9
I didn’t know when my own tears had started to fall.
“I’m sorry,” I said to Selena. “I kept so much from you. I tricked you into coming here…”
“He was probably afraid you’d be too heartbroken over my death, so he was willing to have a child with you…”
“He never announced the Empress’s death. He sent men to protect you secretly. You’re still the Empress…”
“If you have a son, he’ll be the heir to the throne! I know you cry yourself to sleep every night. You can’t bear to leave him…”
“If you go back to being the Empress, you have to be more careful. I can’t be there to protect you anymore…”
Şelena hugged me tightly.
“I’m not going back!”
“He lets me have a baby when he wants, and stops me when he doesn’t? What does my own body have to do with him?”
“He’s a liar! He used me! But you… you’re different. You lied to me for my own good…”
“If you were a man, I’d have my child call you ‘father‘! To hell with the damn Emperor! He’s not half as good as you!”
Her words made me laugh.
I dried my own tears and pushed her away. “Get out of here! If I married you, I’d have to watch you pine for another man every night and raise another man’s son. What do you take me for, a fool?”
She grinned through her tears. “You are! You are! You’re the one who tricked me into leaving the palace, so you have to take respo- nsibility for me!”
“I know you’re smart. You’ll find a way to get rid of these palace people!”
I smiled wryly.
What could I do? Could I, with my own two hands, fight against the power of the throne?
Besides, my best friend was an idiot who knew nothing but… well, bodily functions.
==
A
==
4
My instructions to the doctor were useless. Selena, in her joy, couldn’t help but cradle her stomach and smile foolishly. When she had morning sickness, she made no effort to hide it. She even started commissioning baby clothes and holding them up to her belly.
Anyone with eyes could see she was pregnant.
The news quickly reached the palace.
A month later, Selena and I were grilling skewers in the courtyard after dark when we heard the maids in the front yard scream.
“Who are you people? Where are the guards? Why didn’t anyone stop them?”
I shot Selena a look and calmly straightened my clothes.
Her pregnancy was no longer a secret. But mine still was. I was only three months along, and my slender frame meant my slightly rounded belly was easily hidden by my loose clothing.
But before I could even look up, I heard Selena gasp.
Chapter 2
“Holy crap! It’s your ex!”
#1 ”
My hand froze. I never expected Marcus to come here.
The next second, a familiar male voice spoke.
“This subordinate pays his respects to Her Majesty, the Empress.”
I didn’t need to look up to feel Marcus’s gaze fixed on me.
I didn’t dare to.
But my idiot best friend nudged me. “Your ex is here! It’s been a while. Why don’t you look at him?”
“…Idiot,” I mouthed at her silently.
She pouted. “If you call me that again, I’m not helping you with
your
divorce!”
“He’s not doing as well as you. You look great today. And I’ve got your back. Go on, face him!”
”
=
www
الا
13:16
“Your Majesty!”
Her words didn’t faze me, but they sent Marcus into a panic.
P
“My wife and I are deeply in love. What talk is there of divorce?”
Deeply in love? Once a year counts as “deeply in love“?
M
==
A surge of anger washed over me. I finally looked up, not at Marcus, but at Selena. “Your Majesty, you must have forgotten. I only bear a resemblance to your handmaiden. I am not her. And I am not the General’s wife.”
