Ashyrel POV
I woke as the sunlight shine through my face. Remembering what happened yesterday night makes me feel happy. I get with a sore down there and I took a shower and change my clothes and I went to the kitchen.
As I enter the kitchen, my jaws drop at the scene infront of me. Sylvester is kissing Loreane, my tears fell down and a pain in my heart feels like someone stabbed me. They noticed me so they looked at me.
Sylvester just stared at me and Loreane smirk.
"I-m sorry to disturb you" I hurriedly said
I hurriedly run back to my room with tears flowing down from my eyes. He didn't even bother to call me and explain it to me. I locked the door of my room and cry painfully. I didn't think things would be like this. How can he make out with other girl after what happened to us and in our own house?
I sobbed...
Why our relationship turns to be like this? It pained me so much seeing him with other girl and I can do nothing about it cause he didn't remember me. I feel so helpless.
After half an hour I finally calm myself down and went downstairs to grab some food. I look around and the whole house is so quiet only few maids we're roaming around. It looks like Sylvester and that girl is not here I can eat peacefully.
"Andy, please bring me some food in the table" I called one of my maid
"Yes, madam" she hurriedly reply and went to the kitchen to prepare my food
Minutes later, my food is ready so I eat quietly. In the past, I didn't eat alone like this cause Sylvester make sure that I wouldn't eat alone so he always accompany me when eating even when we were at work.
"Excuse me madam, Secretary Anton is here to see you" one of the maids suddenly spoke
I wipe my mouth and drink and some water.
"Lead him here" I replied
She bow and went back to the door.
I grab the manggo Juice and drink. It's really tasty.
"Madam, is in the dinning table" I heard the made say
I heard footsteps so I guess Anton is here now.
"Greetings madame" he said
I turn my head to him to face him.
"Hello, Anton, what's bring you here" I said
He sighed
"Well, I bring the documents that needed the CEO's signature and the projects that need to be reviewed but since the CEO is not in good condition I wanna hand this to you" he said and give me the folder that full of papers.
Gosh, I almost forgot that he managed a company. I guess I have to work with this bunch of papers.
" Since your boss is not available I will be your Boss from the main time and don't worry about this papers I'll handle it" I said
" "Thank you Madame" he said and bow
I smiled
"It's the least I can do. I also don't have some works to do so it's a good timing that I'm gonna work these papers that your Boss left." i said
"Anna, please bring this to my office" I ask the maids
She grab the papers and went to my office.
"I have to go now madame I still have works to do at the company" Anton said
"Okay, please do tell the board members that I'll be your Boss for the main time and I will go to the company sooner and report all the things that happened in the company since I'll be your Boss now" I said
"It's a pleasure to have you as my Boss" he said and bow
After that, he left and then I finished my food and went to my office to check those papers, it'll be a long day for me.
I sit in my swivel chair here in my office and it's already 12 in the afternoon. I check the documents that needed my sign first.
I have a lot of knowledge about running a company ever since I was 10 cause my dad would bring me to our company and he would teach me how to do it.
I reviewed the projects and I can see that the people at the company did their best to make this project, other's has mistake but it'll be change since it's not that big, I will call Anton about this.
I didn't notice the time cause I focus my attention to these papers. I stretch my arm and look at the clock it's already 7 in the evening. I tidy my desk and went downstairs for dinner.
When I reach the dinning table the dinner was already served. I sit at the chair and started eating.
"Oh, your here"
I suddenly turn my face to the ine who spoke and my blood boiled to see who was it, well it's just Loreane.
"Yeah" I shortly said and turn my attention back to my food
I wonder where's Sylvester and it's only Loreane here, thinking that she's herr making me uncomfortable. I just didn't pay attention to her and focus on my food
She sat at the chair opposite to mine.
"You know what bitch, Sylvester is mine now and I'm the one he loves now so why don't you just leave since your no longer at the picture" she said with a pride
My heart skip a beat at what she said.
I still didn't pay attention to her, she's not worthy of my attention. I hurriedly finished my foods and stand up.
"Don't be so happy, the battle is not yet done and in both of us we know who is the one that Sylvester loves the most, you just say that he loves you cause he didn't remember me, so what if he remembers me, can you still say that he loves you? " I said calmly and went straight to my room without waiting for her reply
I took a bath and changed my clothes and sleep, I'm so tired today. I'm glad that I didn't cry but still my heart ache st the situation that I am in.
