Chapter 40: The King’s Love
Warren was playing the part of the king!
I could hardly believe what I was seeing, and I was certain I was gawking at him.
“Ah, I’m glad you’re here,” he said as he turned and walked toward me. His hands were folded behind his
back, and he looked quite regal and important, much like he did in real life, but with an air of arrogance
about him I’d never seen with Warren before.
“I brought you your favorite dessert,” I purred, trying to sound, um, seductive, I guess? That was hard for
me.
“Put it down,” he said. “That’s kind of you, but I’m afraid I’m not in the mood for dessert.”
I set the cake down on a side table, along with the two plates and two forks I’d managed to bring along
with me. I could tell by his expression that whatever it was he was going to say to me, I wasn’t going to
like it. “What’s wrong?”
I asked him.
I hadn’t talked to him about the other woman yet, but as he walked toward me, the graveness of his
expression told me he was going to reveal his decision to me. I was so nervous, my hands were
shaking.
It was strange. I could tell that those emotions were not mine, yet, I was still controlled by them. On one
hand, I knew this was all just an illusion that the Moonlit Crystal created, on the other hand, it was so real
that I almost thought I was her, the king’s mistress.
I bet without knowing their own identities, Brook, Jake and even Warren would truly think they were the
people from this world.
He didn’t answer me, so with my nerves getting the best of me, I continued to speak. “I took a lot of time
making this cake for you, Your Majesty.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t need to go to any trouble for me. I’ve appreciated how well you’ve treated
me these past three years, how you’ve always been there for me, but that time has ended now.”
“What?” My voice trembled with emotion as I spoke. “You can’t be serious?”
“I’m afraid so. It seems… I don’t love you after all. I am in love with someone else, and I plan to marry
her. Again, I thank you for your service, but that’s in the past now, and I will move forward with my
fiancée, the love of my life.”
“That’s okay,” I said quickly, trying my best to think of a way to salvage the situation. “Even if you love
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtsomeone more, I can still be of service to you. I can still accompany you. The people in the castle know
and respect me. They will continue to do so. I am willing to be your silent partner.”
He shook his head. “No, no. That won’t be necessary. My partner will be here with me every step of the
way. In fact, the only reason I ever chose for you to accompany me to begin with is because you remind
me so much of her.”
With that, he gestured to the open door behind me, and when I saw who was walking inside, with a
triumphant smirk on her face, my first thought was to grab the cake and shove it in her face.
Sophia!
Boy, whoever set this world up sure had an interesting sense of humor.
She pranced over to him, her high heels clacking on the stone floor, and I did my best not to glare at her.
I wouldn’t be able to convince the king that I was the right woman for him if I’d made him mad then by
disrespecting her.
I watched as she approached him, moving gracefully but seductively. She paused beside him, placing
her hand on his chest and leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek, leaving a faint smear of red lipstick
in her wake. “Hello, my handsome King,” she said, her voice just as annoying now as it had been before
we got sucked into this place. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Warren–the king–wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, and I tasted bile in the back of
my throat. the king had been someone else, I would have been fine, but… why Warren? This entire
situation was making me sick.
Warren lifted his other hand to brush her hair back away from her face, and when he did so, his sleeve
moved back, exposing to the light the bracelet I had gifted him.
Sophia saw it, and I noticed her eyes going wide. “Ooh, what’s this?” she asked, running her fingertip
over it lightly.
“Someone special gave this to me…” Warren sounded confused when he answered, like he wasn’t quite
sure why he was saying that, but then he gave me a look that I couldn’t quite read. I assumed it was part
of our true history mingling in with what was going on in this magical place. But Warren certainly didn’t
remember who he was or he wouldn’t be treating me this way while he was being so nice to Sophia.
“I absolutely love it!” Sophia gushed. “Oh! May I have it, pretty please?” She made some sort of pouty
duck face and blinked her eyelashes at him again and again.
“Oh… no, I think not,” he said. “I’m sorry, precious, but this bracelet is extremely important to me. I can’t
just give it to you.”
“Why is it so important?”
“I…” But Warren couldn’t come up with the answer. He pressed his temples as if something was
bothering him.
“Your Majesty, you told me that I’m the most important one to you,” Sophia begged. “And you said you
loved me! If you love me, you’ll give it to me!”
