How was the trip?” Elaine asks with barely contained excitement. She’s been hovering around my desk for an hour now. I wondered how long it’d take her to ask the question.“It was fine.”I clench my jaw and continue to sign the mountain of paperwork she’s placed in front of me, authorizing the purchase of more weaponry and salary payouts for our soldiers. Our empire looks like it’s thriving, but we’re only barely keeping our people fed and our outer territories from finding out how bad things are. Thanks to our safe havens, there are countless sorcerers and sorceresses helping us grow crops and develop weapons that are transported to Eldiria regularly, but if not for them and our well-maintained trade routes, many of our people would have starved.I glance at the letter on the corner of my desk for the hundredth time this morning, my heart heavy. I asked Elaine to put any letters from Althea on the edge of my desk, so I could use my alchemy powers to teleport them to me while on our trip, but I purposely left them. Arabella was different throughout our trip. She let me in, and for the first time since I learned about the curse, I truly believed that perhaps love could break it after all.This envelope will set us back. I know what it contains. Proof of the release and reinstatement of Nathaniel Orathis, just as I ordered. I was foolish. In an attempt to placate Arabella, I also requested a letter from her sister. All it’ll do is reinforce Arabella’s desire to go home, but I cannot withhold it from her, either.“Fine? Was the trip unsuccessful?”I drop my quill and look up at her with a sigh. She’ll never leave me if I don’t tell her what she wants to know. “That depends on how you define success,” I remark dryly.“The empress,” she says, her voice a hint of reverence in it. “Are things not going well with her?”I look back at the papers in front of me, unsure how to answer. “Things are going well,” I tell her. “She has air wielding powers. Her control is weak, but she’s strong-minded. I have no doubt her powers will grow rapidly, and she’ll subjugate them with ease.”Elaine leans against my desk and stares at me. “That’s good,” she murmurs, her voice lacking her previous enthusiasm. “But how does she feel about you? Have you made any progress?”Elaine is one of the majority who believe that love is what will set us free. Despite her reverence for logic and her strategic mind, she refuses to listen to reason. I suppose I’d be the same if I were her. The epic love she shared with Raphael sustains her to this day, long after he’s gone. I can see how a love like hers could make the impossible happen.I remember how they were together, constantly radiating with happiness, the two of them inseparable. Though she might never have said the words, I know the only reason she doesn’t give in to the curse is because she hopes breaking the curse will bring him back.I hand her the papers I’ve signed and get started on another stack, trying my best to ignore her burning gaze. “No progress, then,” she says as she crosses her arms over each other, her disappointment palpable. “What did you do?”I sit up and run a hand through my hair. “What makes you assume I did anything?”How do I explain to Elaine that Arabella has no intention of staying here with me? The more I remind myself of that fact, the more my heart aches. You’re letting me go when this is all over. You requested assistance, not acquiescence, she said. We grew closer throughout the trip, but in the end, it’s futile. This letter will reinforce her desire to guard her heart, if she hasn’t already. Perhaps that’s why she didn’t let things go further between us in the springs—because she’s fulfilled her duty by consummating our marriage, and anything beyond that is an unwanted chore.“You’re one of the best men I know, and in time, the empress will see that. Please be patient with her, be gentle. Don’t scare her away just to protect yourself.”Her eyes are blazing with sincerity, and I struggle to form a reply. Before I have a chance to say anything at all, a soft knock interrupts us.The door opens without my prior consent, and I rise to my feet with a frown on my face, only to freeze in place when Arabella walks in with a tea tray in hand.She pauses mid-step, her eyes drifting from me to Elaine, an expression I’ve never seen before in her eyes. I didn’t expect her to seek me out—she never has before.Elaine grabs the papers I’ve signed and smiles tightly before bowing her head politely. “I’ll see to it that these are actioned,” she tells me before rushing away.The room falls into silence when Elaine closes the door behind her, and I look back down at my papers, feeling conflicted. I need to give Arabella the letter on my desk. I should have done it when we got back yesterday—I can’t postpone it any longer.Arabella places her tray on my desk and I glance at it, avoiding her gaze. I don’t want to look into those honey eyes of hers that will never look at me the way she no doubt looks at that boy.