Todos os capítulos de After He Announced His Fiancée, I Left With My Son: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

I served Kaelan, heir to the Elf King, for five full years, and I bore him a child.But at the Elven Assembly, he announced in front of everyone that another woman was his betrothed.That day was my son Rowan's fourth birthday.Kaelan stood on the high platform holding the hand of the noblewoman Lysandra and received the blessings of every elf there. Rowan pushed through the crowd clutching the little deer he had woven himself and joyfully called out, "Dad!"Kaelan's face went cold and he said, in front of them all, "Don't call me that. I'm not your father."Afterward Rowan asked me whether it was because he had not been good enough that his father would not claim him.That was the moment I first seriously thought that perhaps I should take my child and go.Just before the Assembly began, Rowan had come home from school covered in mud.His collar was pulled askew and his knee was scraped, but he held a crooked little grass deer tightly against his chest."Mom, I didn't cry."He lifted

"Why did you bring Rowan to the banquet?"Kaelan questioned me as though I were the one who had done something wrong that night.I looked at the gold royal crest on his coat. "You sent the invitation.""I invited you.""So I should have left a child on his fourth birthday at home alone and gone to watch his father get betrothed to someone else?"Kaelan rubbed his brow. "It's a political marriage, nothing more. Her House carries real weight among our people. With their support I can take the throne cleanly."Over five years, I had heard too many explanations like it.Each time, the matter was supposedly critical, and each time, we were the sacrifice."You could have told me first.""What good would that have done? You would only have lost control of yourself, exactly as you did tonight."For a moment I could not speak at all.Rowan had run to his father and offered him a gift he had spent half a month making. In Kaelan's eyes, that was what he called me losing control.There was a small

By the time I reached the palace, a maid from the betrothal preparations was carrying Rowan's elixir toward Lysandra's chambers.I stopped her. "Give it to me."The maid stepped back. "His Highness sent this to Lady Lysandra.""That is the medicine keeping my son alive."The commotion drew Lysandra from her chamber. She emerged in a robe with a layer of silver-white paste already coating her face."Do you mean this?" She touched her cheek. "The betrothal is tomorrow. The apothecary said it would make my skin more beautiful, so Kaelan had it sent over."The bottle on the table was half empty.The medicine that was supposed to keep Rowan alive had been smeared on her face."Give me what's left." I put out my hand.Lysandra put the stopper back in. "There's barely any left. It isn't even enough for my neck. And besides, it was a gift from Kaelan."I did not argue with her. I went to find Kaelan.He was in the council chamber settling the order of the next day's ceremony with several noble

Leaving the capital was not as hard as I had imagined.I sold most of the furniture and packed my herb notes and the child's clothes. The border school sent an old carriage, and we were to leave three days later.Rowan did not ask whether Kaelan would come.He merely placed the broken-antlered deer on the windowsill, leaving it behind.The night before we left, I went to the palace.Kaelan was in his study reviewing Council papers. For five years, I had kept his ledgers, private letters, and treaties in order. Now his desk was a mess, and he could not even find a letter from the western marches."Good timing." He did not look up. "Sort these again. And tomorrow, Lysandra is hosting several ladies. You will arrange—"The ring I had worn for five years landed on the papers with a faint click.Kaelan looked up."What is this supposed to mean?""When you gave me this ring five years ago, you said you would give me a home even without a crown." I took off the ring, leaving a faint white mar

News from the capital reached the border in pieces.Lysandra had been planted at Kaelan's side by his political enemies from the beginning. She used the betrothal to gain his trust and passed along important lists, troop movements, and arrangements for the succession ceremony one by one.Kaelan had had many chances to notice.But every time someone questioned Lysandra, he interpreted it as an attempt to sabotage the noble alliance. When I begged him to retrieve Rowan's elixir, the first thing he thought of was not Rowan but his own throne.Ten days later the court notice went out everywhere.Kaelan was struck by a poisoned dagger while pursuing Lysandra. His life was saved, but he permanently lost the ability to father children. Together with the leaked military intelligence and his failure to judge the people around him, the injury led the Council of Elders to formally revoke his right of succession.The elves of the village stood around the notice talking. I stood outside the crowd a