“I do love you, but-” Warren began. “But that doesn’t mean I can just hand it over to you.”
Then, she began to cry. Actual tears began to roll down her cheeks! She had always been a beauty,
even when she was crying, but the entire scene was so ridiculous, I could hardly believe what I was
seeing.
She certainly acted the same as she did back where we came from. Spoiled. Entitled. Bratty. That was
the true Sophia.
“Fine, fine, darling,” Warren finally said, taking the bracelet off of his wrist and sliding it onto hers.
Immediately, her tears dried up, and she began to smile as bright as the sun. “I’m so sorry that I made
you cry, my dear.”
“It’s all right, Your Majesty. I love you so much! I’ll forgive you!” She leaned over and rubbed her nose
against him, giving him a butterfly kiss, and I couldn’t watch any more.
I couldn’t believe he’d just handed over the bracelet so easily. That bracelet wasn’t just important to him,
it was important to me! Yet, he’d just slid it off and given it to her.
It was as if my heart was pulled out from my chest, thrown on the ground by the person I longed for
years, and shuttered in thousands of pieces.
It wasn’t his fault, I understood, he didn’t know who he was… but that didn’t make it hurt less.
Depressed and defeated, I backed up to the side table where I’d placed the cake and hoisted myself up
to sit next to my creation. The two of them continued to make lovey dovey faces at one another, and with
every exchange, I felt more and more sick to my stomach.
What better way to keep from throwing up the contents of my stomach than to put more in it? “Well, if no
one else wants to eat this cake, I guess I’ll eat it myself,” I said. I picked up a fork and dug into the cake
without even bothering to use a plate.
Theo was right; it was pretty good. It wasn’t the tastiest thing I’d ever eaten, but considering I’d made it, I
couldn’t complain.
I continued to shovel it into my mouth while the two of them gazed into each other’s eyes. Really, the
entire situation was ridiculous. Even though it was an illusion, it was unsettling and a bit revolting to me.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWithout even chewing up all of the cake I had in my mouth, I blurted out, “I don’t get it.”
Both of them turned to look at me with arched eyebrows.
“What’s that now? Why is she here?” Sophia whispered to the king, but he put out a hand to quiet her.
“What are you talking about?” he asked me.
I cleared my throat, wishing I’d thought to bring a drink. along for our dessert party. “For being so elegant,
you certainly are being heartless, Your Majesty. I was just thinking about what you said earlier.
Remember? You said that you were with me because I reminded you of her, right?” I asked him.
“Ah! That’s so sweet!” Sophia gushed. She started in with the baby talk again, so I had to speak up to be
heard over her..
“If you like her so much, why even bother with me to begin with? She was your true love, so you cherish
her, love her, honor her, and since you found her again, you’ll want to be with her.”
Sophia was extremely pleased to hear what I said and hugged Warren even tighter.
I took a sip of water and continued, “If she was so important to you, and no one would replace her in your
heart and you’re so faithful to your love for her, why did you even come to me to begin with?” I stabbed
my fork so hard into the cake that the plate shook a little.
Warren’s eyes widened and he was stunned. Sophia wanted to say something, but Warren gave her a
glance and made her stay silent.
“I just don’t get it!” I concluded.
“Well, I…uh…” Warren said, placing his free hand on his hip in a fist. “I’ve never heard you speak like
that before in all of the years that I’ve known you.” He shook his head slightly, as if he couldn’t believe
what he’d seen. “Maybe I don’t know you that well…”
I felt called out a bit, and for a moment, I thought perhaps I’ d ruined everything. I replied, “Same here,
Your Majesty. After all, I didn’t know you that well either, or else… maybe I wouldn’t have chosen to be
with you!”
His mouth opened and closed, but he didn’t say anything.
“Sorry if my attitude is surprising you, Your Majesty,” I said, not really caring anymore. “But this is just
how I am, my true nature. I’m not acting for you anymore, and if you don‘ t like it, then maybe it’s best
you’re with her now.” I glared at Sophia. “And… if you don’t like my cake, that’s also all right.” I took
another giant bite, and with cake falling out of my mouth said, “That just means more for me!”
Both of them stared at me, and all I could do was laugh. Maybe it was all of the sugar, or maybe it was
the absurdity of the situation, but something about it struck me as funny -and sometimes it’s easier to
laugh than to cry.