Rebirth: The unfavored Princess is the Tyrant King's favorite-Chapter 92: Flashback: Who gave you the courage?

Luciana’s breath caught in her throat at his words, especially when he leaned in and was about to kiss her.

Her hand moved to stop him, pressing her palms against his lips.

"Not now," she breathed,

"Give me some time; after the divorce, I will go with you; I’ll..."

"Do anything I want?" He asked, interrupting her.

Luciana nodded shyly and let out a low "yes."

"Can I come and see you sometimes?" Nicholas asked, his voice having a seductive tinge to it as he winked mischievously at her.

Luciana realized her defenses were crumbling under his embrace. He was such a tease.

"No," she refused sternly.

"I could kidnap you right here and now, and nobody would find out. Do you still want to refuse me knowing you are on my territory? You are right where I want you, princess," he taunted, his hold on her getting tighter.

"You...you wouldn’t," Luciana stuttered, looking at him in horror.

"Trust me, princess, I would," he said.

"You have no idea how much I want to kiss you, undress you, touch you all over, and do wicked things to you," he whispered, and Luciana gulped.

"Okay, you win; I’ll be the one to come to you; it’s better that way," she said.

"And when would that be?" Nicholas asked, his brows raised; he knew better than to believe her words.

"Anytime soon?" She said, her voice full of uncertainty.

"I’m not letting you go then," Nicholas declared and hugged her tight.

"In a week. I will come and find you, believe me," she said, and that was what it took for Nicholas to finally let go of her. Not before placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.

~~~

A week later,

Luciana was on her knees in the throne room before the emperor, and her heart was about to jump out of her throat due to nervousness.

She had expected David to be against the divorce, but she didn’t think his reaction would be beyond what she anticipated.

He had outrightly refused and had told her straightforwardly that she belonged to him and should never think of leaving him.

Due to that, she could only address her situation with the emperor and tell him her need for a divorce. It’s been an excruciatingly long minute that has passed, but the emperor has yet to say something to her. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"I will discuss your wish to divorce with the ministers since this is a state matter. I admit, this is not the first time something like this has happened in the history of Gloryland, but Crown Princess Consort’s case is quite special since her marriage with the crown prince was due to a peace alliance in the first place. Should I take it that your country agrees to break off your marriage and, in doing so, break the peace treaty?"

The emperor finally spoke, and his words made Luciana even more worried. She had thought the peace treaty between her country and the people wouldn’t be affected by her decision, but it seemed she needed to send a message to her parents.

Would they be very disappointed in her? The thought made her depressed, and her headache worsened. These past few days, she had been having strange symptoms, as if she was coming down with something.

The problem was that she wasn’t having a fever, and she had no idea what was happening to her.

Her breasts felt sore and heavy; she was nauseous most times, and recently, she hardly enjoyed the foods she used to like. As she was on her knees in front of the emperor, she was using all her might to suppress herself so as not to retch due to the scent of the incense.

"My wish to divorce the crown prince is due to our personal differences and some difficulties on my side. If His Royal Majesty sees me as a daughter, as you’ve always told me, please see this as a daughter’s plea to her father. If it’s possible, can my divorce not affect the peace treaty?" Luciana pleaded in a low voice.

"I understand you, crown princess consort; you may rise... I’ll still have to speak to my ministers about this subject; it is quite a delicate one. I’ll summon you and David when I come to a decision," the emperor said.

Luciana bowed and thanked him. She arose from her kneeling position and returned to her estate. The feeling of nausea dissipated due to breathing fresh air outside.

Luciana felt tired and decided to sleep for a while. She didn’t know for how long she had been sleeping when an angry David burst through the doors with such a bang that her eyes flew open.

When she saw him approaching her on the bed, climbing in the bed, and trying to pin her down with his body, Luciana acted fast and overturned him and tried to get away from him, but he forcefully held her wrist and yanked her back to him.

The action had caused her knee to hit the bedpost, causing her face to contort in pain; she was sure it would leave a bruise. She gritted her teeth so that she wouldn’t cry out in pain.

David realized he had hurt her and let go of her. She stared at David warily and asked,

"What is the meaning of what you are doing?"

"Who gave you the courage to go to the emperor and ask for a divorce?" He growled.

"Do you think I don’t know you are doing it for him? You want to be with my brother, right? Answer me!" he snarled.

Luciana’s heart skipped a beat at his words, but she maintained a stoic expression on her face. Her throbbing knee helped her to maintain an expression of pain.

"What are you talking about? Me? Your brother? Why would I want a divorce because of your brother?" Luciana asked, her eyebrow raised into a frown.

"Don’t take me for a fool, Luciana," David warned and added, "I’ve always known about you and my brother since the first time you arrived in Gloryland."

Luciana’s knees nearly buckled, but she stood her ground.

"Don’t slander me and ruin my reputation. My conscience is clean, unlike you. I saw what you did with those maids in the greenhouse just a week ago. If you must know, that is the reason why I want a divorce. Besides, you lied to me!" Luciana said going all out.

"You told me you’d be faithful to only me; I’d be your only woman, but you broke your promise and married more concubines. I didn’t complain, but you went too far, having such activities in such an open place. Did you think about how I’d feel when you kept betraying me?" She choked her voice hoarse.

David’s gaze became angrier at her words. ’Was she spying on him?’

"I’m the man and your Lord, and I can have as many wives and women as I please. I will never let you go, Luciana," he said with a hint of finality in his voice and turned to leave. He summoned the guards he had come with him and gave them his command.

"Don’t allow the crown princess to leave her quarters without my permission. From today onwards, she must not set foot out of these doors."

Luciana’s eyes widened at his words before she could come to her senses, David had already left.

~~~

It was nighttime, and Luciana could be seen sneaking around the palace as if she didn’t want anyone to see her; she kept her footsteps light, and when she saw a maid approaching her, she whispered some words under her breath, and she became transparent like water; the maid passed by without realizing anyone was standing in the corridor.

Luciana had used the same method to escape from the guards since this ability made her appear invisible, but it usually lasted only for a few minutes. That’s why she didn’t like using this ability.

After the maid left, Luciana continued on her way until she approached a modest-looking courtyard that was away from the main palace. She gently tapped the door, and it swung open a few minutes after she knocked.

"Luciana, you came," Nicholas’ face, full of genuine surprise, was what came into her view.

Luciana looked around nervously as she quietly approached him and entered the residence with him. Nicholas closed the door behind her.

She had come to see him because she didn’t want Nicholas to act impulsively and decide to come and visit her.

They had not even taken a few steps when Nicholas pushed her back against the wall, leaned into her intimately, and whispered.

"I thought you wouldn’t come. I was going crazy, Luciana; I nearly barged into the palace to find you after waiting for you since sunset."

"Are you crazy? Do you want everyone to find out?" She whispered in exasperation.

"I don’t care; I missed you too much," he said and was about to kiss her lips to prove his point, but Luciana turned to face the other side, and he kissed her cheeks instead.

"You promised to wait until after the divorce; please be a little patient with me," she said with a pleading look in her eyes.

Nicholas reluctantly nodded even though he wanted to kiss her right there. He took a step away from her and pulled on her hand to take her to a seat.

It was then that he saw something was wrong with her posture.

"What happened to you?" Nicholas asked, his gaze full of concern.

"Don’t worry about me, I’m fine," she said and averted her gaze.

Nicholas went on his knees in front of her. He raised the enormous fabric of the skirt out of his way and saw her swollen knee and the purplish bruise.

"Is this nothing? Tell me who did this to you." Nicholas said through clenched teeth, exuding a dangerous aura. He looked like someone who would annihilate the whole world for her sake.