The King's Lover-Chapter 482: Nothing Did

Caira sat in the gazebo with a distant look on her face as she stared straight ahead. Her mind was spiraling in different directions. There was a book on her lap, one she had carried for days now but had made no progress in reading.

A bookmark lay in the middle, but Caira couldn’t recall anything about the book. She had turned the same pages over and over again, reading the words, but they held no meaning to her.

Nothing did.

Not her books, not the food she ate, nor any activities she engaged in.

Today was the first day she was going about as she usually would since the day at the library. She knew she couldn’t hide out in her room for much longer, not as the future Queen. It took a lot of effort, but she had to do it, as she had done...

Caira pushed her thoughts elsewhere. She didn’t want to remember that night nor think about the consequences of her actions. She could clearly recall how Caius had looked at her with disgust before exiting her room. She realized she preferred his dislike.

Seeing both of them during breakfast was the worst experience of her life. She sat across from Rylen while Caius sat beside her. She couldn’t look at either of them, and all she could think about was how she had gotten into this mess.

As soon as breakfast was over, Caira had fled the scene. She couldn’t bear it. Rylen had tried to talk to her, but there was no way she could do that, not after what happened.

After she escaped him, she made her way to the Queen’s bedchambers to offer her condolences, and there she stayed until the Queen had let her go. From there, she came to the garden to watch the flowers and the birds.

Caira hoped it would ease the turmoil in her mind, but it didn’t; rather, it made her more aware of it. Very aware of how different things would be now. Well, "different" was a strong word, as the only thing that had changed was her relationship with Rylen. Caius still couldn’t stand the sight of her.

A movement caught her eyes, and Caira forced herself out of her thoughts and tried to focus. She blinked rapidly, refusing to believe the figure that was approaching her, but it was pretty clear who he was.

Rylen.

She wouldn’t miss that hair color anywhere, or that gait. He walked in a straight, steady manner; it was impressive.

He was heading her way, and Caira’s first instinct was to run. But where would she run to? He was walking down the only path that led in and out of the garden; she would have to tread on the flowers to escape him.

However, Caira soon noticed her attention wasn’t only on trying to escape. Rather, there was a loud sound that seemed to be coming from her chest. She gripped the sides of her dress as he drew even closer.

She accepted her fate as she waited for him to reach her. She looked at her feet, tapping anxiously. She could feel the knot in her stomach get tighter.

"Princess," he called as he stood at the entrance of the gazebo. He gave her a small bow, then added, "Lunch is served."

Caira squeezed harder on her dress. "Prince Rylen." Her voice was a mere whisper. "What are you doing here?"

He lifted his gaze to meet her eyes, but Caira realized she couldn’t hold his gaze.

"I came to tell you about lunch," he simply said.

"You didn’t have to," she whispered, gripping the dress until her fingers threatened to tear into the lace.

"All the more reason why I should. Shall we?"

We shan’t. We shouldn’t.

But she didn’t say that. Rather, she lifted the book from her lap and placed it closed on the bench. She didn’t have to worry about it; Mara would make sure to hold onto it and hand it to her when she wanted it. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Pushing on her heel, she lifted herself off the bench and took the two stairs that led out of the gazebo. Rylen stood to the side, watching her. She wanted to look at his face to see what expression lay there, but Caira couldn’t bring herself to.

She couldn’t face it. It was easier to pretend there was nothing wrong. However, she was more bothered that Rylen seemed willing to do the same thing.

Unlike when he had approached her this morning, there was no question in his body language, no anxiousness or need to ask her what had transpired. He was simply leading her to the dining hall.

He didn’t walk ahead, but he didn’t walk too close either, almost as though he was leaving it to her to decide. Caira turned to look at him, but his gaze was straight on the path.

She stared, but only for a moment, and returned her gaze to the path once again. The walk to the dining hall was quiet but somehow shorter than Caira would have liked. As always, it was nice being in his company, even if they didn’t exchange words.

When they arrived at the dining hall, Caira had to attend to guests. A few she remembered from the wedding, but some she had never seen before. They were all nice to her, and pleasantries ended as soon as Caius arrived.

The hall went quiet as he stepped in, all eyes on him as he marched to his seat at the head of the table. Caira kept her eyes bowed and didn’t meet his. She knew she didn’t want to see what was in there.

The guests returned to their seats as he sat down, and lunch was served. The table erupted in whispers, but Caius remained silent. The lords at his table seemed eager to talk to him, but Caius didn’t let the conversation extend any longer than it needed to.

Even more than Caius, she was aware of Rylen. He was polite as he made conversation, and where Caius didn’t want to speak, Rylen spoke on his behalf. It was easy to see how he garnered the attention of the table.

Caira found her gaze straying towards him ever so often, but she avoided meeting his eyes still. Pretending didn’t make things easier.