ASHYREL'S POV "In courts, they don't stab you in the back. They hand you wine and smile.”---The invitation arrived wrapped in pearl parchment, sealed in red wax pressed with the Crown Prince’s sigil — a serpent devouring its own tail. Beneath it, in ink far too delicate to be anything casual, was written:> “An afternoon in peace and grace.> For the women who walk closest to power.> Hosted by Her Highness, Seraphine of the Eastern Moon.”It came with blue roses. Imported. Fragile. Impossible to grow in this climate.Which meant she wanted me to know: she could reach further than I could.“It’s bait,” I muttered.Sylvester stood at the window, arms crossed. “You don’t have to go.”“She wants me to decline,” I said. “That’s part of the test.”“And if it’s more than a test?”I looked down at my belly — still small, still hidden under folds of fabric, but unmistakably mine. Our future curled inside it, breathing quietly, still unknown to the world.“Then I’ll let her show her hand fi
THE THRONES THAT BIND THEM ALLThird Person POV ---In the heart of the Empire, the palace was more than a residence.It was a battlefield.A chessboard.A prison dressed in gold.The throne itself did not belong to just one man. Not yet. And certainly not to the one who most deserved it.For years, the crown had been held in *limbo*—bound by ancient law, old blood, and the will of nobles who feared change more than they feared war.And so, the Empire was ruled by a High Council—a body of noble houses and royal bloodlines—until a final heir could be chosen to ascend not just in name, but in legacy.There were two contenders.Two heirs.Prince Sylvester, the younger son of the late Emperor—but the one beloved by the people, respected by the army, and feared by enemies.And then…There was Crown Prince Kaelion.The official heir.The firstborn.And the problem.---Kaelion had inherited the crown by law, not by loyalty.He was cold, calculated, and cared more for alliances than for the
ASHYREL’S POV“You can seal the gates. Burn the bridges. But the past always finds a way in.”---The sky was quiet today.Too quiet.Clouds drifted lazily over the palace spires, and the breeze carried the scent of dew, earth, and something else I couldn’t name. The kind of air that made your skin itch—not from cold, but from premonition.I stood by the window in our chambers, one hand wrapped around a warm cup of tea, the other resting on my belly. The morning had been peaceful—until that sealed letter arrived on a silver tray.No crest.No signature.Just a familiar slant of ink that pulled me backward without warning.I didn’t realize how hard I was gripping the cup until it cracked slightly in my hand.Caelen.It was a name I hadn’t let myself think in years. A name buried under war, blood, duty, and Sylvester’s steady hands. But seeing it on paper, inked like a ghost whispering from the grave, did something cruel to my chest.My mind protested.This isn’t real. He’s gone. He’s p
ASHYREL’S POV“Peace may quiet the battlefield… but never the hearts of those who still want the throne.”---I knew something was off the moment I walked into the war room.The air was too still. The tension too sharp.And the woman beside Sylvester was smiling too sweetly.She was tall, with dark auburn hair cascading down her back like velvet, wearing a crimson gown that was far too scandalous for a court diplomat. Her lips curled at the edges—not politely, but like she knew something I didn’t.Sylvester looked calm, unreadable as always, leaning against the table with a scroll in hand. But when he glanced at me, I caught it—That flicker of relief.Like he’d been holding his breath.“Your Majesty,” the woman said, voice like honeyed daggers. “We were just discussing trade terms. I’m Liora. From the Southern Courts.”Liora.I knew that name. Daughter of Lord Vallien, head of the merchant fleet—and an ambitious snake. She wasn’t here to negotiate.She was here to climb.And clearly,
ASHYREL’S POV“Even in peace, a woman’s heart can carry storms.”---The moonlight slipped quietly through the palace windows, silver and soft, painting shadows across the marble floor like silk ribbons. I sat on the edge of our bed, robe loose around my shoulders, brushing my fingers across the soft fabric where his scent still lingered.Sylvester had stepped out briefly to attend to a late report from the western borders.But the quiet pressed differently now.Not lonely.Just... full.My palm instinctively went to my stomach again.It wasn’t visible yet. But I knew.I could feel it, in the strange warmth that lingered in my chest, in the way my body hummed differently—gentler, heavier, more aware.I had told him now.He knew.But the world didn’t.And that made this moment feel like a small secret still curled between just us.---The door opened with a soft click.Sylvester entered, already unfastening the buttons of his dark tunic, his gaze immediately landing on me.“Tired?” I a
ASHYREL – POVThe palace was quiet.Too quiet.The halls, once echoing with the rustle of noble cloaks and the click of boots, now rested under the weight of justice. The nobles who plotted our downfall had been stripped of their titles, their names now faded whispers. For once, peace didn’t feel like a distant luxury—it felt like something we had earned.But even as the silence wrapped itself around the corridors, inside me…There was another kind of storm.A secret. A flicker.A heartbeat not my own.---I stood by the wide arched window of our shared chambers, arms gently wrapped around my stomach, fingers brushing the silk of my robe. No movement yet. Too early.But I knew.I had known for weeks.The strange fatigue, the pull in my body, the soft dizziness at dawn. The palace healer confirmed it, and I asked her to remain silent. Just for now.Because I wasn’t sure…How to tell him.Not out of fear.But because, somehow, in all our battles—we never once talked about a future like