“You’ve been so busy since we got back,” she says. “Take a break.”I look up at her, unable to resist temptation. She’s beautiful today in that red dress. Her dark hair is flowing down her body, and her lips look cherry red, but it’s her eyes that have me mesmerized.“A letter came from Althea,” I tell her, my voice soft.Her eyes widen, longing and hope fighting for dominance in her expression, and it hits me hard. The mere thought of that boy puts a look in her eyes that inspires jealousy within me, and I’m tempted to set the letter ablaze.Instead I hand it to her.Arabella’s hands tremble as she picks up my letter opener, and I watch her intently as she reads its contents.noveldramaShe lifts her hand to her chest and exhales in relief, tears gathering in her eyes. “Oh, thank the Fates,” she whispers.“It isn’t them you should be thanking. If you’d like me to, I’d be happy to send a reply to your sister.”She looks up at me then, her eyes widening. “Thank you, Felix,” she says, her gaze downcast, as though she’s trying to hide that her thoughts are on him once more. No matter what I do or say, I can’t force him out of her mind. I might be able to conquer countries, but I cannot do the same to my wife. If she thought she’d get away with it, she’d probably run back to him this very instant.“That’s quite all right,” I tell her. “Arabella?”She clutches the letters against her chest and looks up at me, a smile on her face. Has she ever smiled for me like that? That boy isn’t even here, and he’s earning her smiles with such ease.“You apologized to me at the springs, but it should have been me. I promised you I’d be patient with you, and I wasn’t. I shouldn’t have bound you with my powers and kissed your neck against your wishes that day in the snow. I lost my temper, and my behavior was unacceptable.”She relaxes her stance and looks at me, her gaze searching. “I’m your wife,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. “Touching me is within your rights.”I look into her eyes, wondering if things could have been different if she and I met under different circumstances. My mother never did learn to love my father, and Arabella seems to be following in her footsteps. Will she end up cursing me, too? Did forcing her to marry me put my people at risk more than they already were?“I have no interest in exercising my rights,” I tell her, meaning every word. I want her to come willingly. Not out of obligation, but because she wants me.Arabella looks surprised, her body turning rigid at my words. She stares at me, a hint of anger in her eyes. “I see. I suppose I should be grateful for that.”I take a sip of the tea she brought me, at a loss for words. I let my eyes roam over her body and try my hardest to suppress the rage I feel at the thought of her with that boy. “You ran with him,” I murmur thoughtlessly, my soft tone hiding the uncontrollable rage I feel. “Just the two of you… it must not have been the only time you found yourself alone with him.”She tenses then, a brief flash of panic in her eyes before she manages to hide it. “It was. Of course it was. I was the Crown Princess of Althea. I was monitored constantly.” She looks to the left, as she does every time she hides something from me or attempts to lie.“Did he touch you, Arabella?”She takes a step back, her eyes wide with fear. She might not say it, but I see it in the way she looks at me. To her, I’m the monster that tore her away from her family and the boy she loves. I’m the monster that keeps her captive.“No,” she whispers, her gaze downcast. “You know I was untouched when we—please don’t hurt him, Felix. I beg of you. I swear I’m trying my hardest to harness my powers. I’m doing all I can. Please.”She would beg for him, huh? The Crown Princess of Althea would sacrifice her pride for the son of a duke. Her desperation to keep him safe is palpable, and it’s scathing.“I won’t,” I tell her. “I won’t hurt him.” There’s no point. Even if I did kill him, he would forever become the person she pines after. Killing him won’t help me. But then again, nothing can. Not in this regard.“Thank you,” she whispers, and I look away, unsure what it is about this exchange that’s eliciting feelings I didn’t think I had. I’m jealous.“Repay me by continuing to do your best to help my people. Meet me in the courtyard tomorrow, and we’ll resume your training.”Arabella nods, seemingly hesitating.“Is that all?” I ask. Until now I wanted her in my presence for as long as she’d allow it, yet in this moment all I want is to return to a time before I met her. I wish I could return to a time before I knew what hope felt like.