke, "I was wrong... I had always been wrong. That day I asked you to marry me, it wasn’t just because I wanted to take responsibility, nor was it just because of the guilt I felt towards you, I felt a strange pain seeing you so helpless, it was because I couldn’t bear the thought of watching you leave and spend the rest of your life at a nun house, I had the desire to care for you, to provide a stable and happy life for you, I wanted the best for you, not because of guilt, pity, or responsibility, but because you already held a special place in my heart, a special place I never thought anyone would take... I love you Eadlin, I love you..."

As Eadlin closed her eyes, more tears trailed down her cheeks, she couldn’t believe her ears, neither could she believe these words were coming from Henry at the moment. His voice was soft, gentle, and conveyed the deep emotions he seems to keep in his heart, but... Could she really let herself believe this, could she really let herself believe this dream like moment, he said he loved her, these were words she had been dreaming to hear from him, but she didn’t dare even think she ever would.

And in this moment, being held in his arms and hearing such words of confession from him, she couldn’t dare believe it, perhaps they were words he was wantonly spilling in his drunk state, how could he really mean any of them, perhaps he’d wake up tomorrow and it would all be a mistake, a mistake she accommodated due to her own wishful thinking.

Nevertheless, this was a dream she had always had, if she could get to live it even once before letting go, then perhaps she’d have gotten her closure to start anew.

She raised her hand and held him back. Burying her head in the crook of his neck she let out a sob.

"I... I love you too." She said with a faint sob, whether he’d heard her or not, those were the words of her heart, the words she knew she would never be able to say to someone else, and she would take it along with her and bury it in the depths of her heart for the rest of her life.

She heard a relieved breath from him as his arms tightened further around her.

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A/N

Hi readers! I hope you are still enjoying the story so far. I’d really like to hear your thoughts on Eadlin and Henry. What do you think about them? Do you find them boring or interesting?

And again, I’d like to thank those of you who never failed to keep supporting this book with your power stone and golden ticket. Thank you so much, and I really appreciate the support.