Chapter 258: No Longer Alone
Another sob tore from her lips, so broken that Ivan felt his throat tighten just from hearing it. He ran his hands slowly along her back, trying to soothe her, but she lifted her head to look at him and spoke in a shattered voice.
"He blamed me, Ivan," she said. "He said... that I was responsible for her. Th-that... I-I should never have been born." Her voice cracked completely. "He called me the greatest curse of his life. And just like that, I not only lost my mother... I lost my father, too."
Ivan’s jaw clenched so hard it ached as fury surged through him once more. Had he known this sooner, he would have given that bastard far more than just a piece of his mind the moment he dared to claim any right to her as family.
But right now, he needed her to be okay. She was his only priority, and that would never change. So he embraced her once more, pressing gentle kisses into her hair while his hands moved soothingly along her back. She clung to that warmth, drawing comfort from him as her heart ached, numbed by the frost of recalling the cold, painful moments of her past.
She kept her hands wrapped around his waist, and once she had calmed a little, she continued, "Days passed... and with the queen’s death, civil unrest spread over the question of the heir to the throne. I was a princess with minuscule powers compared to my cousins, who would have been next in line had my father failed to produce another heir.
The court demanded that he marry the princess of Roseville, insisting that an alliance with another kingdom would bring stability to the Kingdom of Luminear. It had not even been a couple of months since my mother’s death when he married Queen Elara. People told me that I had a new mother now..." Her voice tightened, "But in truth, a new kind of suffering had entered my life."
Ivan noticed her voice growing noticeably colder as she spoke about Elara.
"At first, she showed everyone how kind she was to her stepdaughter, earning endless praise for her so-called benevolent heart. She told the court that I was often unwell and gradually began limiting my appearances at social gatherings, ones I had already stopped attending after my mother’s death.
But behind closed doors, she would punish me for every mistake she believed I had made. For being late to a lesson, I was whipped....beaten, always in places that could never be seen by others. I was often locked away in a dark room for days, with no food or water, barely allowed to leave at all. My prolonged absences, combined with being bedridden from the pain and weakness my body endured, only fuelled the rumours Elara spread about me being sickly."
Her fingers tightened slightly around his waist as she continued, "She warned me never to let anyone find out, or the consequences would be her hurting my nanny. So I learned to dress myself and tend to my wounds alone, learned to hide it well. Especially since my nanny was rarely permitted to enter my chambers anymore. It went on like that until I was ten."
Her voice wavered, just for a moment.
"But one day, my nanny Clair discovered the bruises....the horrible ones."
"She tried to go to the king, but Elara found out and forbade her from going anywhere near him. Desperate and out of options, Clair finally turned to Septimus, whose voice still carried weight throughout the kingdom. It was Septimus who took me under his wing as much as he could, doing everything in his power to keep me away from Elara. He began guiding me, sheltering me."
"I spent most of my time in the temple after that....but even then, I had to return to the castle for lessons and to sleep. And during those times, I could not escape her cruelty. It continued until I was finally sent away to Versailles, under the pretense of pursuing my higher education."
Eve paused briefly, wanting to see Ivan’s reaction after he had remained so silent for so long. She lifted her head to look at him and froze at what she saw.
His eyes were shut, his jaw clenched so tightly it looked as though he were exercising an immense amount of restraint.
"I..Ivan?" she called softly.
At the sound of her voice, his eyes opened, and that was when Eve understood.
His molten gaze fluctuated between deep crimson and raging orange, and she could feel the raw, seething fury radiating from him, anger he was holding back with every ounce of control he possessed.
The sight softened her expression. Seeing him restrain his anger on her behalf reminded her of something profound. She had this man now, someone who would feel anger for her, who would ache with her sorrow whenever she spoke her truth. Her heart skipped a beat as the realisation settled in. She was no longer alone. She was no longer the lonely bird trapped inside a gilded cage built by others.
Letting go of his waist, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Bringing her lips close to his, she whispered, "Don’t be angry. I am here now...with you, and none of that past matters anymore." She played gently with the ends of his raven-soft hair before sliding her hand to caress his cheek lovingly.
Ivan felt himself calm, if only slightly, though the urge to tear those who had hurt her apart still simmered beneath the surface, refusing to fade entirely.
He was at a loss for words at the sheer magnitude of what she had endured, first as a child and then through the years that followed. And yet, threaded through the anguish was an overwhelming respect for her, because despite everything they had done to her, they had never managed to break her spirit. She had survived it all alone, and the aspect of her being alone was the truth that shattered him more than anything else.
The woman he loved more than his own life had carried unbearable pain in silence, asking for nothing, enduring everything.
Along with the deep rage burning within him, there was an equally profound sorrow; his heart ached for every injury she had suffered, every emotional, mental, and physical wound inflicted upon her. And after being gently drawn back from that fury by her touch, all he could manage to say was, "I’m so sorry, Eve."
His throat tightened as he pulled her closer and whispered, "I’m so sorry for everything you endured for so long. I’m sorry for thinking you were some spoiled, pampered princess when I first met you. I was wrong....so very wrong."
Eve’s eyes widened at his words as Ivan leaned in, pressing his forehead firmly against hers, his molten gaze locking onto her with an unwavering intensity. "But I promise you this," he said, "never again will anyone so much as lay a finger on you....let alone hurt you."
But the words he did not speak out loud burned far deeper than those he voiced: ’Those who made you suffer will regret the day they were born.’ The oath settled within him; he carved it into his heart, vowing with every breath he drew that he would see each one fulfilled, no matter the cost.
Eve’s heart swelled at his promise, yet she shook her head gently and replied, "I do not need you to promise me all of that, Ivan. Just one would be enough."
Ivan slid his hand up her back, cupping her cheek as he asked softly, "And what would that be?"
"That....you would never abandon me," Eve answered, holding his gaze. Her throat went dry at the thought of what she was about to say next, yet she forced herself to continue. "If there ever comes a time when you feel like you need to....not be with m-"
Ivan did not let her finish.
He crashed his lips into hers in an almost punishing way, as though she had just spoken something she was never meant to. He kissed her like a man parched, as if she were the oasis he had finally found after a long, merciless drought, and he refused to waste even a single drop.
He did not pull away until she was breathless, her lips swollen, a soft whimper slipping from her as the force of his dominance overwhelmed her.
When he finally parted from her, her face was flushed from the lack of air.
Holding her face firmly between his palms, his breathing ragged, he replied in a low yet fierce voice, "Never. Never say that again."
