Back in the capital. Emmelyn felt all her body ache and her head was so heavy. Every day was a fight to stay sane. It was like being in solitary confinement.
She hated not being able to talk to people. She didn't have any access for visitors, and the maids didn't dare to talk to her when they came to serve her food or helped her wash.
And no, they didn't wash her or prepared water in her bathtub. They only provided a small bucket with water and a towel which she used to clean herself.
They cleaned her chamber pot once a day and everything was kept at a bare minimum. Just enough to keep her alive, but nothing too comfortable even though she was pregnant.
The only thing they kept giving her properly was the food.
It seemed, whoever it was that arranged her situation wanted to make sure that her baby didn't lack food, but the mother shouldn't be let to have an easy and comfortable life in her make-shift prison.
Mr. Vitas' visits were the only things that Emmelyn could look forward to. Sadly, they became less frequent over time. Lily didn't come again after her last visit and Emmelyn didn't know what happened.
She was worried that Lily was found out and it would put her family in trouble. Emmelyn really hoped that was not what happened.
She hoped Lily was just really busy with her young children, or she didn't find a good opportunity to come here and visit her again. To prevent herself from worrying, she kept telling herself that it was the case. Lily was busy.
Without anyone to come and talk to her, Emmelyn felt so lonely and almost gave up. She tried to talk to Harlow, but it's hard because she couldn't hear anything back.
That made her worried that if she insisted on talking to emptiness for a long time, she would feel stupid, or crazy.
So, Emmelyn was stuck without someone to talk to. She also hated the food provided. She didn't want to eat anything, but she kept forcing herself, saying that she had to do it for Harlow.
Emmelyn believed, had she not have her baby, she would have given up. Life had been really hard on her. She had lost her family and home, and now she was stuck in the enemy's prison.
Even though she was not sent to the dungeon, derogated, and tortured for the crime they accused her of, she couldn't have any hope for her case.
The only reason they still let her alive now was because she was pregnant with the crown prince's child. Harlow was her savior.
But Harlow was also the only reason she had to stay alive. She must not let Harlow experience difficulty, especially when it was still in the womb.
Every day Emmelyn could only look outside her window and see the world from such a narrow perspective. She missed her husband badly. She wondered where he was now and what happened to him.
She figured by this time, the news from the capital must have reached all their colonies. So, her husband must have heard of what happened to Queen Elara.
Emmelyn could imagine Mars was devastated by the heartbreaking news. She knew how much the man was so close to his mother.
Heck, even Emmelyn who was not the queen's biological daughter felt so heartbroken. Her husband must be suffering so much now, she thought despondently.
CREAK
Emmelyn was moved from her reverie and instantly turned her gaze to the door when she heard the door creak.
Was it the maids? No, usually they would only come at around ten in the morning.
Was it Lily? Emmelyn's mood suddenly became bright. If it was really Lily, she would feel so happy. She could get information from Lily about what was going on around her.
She tilted her head to see who would enter through the door.
"You...!" When that person came in, Emmelyn suddenly rose and she was enraged. "You finally come!"
"Well, you practically begged me to come and see you. So, I cannot say no," said Ellena who just entered the chamber. She looked around her and clicked her tongue.
Emmelyn was so mad at the woman. She would have attacked Ellena and kill her if she was not currently heavily pregnant.
She also needed to make a deal with Ellena in order for her to escape the prison. That's why she tried so hard to hold back.
It's okay, she told herself. She must not agitate Ellena because that woman might retaliate and use her father's influence in the capital as the king's right hand to have Emmelyn killed.
The princess didn't mind dying, she had lost her reason to live when her family and home were gone. However, she couldn't be selfish. If she died, that means Harlow would die too. So, she had to persevere and swallow everything.
"So, you have received my letter? I gave it to a maid and asked her to send her friend to deliver the letter to you." Emmelyn said. "I want to make a deal."
Ellena crossed her arms on her chest and narrowed her eyes. She smiled mockingly and asked, "What do you even have to offer to make any deals?"
"I can give you whatever you want," Emmelyn blurted. "I know you are interested in my husband. If you want to pursue him, I will leave and never come back. You can have him."
Of course, Emmelyn was lying. She didn't intend to keep her promise. She only wanted to persuade Ellena to let her go unharmed and said she would step back and let Ellena have Mars.
That was the only thing that Ellena wanted, right? Fine. Emmelyn would make Ellena think she could have the man.
Ellena looked at Emmelyn with an evil smirk on her face. "I can have him to myself after you die. I don't need you to hand him over to me. With your situation, I am sure as soon as you give birth to that baby, you will not be spared."
"No, if I died, he would miss me forever. He will never be yours completely," said Emmelyn. "The only way to make him become truly yours is by making him hate me. That's what you wanted to do by killing the queen and framing me, right?"
.
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>>>>>
From the author:
OMG... I feel so sleepy. If you see some errors in this chapter, please bear with them. I will check again and fix them after I wake up.
PS: I have decided to lower the prices for Privilege Tiers in July. The changes will take effect on July
NEW PRIVILEGE TIERS IN JULY 2021
1. You have supported me so much and for so long, I am so touched and grateful. Over time, the amount spent must have mounted to a lot. So, I will lower it slowly.
2. "The Cursed King" will go premium by end of June and will also have Privilege in July (for those who wish to read advanced chapters). If you are reading both books, I don't want you to pay too much for the privilege of two books.
So, these are the Tiers for July 2021:
Tier 1 - 1 coin - 2 advanced chapters (this is default by the system and there is nothing I can do about it)
Tier 2 - 5 coins - 5 advanced chapters (previously this tier didn't exist)
Tier 3 - 300 coins - 15 advanced chapters (previously 12 chapters)
Tier 4 - 1000 coins - 28 chapters (previously 1500 coins)
Tier 5 - 2000 coins - 40 chapters (previously 35 chapters)
This way, you can plan to downgrade and buy the lower tier access, stay in the same tier and get extra chapters, or you might decide that you no longer want to buy the access to advanced chapters, everything is up to you.
As always, purchasing privilege comes with a warning that:
1. IT IS NOT MANDATORY (you can read every day without privilege, just not the advanced chapters)
2. YOU NEED TO RENEW IT EVERY 1ST OF THE MONTH IF YOU WISH TO STAY AHEAD OF THE REGULAR READERS since Privilege expires every first day of the month.
Privilege is just the way provided for readers who wish to further support the authors or the books they like, beyond the coins they spend for chapters or gifts.
Please note that I usually publish 2 chapters per day. So, if you downgraded to the lower tier, and you are behind by, for example, 10 chapters, you can just wait for 5 days until you can catch up again. While waiting, you can read my other (completed books) or other authors' books.