The King's Lover-Chapter 473: Ruined It

Caius woke with a start and was immediately struck by a blinding headache, causing him to scrunch his face and lift his hand to his head. Everything felt too bright, and he was forced to shut his eyes as soon as he opened them.

However, without being fully awake, Caius could immediately tell that something was wrong. First, Rose wasn’t in his arms, and when he had opened his eyes briefly, the curtains of her four-poster bed looked different. The servants did change them out, but not every day.

Caius winced as he called on his memory. The last thing he remembered was Rylen carrying him up the stairs. He had seen Rose’s room, and Rylen was going to lead him there.

His eyes flew open again, and the blinding headache grew worse, but Caius suddenly had a nauseating feeling worse than the headache, and it was hard to tell if it was his hangover or something else.

Another thing he realized was that he was naked underneath the covers and in a strange bed. Caius forced himself into a sitting position even though his head felt as though it might split open. The drapes were drawn, but the slits in the curtains allowed enough light to slip through, and that light had shone directly onto his face.

He turned to the side, and at the edge of the bed, his clothes were neatly arranged. Caius picked up his pants and slipped into them, leaving the rest of his clothes. The nauseating feeling was even worse now, and he could detect unfamiliar scents on himself.

Caius had the sudden urge to vomit as he struggled to put on his pants, then he flipped the drapes to the sides and immediately realized whose room he was in.

Caira was seated across from him on a sofa with her legs tucked beneath her. He could tell she was naked from the way she gathered the covers around herself, leaving only her shoulders exposed.

Caius turned his head to the side and nearly lost his dinner from last night. His head was swirling as he tried to understand just what was going on. There was no way he could have made this mistake. Besides, he was too drunk to make that decision himself.

Drunk?

Was I actually drunk?

Caius stood to his feet, and they nearly gave out from underneath him. Caira was staring at him in an odd manner. She hadn’t said anything, but she wouldn’t stop staring at him.

Caius wanted to... He stopped his thoughts. He didn’t know what he wanted to do, but he found that he didn’t want to think about what might have happened. He didn’t want to believe it.

Try as he might, he couldn’t recall anything after seeing the door of Rose’s room, but the scene before him was unmistakable. Caius felt his skin crawl. Nothing could have prepared him for this. Absolutely nothing.

He forced himself towards the door without sending another glance in her direction. He found that he didn’t want to look at her. He didn’t trust himself to be able to step out of the situation without doing something.

As he walked forward, his steps were uneven; his legs felt like a ton of bricks, and the slightest mistake felt as though he would fall forward, but Caius didn’t want to spend one more moment in that room.

Caius got out of the room and slammed the door loud enough that it frightened Caira, who was seated on the chair. She wrapped the covers tighter around herself but made no effort to move.

Caius knocked on Rose’s door with urgency, the door shaking as he tried to reach Rose. The door finally opened, and a sleepy Rose stood in front of him, rubbing her eyes while also struggling to see who was at the door.

Caius walked into the room and pulled her into his arms, shutting the door with his foot. He welcomed her familiar scent, hoping it would mask the strange ones on him and blot out anything from last night.

"Your Majesty," Rose called out in shock.

She didn’t fight him as he pressed her against his chest. She let him hold her, and her arms went around his back, and Caius had the greatest urge to sob.

How was he to fix this mess?

"Are you well?" Rose softly asked. Her hands rubbed his back as she tried to soothe him.

She was utterly confused; Rose had never seen him like this. He looked pale and sick. He was also hugging her so tightly, as though he wanted to absorb all of her.

His body was bent at an awkward angle so his head rested against the side of her face. His fingers tangled in her hair, and she could feel tremors through his entire body.

Rose had been a little sad when he didn’t show up to her room the night before. However, Welma had been nice enough to tell her the king was dead when she brought her dinner, so Rose had assumed he was too busy to come to her.

However, his actions and appearance had her worried. Caius purposely didn’t like to show this side of himself. He often kept a stoic facade and made light of the situation, even though it was far from it.

He was shirtless, barefoot, and he smelled of wine. She had known he had been drinking from the moment he appeared at her doorstep. He had practically staggered into the room.

"Your Majesty," Rose called again. His arms were still tightly wrapped around her, and he had no plans to let her go.

"Are you unwell?" she rephrased.

"I’ve ruined it," he whispered. His voice was filled with such raw emotion that it sent shivers down her spine.

"Ruined what?" Rose asked and tried to lean back, but Caius didn’t let her; rather, he clung to her even tighter.

Caius wasn’t speaking anymore; rather, he shook his head wildly as he clung to her. Rose’s legs could barely hold on any longer. The crown prince was leaning on her with some of his weight.

"Is this about your father?" Rose questioned as she tried to understand what was happening. "I am sorry for your loss."

Caius didn’t say anything; he just kept clinging to her. Rose was at a loss. She had never seen Caius like this and didn’t know how to help, but she could tell he was terribly distraught.

"Shall we head to the bed?" Rose offered. She feared her waist would snap any moment.

At first, she thought he didn’t hear her, but Caius lifted her off the ground and slowly started walking towards the bed. She would have sworn he barely had any energy to walk, let alone carry her. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

They stumbled onto the bed, and Caius wrapped his arms tightly around her and refused to let go. Rose tried to get him to tell her what was wrong, but Caius didn’t speak, and soon enough he was sleeping.

His face was relaxed as he slept, and he snored softly, but even though he was deeply asleep, his grip around Rose didn’t loosen.

But Rose didn’t try to get out of bed.