บททั้งหมดของ The King’s Relentless Desire : บทที่ 51 - บทที่ 60

Chapter Fifty-OneLiana’s POVThe palace was alive that evening.Music spilt through the corridors like smoke, soft and seductive, winding around every pillar and torch. The great hall glowed with golden light, and each candle reflected a hundred times in the mirrors that lined the walls.I had been dressed by trembling hands.My gown shimmered a deep wine red, the fabric whispering over my skin as though it knew it did not belong there. The neckline dipped low, scandalously low, chosen by him, I knew. A gift was left in my chamber with no note. No command. Just the gown.And somehow that silence had felt like the cruellest command of all.My attendant fastened the last clasp at my back and stepped away.“You look beautiful, my lady,” she whispered.Beautiful.No. I looked like temptation made flesh. And I hated how much that pleased me.When I walked through the archway into the banquet hall, the noise dimmed. Dozens of eyes turned. Conversation faltered. The air thickened as though

Chapter Fifty-Three Liana’s POV The garden was empty again. Only the wind moved softly, deliberately, curling through the roses as if mocking me for what had just happened. I stood there for a long time, staring at the empty path where he had walked away, every part of me trembling though the night was not cold. My fingers brushed the silk of my dress and came away shaking. The air still carried him. His scent. His voice. His command. I pressed my hand against my chest, but it did nothing to steady the wild beating underneath. It was as if my body had ceased to belong to me. It remembered him too well. The weight of his words. The way he had looked at me was not with kindness, but possession. And the worst part was that I could still feel the power in that look, like an invisible hand that hadn’t yet let go. My reflection glimmered faintly in the dark water of the fountain. My lips looked bruised even though he hadn’t touched them. I hated that thought, hated that my body could

Chapter Fifty-FiveLiana’s POVThe great hall was already alive when I entered.Laughter. Music. The clinking of goblets filled with ruby wine.The smell of roasted meat and spiced honey hung thick in the air, curling through the torches that painted everything gold.My steps slowed at the threshold. Every eye seemed to shift toward me, though no one spoke. The silk of my new gown shimmered like blood in the candlelight, the colour chosen not by me, but by command. His colour. His choice.I forced my chin up. The crown at my temple felt heavier than usual. My heartbeat was a secret I tried to bury beneath the music.At the far end of the hall, upon the high dais, he sat.Kael.The King.Every inch of him looked carved in shadow and gold. He wore no crown tonight, only a simple black tunic trimmed in crimson, the fabric drawn tight across his chest. His gaze found mine before I had even reached the second pillar. He didn’t smile. He didn’t need to.The sight of him struck something low

Chapter Fifty-SevenLiana’s POVThe room was quiet when I woke.The soft light of dawn spilt through the thin curtains, casting a pale gold hue on the sheets. My body still remembered the night before the heat of his hands, the way his voice had wrapped around me until I couldn’t think straight.Every inch of me ached in a way that wasn’t painful. It was something deeper, something that lived beneath the surface of my skin. A slow burn that refused to fade. It reminded me that I had given him too much, yet somehow still wanted more.I sat up slowly, pulling the blanket against my chest. The linen was cool against my skin, a cruel contrast to the memory of his warmth. My lips were dry. My pulse still throbbed faintly, echoing the rhythm of his voice in the dark.I hated that he could still reach me like this without even being in the room.The sound of the door opening made me flinch.Kael stepped in like he owned the morning itself. The faint scent of smoke and clean linen followed hi

Chapter Fifty-NineLiana’s POVThe corridors outside the feast hall were quiet.The noise and laughter from inside faded behind me until all I could hear were the soft echoes of my own steps. The walls shimmered faintly in the torchlight, shadows moving like ghosts.Kael had told me to wait.But waiting for him always felt like a trap. Like standing still in the centre of a storm, pretending you didn’t feel the pull.I ran my hand over the edge of a pillar, the cool marble grounding me. My body still remembered his touch from the table. The way his fingers had moved, firm and slow, as if he was testing how much I could take without breaking.And I had smiled through it all.Pretended to be calm while my whole body trembled under his command.The sound of footsteps pulled me out of my thoughts.Kael appeared at the end of the corridor, his crown gone, his cloak half undone. The golden light touched his skin, his dark hair falling slightly into his eyes. He didn’t speak at first he just