The Grand Duke's Soulmate-Chapter 566: A Painful Defiance

Elis sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly out the window. Her gaze rested on the colourless stretch of winter beyond the glass, bare branches etched against a dull sky, lifeless and unmoving. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Behind her, the sounds of Kiev’s movements filled the chamber; the scrape of wood when drawers were pulled open, and the dull thud of clothing being shoved into travelling trunks. Yet none of it seemed to reach her.

The Mederian Prince wasted no time preparing for their departure. His decision had been made, and now there was only one thing left—to leave this mansion, and Cassian itself, as quickly as possible.

Clothes were gathered without care and pushed into trunks along with the items he had brought or acquired during his stay.

Usually, Kiev would be neat, with every fold deliberate, and every belonging placed with order befitting a prince brought up in discipline.

This time, however, there was no such restraint. His movements were sharp and hurried, as if time itself pressed against his back, urging him onward.

"Elis," he said without turning. "Quickly pack your belongings. We leave as soon as the ship is ready."

She did not respond.

Kiev continued for a few moments, unaware—or perhaps unwilling to notice—that she had not moved.

When the silence stretched too long, he paused. His hands stilled over an open trunk, and he finally turned around.

"Elis," he called again, more sharply this time.

Still, she did not look at him.

Her fingers curled slightly in her lap, knuckles pale, as her eyes remained fixed on the frozen landscape outside. The world beyond the window felt distant, unreal, much like the sudden future being forced upon her.

Kiev’s brow furrowed. He took a step toward her, leaving his items behind.

"Didn’t you hear me?" he asked. "There’s no time to waste."

At last, Elis spoke, her voice quiet but steady enough to carry.

"Must it come to this?"

Kiev froze. He stared at her as if he hadn’t expected resistance, least of all from her.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his tone tightening. "Of course it must. Eventually, we will return home anyway."

Elis’s grip tightened in her lap.

"Home..." she murmured. "Is it truly my home, or only yours?"

Kiev paused mid-motion and looked at her, one brow lifting.

"What are you talking about?"

Slowly, the princess consort turned away from the window to look at the Mederian Prince. Her eyes were calm, but the light within those blue irises was dimmed.

The princess consort steeled herself. Just as Kiev was resolute in his decision, she too had reached one of her own.

The unease had taken root the moment Kiev made his demand, an ominous certainty she had felt even then. Now, before it was too late, she knew she could no longer remain silent.

"I don’t think Semeta would ever suit me as my home."

"What nonsense is this?!" the Mederian Prince’s voice pitched.

Elis stood from the bed and faced him fully.

All this time, she had known her place and had learned when to speak and when to remain silent, when to yield and when not to stand in someone’s way.

Even after becoming Kiev’s wife, she had always relented to him, respecting his decision and desire despite having a different opinion on specific issues.

But today was different.

His actions in the hallway—confronting King Kyden and demanding the betrothal’s reinstatement—had jarred something delicate within her... Something she had carefully ignored... Something she had convinced herself would never matter.

It broke the instant the king gave his consent.

She took a deep, steadying breath, reaffirming her determination.

"You reinstated your betrothal with Anna," she said quietly. "Once we return to Semeta... you will marry her, and make her your official wife."

Kiev froze.

"That was always the plan," Elis continued upon seeing his reaction, her voice calm despite the ache in her chest. "Before I ever entered your life... Before I became your wife."

For the first time since leaving the hallway, Kiev was at a loss for words. He stared at her, shocked.

The Mederian Prince had not thought that far ahead, not beyond the immediate need to reclaim Anna and to bring her back under his protection. Everything else had been drowned out by fury and urgency.

"Elis," he said at last, "you are mine, and I am yours. We belong to each other, and nothing will alter that."

She shook her head slowly.

"Everything already has."

"You are imagining things."

"No," she replied softly. "I am seeing them clearly now."

She stepped closer, her voice now trembling despite her effort to remain composed.

"When you marry her, where will I stand? What will I be, Kiev?"

"I will not marry her! You are my consort, and there will be no other than you!" Kiev said sharply.

"Yes, you will because that was the agreement between Sabel Island and Ardel!" Elis suddenly cried. "Anna is the Great Khasif, and you are her betrothed. Your parents... your people... they will insist on it!"

The restraint she had clung to shattered at last. Her voice was shaken, raw, and exposed, as tears welled up despite her effort to hold them back. The weight she had carried silently since Kiev’s demand spilt forth, unstoppable.

"Stop this at once!" Kiev snapped. "You’re not thinking clearly! You’re letting jealousy cloud your reason! That betrothal existed only to protect Princess Anna!"

"And if that protection requires you to make her your consort, would you defy everyone and everything that you believe in if I told you not to?" Elis shot back.

Silence answered her, and that was enough...

