The Cursed Prince

"What are you thinking?" Emmelyn finally asked Mars. As usual, she didn't like to pretend she could read minds, so she would just ask what the man was thinking.

This was something that her husband loved about her. She spoke her mind.

Well.. most of the time.? There were some instances where she kept things to herself for a while before she shared them with him.

For example, the fact that she recognized her brother as the man who came to the spring royal gala with Ellena. She kept it a secret for whatever reason and only shared it with him several days later.

But... that was in the past. It didn't take long before Emmelyn told Mars what happened.

And now, it was already behind them.

The incident with Killian was a really big one and Mars hoped, over time, Emmelyn would recover from her sadness and be happy again. Right now, she needed to be given the time and space to mourn her family.

"Hmm?" Mars halted the spoon in his hand mid-air when he heard her question. "What was I thinking?"

Well... the prince was actually thinking about the time when he used her hand while she was asleep.

Was this a good moment to come clean about it? How would she think about him? Would she find it funny as he did, or would her sense of humor disappear during this tough time?

It was really hard to tell. However, after thinking about it for a while, Mars came to the conclusion that he wanted them to always be honest with each other.

If he shared this embarrassing secret with her, maybe she would trust him more, and next time wouldn't take her too long to share her mind with him.

Finally, after taking a deep breath, the man decided to do the right thing. He put down the bowl of soup on the bedside table and he held both Emmelyn's hands.

Mars cleared his throat and his eyes looked pleading as he recounted to her what happened before her hand became limp all day.

"I was thinking about the moment when your hand went limp, months ago. Do you remember? At that time I was also feeding you food, because..." he paused a little and then continued, "I felt guilty..."

"Guilty?" Emmelyn gave him a side-eye and crossed her arms on her chest. "Finally."

"Finally?" Mars shook his head and stared at his wife in confusion. "Why did you say that?"

From her eyes, the prince slowly could guess that she actually had known all along.

"So... you know?" His voice choked when he uttered the question.

Emmelyn nodded. "I was dumb for a few days because I was too focused on your curse. However, after I thought about it, I realized that you must have used my hand for... something."

Mars batted his eyes and looked at her in embarrassment.

So, she knew! Yet, she didn't say anything.

"Why didn't you say anything?" the embarrassed husband asked her out of curiosity.

Emmelyn shrugged. "When I realized what happened, I was already too mad at you for giving me the silent treatment. So, I didn't want to talk to you about it. And after a while, it became irrelevant."

"Ohh.." Mars stared at Emmelyn in amazement. When he thought he knew her so well, she still managed to surprise him. Now, carefully, he asked her what she thought about it. "Are you mad at me for doing it?"

"In the beginning, yes. But after a while, I actually found it funny," Emmelyn replied with a faint smile. Finally, she smiled again after crying for hours this evening. "Besides, you took care of me and fed me. So, no... I am not mad at you."

"Ahaha... okay, now, I'm relieved. I will NEVER do it again. I was a really desperate man back then who just got to know the joy of sex with a partner and..." he cleared his throat. "I may have done things that I am not proud of."

Emmelyn nodded. "Yes, you were so hopeless and desperate. But, maybe that's just how it was. If you were not desperate, things might have been different with us. You might kill me on the spot, for trying to assassinate you."

Mars thought about her words. If he was not desperate for heirs, would he really have this beautiful girl before him killed? Probably not. He admired her guts and he wouldn't just kill her.

"Let's forget what happened in the past," Mars said. "I am embarrassed."

Emmelyn rolled her eyes and pinched his arm. "You should!"

"Yeah..." Mars looked at her with a relieved smile and she smiled back. Ahh.. it was so good to see her smile again.

Now, Mars was happy that their silly conversation managed to lighten up the atmosphere and made Emmelyn forget about Killian's death for a moment.

"Let's finish your soup before it gets cold," he took the bowl again. With so much care, he continued feeding her until the soup was gone. Then he quickly drank his own soup in three gulps.

Lastly, he fed Emmelyn the apple pie. From her reaction, he could tell that this pie was Emmelyn's no. 1 comfort food. She became calmer and the sadness that had been so prominent on her face, slowly dissipated.

After they finished the pie, Mars took the tray with bowls and plates back to the kitchen and returned with two cups of water. He helped Emmelyn drink hers, and then he also finished the water in his cup.

Ahh.. finally, he felt that his poor tummy no longer complained. So, he hoped Emmelyn had enough food to fill her tummy too. She needed nutrition even more than him since she was carrying their baby.

"How do you feel now?" the prince asked her when they got ready to sleep.

"I feel horrible," Emmelyn replied. "Today is a really sad day for me."

Mars was not surprised at all.? He touched her dress and felt that it was damp. It must be from all her tears earlier.

"You should change into a fresh nightgown to sleep. You will catch a cold if you sleep in a wet dress," he said.

Without waiting for her answer, he got up and got a new nightgown from the cupboard. "What about this one?"

Emmelyn just nodded weakly. She lifted her arms and he knew it was a sign for him to help her change. So, he gladly did it.

Once she was done wearing a fresh gown, and the damp one was placed neatly on the table, Mars took off his clothes and climbed into bed to sleep with her. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her to sleep.

"Good night," Emmelyn said before she closed her eyes and rested her head on his broad chest. It felt so comfortable.

Mars replied dotingly, "Good night."

He, too, closed his eyes and tried to not make a sound of movement so Emmelyn would think that he was sleeping soundly, when in fact, he barely got a wink of sleep.

***

"Good morning, Honey."

Emmelyn fluttered her lashes and then opened her eyes. She turned to the side and found her husband was watching her with a faint smile.