The Bigshot Married Himself to the Heiress-Chapter 691 - 732: The Queen Abuses the Princess Consort
The Queen stepped forward, slapping her son across the face and scolding, "Enough! Haven’t you been embarrassed enough already?"
"Queen Mother, they are slandering my Princess Consort! My little prince! My Princess Consort is not that kind of person. Dylan is my son; how can they say he isn’t my own flesh and blood?"
This caused Kiya unbearable agony, far worse than when they had slandered him directly.
"Kiya, when are you going to stop deceiving yourself? The woman in the video is Paige Desmond, isn’t she? Those words were spoken by her, weren’t they? Now that things have come to this, you still refuse to see what kind of person your Princess Consort truly is!"
Kiya was speechless.
"What do you want with a woman like that?"
"I don’t believe it! Queen Mother, Paige would never betray me! Those videos are fake! Don’t believe them..."
"Shut up!"
The Queen didn’t care whether it was true or false. With so many people present today, including numerous foreign reporters, the matter could no longer be suppressed.
Whether Paige Desmond was innocent or not, divorce was the only option left for Kiya and her to save the Royal Family’s reputation.
She didn’t like Paige Desmond at all; a divorce would be a good thing. The Princess of Pelindi was far more to her liking than Paige Desmond.
"Kiya, remember who you are! You are the Crown Prince of Abyanabad, the future Sultan!"
Kiya remained silent.
"Look at what you’ve become! Fighting? You actually fought with a reporter? Like some street drunkard... Where are your manners? What happened to your upbringing?"
Kiya stood there, unable to utter a single word.
The Sultan had the emotionally unstable mother and son escorted away, leaving the Diplomat to preside over the remainder of the ceremony.
「The Queen’s bedchamber.」
The Sultan was also present. The three of them usually presented the image of a loving family, each wearing a mask to maintain the Royal Family’s dignity and elegance. Today, however, they were quarreling like any ordinary family.
"No! I will not divorce her! My Princess Consort has been framed; she would absolutely never do such a thing."
Kiya didn’t believe the video; he had far more faith in his Princess Consort’s character.
His Princess Consort was a kind woman, noble in character; she would never do something like that.
The Queen looked at her son, her expression a mixture of frustration and disappointment. Now that all the servants had been dismissed, she no longer needed to maintain her lofty demeanor and revealed her true feelings.
"Kiya, has that woman cast some sort of spell on you? Even after all this has happened, you’re still completely infatuated with her?"
"There must be some misunderstanding..."
The Queen stepped forward and slapped her son hard across the face again. Her son was over thirty, and she had never brought herself to strike him even once before, yet today she had slapped him twice.
Both slaps landed on Kiya, but it was her own heart that ached with pain.
Her husband had too many wives. After she gave birth to Kiya, the Sultan had essentially stopped staying overnight in her bedchamber. It was this only son who had accompanied her through those long, lonely years.
Kiya was so outstanding, as if he had been born specifically to be the Crown Prince. She was proud to have such a son, but everything had changed since the appearance of that woman, Paige Desmond.
"Divorce! Divorce her immediately!" the Queen shrieked hysterically, a crazed look in her eyes.
Kiya was in agony. "Queen Mother, please don’t pressure me anymore..."
Paige Desmond often said that the Shariff Royal Palace was like a cage, a prison that trapped people’s souls.
He had been born and raised in the Shariff Royal Palace. Then Paige Desmond came and stayed with him here. He felt it was his home, not some cage, not some prison.
Now, Paige Desmond had left, taking the fruit of their love with her. Kiya felt that this place truly was a magnificent cage, a prison capable of trapping one’s soul.
"Am I pressuring you? How am I pressuring you? At a time like this, don’t tell me you plan to let that woman Paige Desmond continue to be your Princess Consort?" the Queen screamed, her hatred for Paige Desmond growing even more intense.
She cursed Paige Desmond viciously in her heart. Why doesn’t she just die! If Paige Desmond died, no one would take her only son away from her.
"Kiya, did you hear me? Divorce Paige Desmond immediately!" the Queen commanded.
Kiya lowered his head, two red welts from the slaps visible on his cheeks. His voice was quiet but firm as he said, "I will not divorce her!"
He wouldn’t let her go. The Shariff Royal Palace was too vast; if Paige Desmond left, his heart would have no place to rest.
The Sultan looked at his son, puzzled. He couldn’t understand how a philandering, fickle man like himself could have fathered a son as intensely devoted in love as Kiya.
"Kiya, things have progressed to this point. There’s no way out. Do you want our Royal Family to become a laughingstock?" The Sultan was much calmer than the Queen, speaking to his son in a level voice.
Kiya looked at his father and said solemnly, "Father, even if you don’t believe my Princess Consort, you must trust your own son’s judgment. The woman your son cherishes is absolutely not the kind of woman shown in that video today. There must be some misunderstanding, or someone is trying to frame her..."
"Who would want to frame her? You’re not going to suggest that I orchestrated everything today, are you?" the Queen demanded shrilly.
"Queen Mother, that’s not what I meant..."
"That’s exactly what you meant, Kiya! Do you honestly think your Princess Consort left the palace because I bully her all the time?"
Kiya offered no response.
"Queen Mother, no. How could you bully my Princess Consort!"
The Queen sneered. "Oh, but I did bully her!"
"Queen Mother, please don’t say things in anger..."
Since matters had reached this stage, the Queen decided to reveal everything.
"When you weren’t at the Imperial Palace, I often summoned her to my own palace to torment her. I made her serve me my meals; she had to stand while I ate. Sometimes, she would go an entire day without any food...
"Do you remember that time the Princess Consort’s hand was scalded? Oh, that was because I detested those beautiful hands of hers, so I deliberately splashed boiling soup on them...
"I also made her clean my bedchamber like a Servant...
"I even told her that if I merely said the word, she would be driven out of the Imperial Palace...
"And if she dared to disobey, I would revoke all the special privileges granted to her Desmond Family!"
Kiya was too stunned to speak.
"And when she couldn’t conceive, I insulted her relentlessly, calling her a barren old hen that couldn’t lay eggs!"
"Queen Mother!" Kiya stared at his noble mother in shock, utterly unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Hahaha... Did she often complain to you about me? Is that why the bond between us, mother and son, grew increasingly distant?"
"No! My Princess Consort never told me that you, Queen Mother, abused her so terribly!"
Kiya’s eyes turned bloodshot. He looked at his mother, tears welling in his eyes, but none fell.