"I knew it," she whispered, bitterness creeping into her voice. "Your oath is carved into your bones. When the time comes, I will be the one who suffers."

Kiev shut his eyes, his fist clenching so tightly his knuckles trembled.

He knew she was right. When he went back to Semeta with Anna, the marriage would follow. This had been planned well when he accepted the betrothal two years earlier.

Still... that moment hadn’t come yet...

"Do not speak of futures that haven’t come to pass," he said firmly. "You’re envisioning pain that isn’t real."

Elis let out a fragile, broken smile as tears finally fell, streaking down her cheeks.

"And yet your duty will always come first," she said softly. "You are responsible for her now. No matter how deeply you care for me, I will become a shadow beside you... a wife in name, but a mistress in truth."

"Elis!" Kiev seized her arms. "Even if it comes to that, I will never abandon you! You are my soulmate. We can still live together!"

She pushed him away.

"Stop it, Kiev!" she cried. "Do you think I could endure watching the man I love hold another woman? Share her bed? Fulfil your duty as her husband?" Her voice broke. "I would die a little every day!"

His lips quivered as she battled the storm raging within her.

"I will always be the third presence," she continued, her shoulders shaking. "Even as your wife, I will never truly belong with you... because I was never meant to be there. Soulmate or not."

"That will never happen!" the Mederian Prince said, his tone hardening.

"It will," Elis replied, choking on her words. "And you need to hear it because your demand changed everything!"

Silence fell between them, broken only by the princess consort’s tears.

"I know you came to Cassian for her," Elis continued. "I have always known. I accepted it because... because you chose me... and I believed that was enough."

Her hands clenched at her sides.

"But I cannot live watching you bind yourself to another woman.... I cannot stay in Semeta knowing I will lose you piece by piece."

"Don’t..." Kiev started, but the word faltered on his tongue.

Her confession struck deeper than any accusation. A dark, unfamiliar fear coiled in his chest.

"No, Kiev," she continued, shaking her head. "If you think you can hold both of her hands and mine without consequences, you’re mistaken." Her fingers gripped her skirts at both sides. "I may no longer remember the faces that violated me, but that doesn’t mean my past has vanished. Your noble clan will never truly accept a woman tainted and broken like me as their princess consort."

Her tears fell like a dam that had been forced open.

"Elis!" Kiev shouted, fury flashing through his eyes.

He had never expected she would reopen that wound. He thought their past was something they had buried together, sealed away beyond pain and memory, bound by their love.

But Elis looked at him then not as his wife or soulmate, but as a woman bracing herself for the inevitable loss.

"I won’t go," she said quietly, finality settling into her tone. "I won’t come with you."

"What did you say?" The Mederian Prince’s eyes widened in disbelief, as if the statement hadn’t quite reached his hearing.

"I’m staying. Semeta is not for me, and I have vowed to be a Cassian."

"You can’t do this!" he thundered.

"Yes, I can and I will! I am first the people of His Highness the Grand Duke before I belong to you!"

Kiev eyes darkened.

"Do you truly believe he would acknowledge you and let you stay after I leave? He’d bear a grudge against me to the core for taking Princess Anna and would likely torment you! At the very least, he’d throw you out onto the street!"

"His Highness wouldn’t do that!" she shouted. "He and his men are honourable knights... and even if he’s angry with me, I would accept his punishment willingly! I owe him my life and have sworn my allegiance to him! He can kill me if that is what it takes to make it even!"

"I am your husband!" The Mederian Prince yelled. "...and you will come with me!"

"No," Elis said, tears spilling continuously. "I won’t!"

Kiev turned sharply and paced a few steps away, forcing himself to breathe, to regain what little patience he had left.

But the effort shattered within seconds as rage finally overtook him. With a harsh snarl, he lashed out, his boot striking the chest with brutal force.

’Bang!’

The chest slammed into the wall with brutal force, the impact echoing through the chamber as it shattered apart, scattering broken wood and clothing across the floor.

Elis flinched violently.

Her shoulders shook as she clamped a hand over her mouth, smothering a sob.

The man before her felt terrifyingly unfamiliar—distant, and consumed by a fury she could no longer reach or soothe.

"Enough!" he shouted. "I don’t want to hear any of your blabbering! You will board that ship with me whether you like it or not, and I will make you!"

Kiev walked away and slammed the door behind her. Disappointment weighed heavily on her heart, cold and oppressive from the loud, disturbing thud that made her wince again.

Alone, Elis took a deep breath, tears streaming down her face relentlessly. Kiev’s ignorance made her pain seem worthless.

Outside, snow fell silently, cloaking the world in a quiet sorrow that reflected her own grief.

A love that was once warm and certain gradually faded away amid overwhelming pain that began to tear them apart...Top of Form