The King's Lover-Chapter 437: Too Many Wrongs

"Because you don’t hate it here. I would hate it if you weren’t with me," Caius said, his voice laced with emotion.

Rose narrowed her eyes. "What?" But she wasn’t yelling. His words annoyed her—and at the same time, they didn’t. That was the part that unsettled her most.

His words didn’t hide his selfish nature or what he wanted, but it wasn’t something she had ever thought she would hear him say. The admission sat between them like something fragile and dangerous.

Rose wasn’t foolish enough to mistake it for anything other than lust, and yet it carried a weight that made her chest tighten despite herself. He said it so simply, as though it were an obvious truth, as though her presence in his life was something essential rather than convenient.

A bitter part of her wanted to laugh. Another part—the traitorous one—wanted to believe this, to find some meaning in it. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

She shifted her weight, her grip tightening on the bag strap until her knuckles ached. If she allowed herself to soften now, if she let his words seep too deeply into her defenses, she knew she would regret it later. The castle had already taken enough from her.

"Stay with me, Rose."

The way he said her name made something twist painfully in her chest. Not commanding. Not sharp. Almost quiet. Almost vulnerable. It was unfair of him to sound like that when he held all the power between them.

She lifted her gaze to his, searching his face for uncertainty, a trick, or anything that would make this easier to dismiss—but found only that same strained intensity that had been there since the moment she entered the room.

"Your Majesty hasn’t given me much of a choice," she replied, her voice steadier than she felt.

The words tasted bitter in her mouth. No matter how gently he spoke, no matter how earnest his expression became, the truth remained unchanged: he decided what choices she had.

The air was quieter, and Rose became acutely aware of how exhausted she was. Perhaps that was why any of this was even beginning to make sense. It shouldn’t. The crown prince wasn’t doing anything right. He was imposing his will over hers once again, acting as though this was something she had a say in.

"I don’t want to give you any choice," he said, and lowered his head so it rested on the top of hers.

Rose laughed sadly, still clutching the bag. There it was. This wasn’t a negotiation. "Wouldn’t you say that’s cruel?" she stated.

She didn’t hate it here.

He didn’t want to give her any choice.

The crown prince didn’t hide his ways—he was as plain as daylight. So why wasn’t she fighting it? She was tired, she told herself. It felt as though she was in a whirlwind that wouldn’t stop spinning.

Besides, how many fights has she actually won? No matter what decisions she tried to make, she always seemed to end up back with him.

"Is that what you think it is?" Caius asked as he wrapped his arms around her, and she rested her head on his chest.

Rose nodded, her head pressed against his chest. Through his tunic, she could hear the loud beating of his heart, and at first she thought it was hers but it didn’t take her long to figure out that their heartbeats were just in sync.

His arms around her were a little too tight, but Rose didn’t mind; she hoped it would help her think properly again, but all she could think about was how nice the hug felt.

"Yes," she mumbled.

"Perhaps," he said. "But don’t leave me. That’s all I ask."

"I can’t stay," she simply stated.

"I don’t see why not," Caius replied.

"Ha," she didn’t have any defense against him, because he wasn’t using logic.

Rose just wanted to go to sleep. Perhaps tomorrow, she might be able to think through this clearly; maybe it might make more sense, but she knew it wouldn’t.

Caius moved backward so he could look at her face. "Do you hate it here? Being with me?"

"Y—" But she could not lie, not with the eagerness on his face. She didn’t hate being with him. She hated what came with it, and worst of all, she didn’t hate him.

"No," Rose admitted and hid her face once again.

There must be something wrong with her. There were too many wrongs, too many stacked up together. It felt as though she was being torn to pieces and then put back again.

"Then why leave?"

Rose sighed. They were back to this conversation again, but this time, it was hard to ignore how badly he wanted her to stay, and the worst part was, it no longer felt as though it was a way to make her miserable. It wasn’t an elaborate revenge plan.

"Because that’s how it’s supposed to be."

"I don’t think so," Caius calmly stated.

Rose sighed. "Only you would say that."

Rose felt Caius lift her, and she let the bag fall to the ground. He carried her easily, her head against his shoulder and his arms beneath her, holding her through the flare of her dress.

He placed her on the bed, where Rose sat with a dazed look on her face. As much as she would like to just roll over and go to sleep, she would be too uncomfortable and would most likely not get any sleep at all.

"Should I help you out of your dress?"

Rose thought it was almost polite of him to ask, and the absurdity of that nearly made her laugh. "Yes, please, Your Majesty."

She stood up and turned so her back was to him. He easily undid the laces that held her dress in place, and Rose couldn’t help the thought that he was better at it—but then, he had never been really bad.

As the laces came undone, the dress slowly started to slip down until it lay in a pool at her feet, leaving her in her chemise, garter, and stockings.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she said and stepped out of the dress. Then she sat on the bed and took her shoes off while Caius took his shirt off.

"I’d like to sleep," Rose stated without thinking.

Caius’s gaze became clouded for a moment, but it didn’t seem as though he was angry or disappointed. Just a little annoyed at what she was insinuating.

"Of course," he simply stated. "It has been a rough day for both of us."

Rose didn’t think it was nearly as rough for him as it was for her. She smiled tightly and got under the covers. Caius got in with her and pulled her to himself.

"You will stay?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her.

Rose thought it was ridiculous that he wanted an answer from her when he had just told her he wasn’t going to give her a choice. If there was no choice, why did he keep asking her? His question wasn’t even a question.

Rose nodded. She didn’t know why she did, and she was too tired to put reasoning behind her actions. She just wanted to go to sleep and forget the situation she was in.

When Rose woke up the next morning, she opened her eyes to the crown prince looking down at her. There was a bright smile on his face, and from his eyes, it looked like he had slept well.

Rose winced as her eyes opened; it was just the brightness from her open windows as dawn approached, but it was enough to make her squint.

She rubbed her eyes. Even though she had slept longer than the crown prince had, it didn’t feel as though she had slept enough.

"Good morning, Rose," he said and kissed the top of her head.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." She moved to a sitting position, still rubbing her eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

Rose nodded and turned to look at him as the memories from last night came flooding in. The crown prince was clearly in a good mood, but Rose wasn’t sure what mood she was in. One thing she knew was that she felt heavier.

Caius got out of bed even though she didn’t chase him. She had no intention to do so. She was a little surprised he would leave so easily.

He picked up his tunic and said, "If you need anything, tell the servants to let me know."

Rose nodded and forced out a smile. He stood and stared at her oddly, and Rose wondered what he thought about as he looked at her, but then he simply turned around and left the room.

Rose stood up from the bed, forcing herself not to process anything. She walked to where the bag lay by the door and picked it up. She searched through the contents—the drug was in there.

She made her way to the wardrobe, hid it in the corner, returned her flute and the bag before she returned to bed. There she remained until her maids arrived later.