Chapter 257: Burden Of A Child
She remembered his words clearly, spoken just before she had passed out:
’I will never accept this relationship.’
And how defiantly she had spoken to him in Dartmouth. She knew he was a petty, spiteful man who would never forget the insult he had suffered from her words and Ivan’s actions that day, in front of so many people.
Even though she had stood her ground and spoken assertively, she also knew he was the kind of man who would return to exact revenge for any wrong he believed he had endured.
Revenge....that was what he had taken out on her. He had exacted his revenge on his own daughter for his wife’s death by shunning her from his life entirely, by allowing her to suffer at the hands of his new wife and half-brother, and by doing nothing to stop it.
And Evelyn was aware now that, after openly defying him, he would most certainly do something drastic.
Although she knew she would fight him no matter what he did, she did not want his actions to affect Ivan as well, especially when he already had his own court and responsibilities to deal with.
Celestial beings or not, they still lived in a world of politics, surrounded by vultures who would do anything to tear flesh apart if a piece of meat were dangled before them.
And so that they would not be caught off guard, Eve realised it was time. Time to come clean. Time to tell Ivan the things she had kept hidden from him in the past, afraid that he might look at her differently. But now, she knew in her heart that no matter what, this man, who drifted through the void for her just as she did for him, would never judge her.
Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and felt him gently squeeze her fingers. "What’s bothering you?" he asked quietly, surprising her with how easily he seemed to sense it.
’Did my heartbeat give it away?’ Eve wondered. But it has been calm so far, so how?
She lifted her head slightly and asked, "How could you tell?"
Without opening his eyes, his posture relaxed beneath her, the corner of his lips curving just a fraction as he replied, "Just..." He paused, purposely avoiding revealing that he could sense emotions, before gently coaxing her, "So tell me....what is it?"
Eve still wondered how he managed to do that every single time, but his question pulled her back from her thoughts.
"Ivan....if I tell you something, will you listen?" she asked softly, uncertainty colouring her voice as she wondered whether he was in the mood to hear the weight of her story.
Ivan opened his molten red eyes and sensed her heart rate begin to pick up.
He squeezed her hands gently. "Always, baby. You can tell me anything you want, Eve, at any time of the day, and I will always be willing to listen," he replied softly.
Eve heard him loud and clear.
While his words eased the last of her lingering doubts, revisiting her painful childhood still felt overwhelming. Yet she knew this was not the moment to retreat.
Drawing in a deep breath, filled with the calming scent of lavender, she finally began, "I wanted to tell you about my past..."
Her words sparked curiosity in Ivan’s eyes. It was something he had long wanted to know, something he had waited patiently for, until she was ready to open up and share her deepest, darkest truths with him. And he was prepared to embrace every part of it.
So he gently encouraged her, "Go on....I’m listening."
Eve remained exactly where she was, utterly still, before she began softly, "As you must have noticed by now, I do not like talking about my father. You have already seen, back in Dartmouth, that we do not see eye to eye. And there is a very good reason for that."
Ivan remained silent as he watched her draw in another deep breath before continuing. "You must already know that my real mother was Queen Selene Lumaeth Starforged, who passed away when I was no more than five years old.
She was the kindest and most beautiful person in my life. She never left my side. She taught me the values of life, played with me, and cared for me personally as a mother, despite being the queen of a powerful kingdom.
In my memories, she was a good mother, always there for her child. Even though my father was often busy with his duties, she never made me feel his absence. We were happy and content with just each other....always together."
"But as I grew older....around the age of five....her glow slowly began to fade. What had once been constant togetherness turned into spending less and less time with her. She was mostly confined to her chambers, with royal physicians coming and going from the queen’s room. At first, I was told she was simply a little unwell....but soon after, she became bedridden. And as I grew, she only seemed to grow sicker."
Eve swallowed hard, a lump forming in her throat. "She told me....that she would always stay with me. That she would never leave my side..." Her voice faltered. "But one day, she did. She left....and I was all alone."
Eve’s voice broke as tears filled her eyes. For a moment, she struggled to speak, but she felt Ivan’s strong arms wrap around her shoulders, one arm drawing her closer while the other settled protectively around her waist. He pressed a gentle kiss to her hair, a silent gesture of comfort that spoke louder than words ever could.
She found strength in his embrace and continued in a trembling voice. "I cried beside her....when she lay there....unmoving. I felt like my whole world was shattering. I asked my father, who was sitting silently beside my mother, what happened to her. Why she w-wasn’t waking up?" Her breath hitched. "Do you know what he said? He said I was no daughter of his....that he was not my father....only my king."
Her voice cracked completely. "He ordered my nanny, Clair, to take me away and lock me in my room. I was not even allowed enough time to mourn her death, or to understand that my mother....my entire world at that age....was gone forever."
Tears streamed freely down her face now, and Ivan felt his chest tighten painfully with every word. He almost asked her to stop, unable to bear seeing her hurt like this, but she drew another shaky breath and pressed on.
"I was locked in that room for days....never allowed the privilege of attending her funeral, never allowed to say my final g-goodbyes."
A sob escaped her trembling lips, and she finally lifted her head to meet Ivan’s worried gaze. He took in her tear-streaked face, her eyes red and swollen as tears continued to spill down her cheeks. Unable to bear it any longer, he gently turned her around, water splashing softly around them until she was facing him.
He cupped her face in his hands, brushing away her tears with his thumbs as he whispered, "Shhh....we can stop if this is too hard for you."
But Eve shook her head and held onto his wrist, her lips trembling as she spoke. "No....I think it’s time I let it out..." More tears blurred her vision, yet she blinked through them to look at his face and asked softly, "I-if you are willing to listen."
Ivan felt as though his heart were being torn open at the sight of her so utterly broken. Her devastating emotions crashed into him with full force, weighing heavily on his chest, as though a great stone had been placed upon it. Yet, seeing her determination, he realised this burden was something she had been carrying for years. And so, without hesitation, he gave her a silent nod and gently pressed her head into the crook of his neck.
"Go on..." he whispered.
Held tightly against him, Eve continued in a trembling voice. "I questioned... just why... why would the man who was supposed to be my father do this to me? Why would he so cruelly lock me away and renounce himself as my father?" Her breath hitched. "What was my fault?"
"I think I was a good child... I listened to everything they told me. I followed their every word as though it meant everything to me. I...l-loved them with all my heart... So why?" Her voice trembled. "Why?"
"In the eyes of the public, my mother passed away due to poor health, which was true to some extent. But the real reason was kept hidden within the palace walls, known only to a select few."
"Those who knew and saw everything began to talk, and soon rumours spread through the palace that the real reason my mother died was because of me. That I was cursed... that I had drained her life force when she gave birth to me."
Her breath hitched. "Five-year-old me could not understand such rumours. So I gathered my courage and went to ask my father myself, believing he would explain. I thought he would go back to being the father he had been before, distant perhaps, but still kind... still my father, like when my mother was alive."
A broken laugh escaped her. "But I was so wrong. He blamed me... me... for my mother’s death."
