Chapter 9HopeI felt like crying. Why did Darius hate me so much? Why did he hate Light so much? It was like he had a personal vendetta against all humans but the one against the Vitalis' seemed doubled. I sat on my bed, hugging my knees. I didn't know if I could last in such a place for so long. He said they hadn't found any traces of Light yet. Did that mean that I would have to be married to him for long? And worse, none of my parents had contacted me since the wedding.How quick they were to just discard me to the den of monsters.A stray tear streamed down my eyes as that train of thought crossed my head. I was quick to wipe it away but that didn't stop it from falling. Gods, I hated crying so why did I do it all the time?Right on cue, the door to my room flew open, and that rude blond lycan stepped in. He vacuumed all the air his way with a small frown on his face. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, I wiped my tears away and stood up to my feet.Thankfully, I was still wearing
Chapter 10HopeMy jaw dropped. The woman spoke with such confidence that I couldn't tell if she was joking or not. I glanced at Darius, and his full attention was still on his meal, as though he had no care for what the woman just said."Pardon?" I said. Maybe she misspoke. Maybe I didn't hear her properly.She smiled. "I am Darius' mistress. He brought me here to keep him company since you are rather lacking in the aspects of that matter." She crossed her arms and relaxed back into her chair.She was not joking. It took the ignorance of Darius to tell me that. He didn't even bother to correct her words because she was speaking the truth. She even called his name casually and he didn't correct her.If he already had a mistress, then why did he marry me? Why didn't he wait till he found Light? Why did he trap me in this marriage? I couldn't tell if it was betrayal, sadness, or spite that made me ground my teeth. "Oh, no need to be discomforted. I promise I'm not here to take the cro
Chapter 11HopeI dropped the book on the chair and stood up. "Hello, is anyone there?" I called out, walking around the room. The chiming noises continued but I didn't hear any voices.Was I imagining things?"Hello?" I called out again, only to be met with silence this time. Maybe I was imagining things. There was no one around.I went back to my chair, picked up the book, and resumed reading. I didn't hear the chiming noises again after that till I finished the entire book. By the end of the reading, I had learned a whole lot of things that I never imagined before. A whole lot of vulgar things but who would know?Certainly not my mother who always chastised me about filling my head with romantic tales of nonsense. Here, there was no one to watch me and lock me in a room when I read such. Maybe staying in this palace wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.I decided to leave the place. The sun was almost down and the sky was darkened. Funny enough, finding my way back to my room wa
Chapter 12HopeThere was not a man in the world that was as confusing as my husband. He did things that I couldn't understand at all. For example, he invited me to a private dinner with himself and Annalise.It wouldn't be the first time in the past week that he had invited me for something that had to do with Annalise. I couldn't tell if he was doing it to spite me or if it was because of Annalise herself who seemed fond of me.And not in a friendly manner. She liked to show off the fact that Darius was married to me but preferred her. She kissed him in front of me countless times, touched him for no reason, and made indirect insulting comments to me about being too naive to cater to his needs.I wished I could decline coming to their dinners, but I couldn't. Maybe I could, but I was too scared to try. I was afraid that Darius would do something horrible to me if I decided to go against him, so I did as he commanded. Every. Single. Time.I walked over to the garden where some maids
Chapter 13HopeI was in the library for the fifth time this week. And every time I came in here, I always heard that chiming noise. It sounded distant sometimes. Other times, I felt like the source was closer, and if I could just take a few steps further, I would get to it. I didn't do that though. Only the heavens knew what waited for me if I ever followed my curiosity to find out the source of the chiming noise. As I read about a human girl who was sold to a Lycan mercenary group and fell in love with the head, the chiming noise resumed.It was one of those days when the noise was loud and near. Putting away my fear, I shut the binds of my book and stood up."Hello?" I called out, walking to the west of the library where the noise was louder. "Is anyone there?" I asked as I got closer to the shelf.What I got in response was more chiming noises. I knocked on the shelf of books but I was met with no reply. I tilted my head to one side, then trudged to one end of the shelf. With all
Chapter 14HopeI was summoned by my husband. I had just returned from the library and had a weird conversation session with Amara when Orion came stomping into my room and demanded that I come along with him because Darius summoned me.As we walked down the hallway to the east wing of the palace, my heart kept thumping. Perhaps he found out that I was reading erotic books and conversing with a crazy woman who claimed to be a witch. If he did, then what would my punishment be?Would he send me back to my home or kill me right away? The possibility of the latter made my heart race."My goodness, stop that! Your heartbeat is too loud. Control yourself." Orion snapped at me, and I stiffened.That was right. They could hear loud heartbeats. I should control myself. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Calming thoughts. He couldn't kill me just like that. He would be killing his wife which should be a crime as far as I could tell. He would warn me off the library and lock me u
Chapter 15HopeWhy was he staring at me like he wanted to kill me? Was it because of what I said in the meeting earlier? Fear gripped my heart at the thought of that. Of course he was about to threaten me for speaking up.I squinted my eyes and braced myself for the earful that I was about to receive."If it were up to me, you wouldn't even know that this room existed. The only reason why you're here and will continue to be here is because of the useless treaty and the elders who want to see your face to ensure that I'm not abusing you." Darius said monotonously."You are not to speak when you are here. I will excuse today because you were caught off-guard and probably overwhelmed. But come another day, keep your opinions to yourself. You might be my wife, but you are not my queen." He continued.His last statement knocked me right off my balance. He was right about it though. Just because I was his wife didn't mean I was his queen, their queen. I was still human and had to be offici
Chapter 16HopeShe was staring at me with a sly look in her eyes. This library was forbidden, I knew it. And now, she would tell Darius about it and I would be stopped from coming here.'What do I do? What I do? What do I do?'"I see you're into books." Annalise's eyes slowly glanced at the book in my hand. I yelped and hid it behind me with a nervous smile plastered on my lips."Yes," I answered, breathlessly.Annalise smiled, taking two slow steps closer to me. "You haven't been hearing any kind of chiming noise inside, have you?" she asked cautiously.I shook my head immediately. "Of course, not." I quickly dismissed it but she looked unconvinced."Are you sure? It's an old library. Such things tend to happen." She spoke in a tone that made me know that she knew everything about me."I- I'm- I—""Shhh," she cut me off, placing her delicate hands over my shoulder. "It's alright. There's no need for you to get so scared. I understand you. You're alone in this castle, no one talks to