Chapter Thirty-Five

"I…don't like t-these events. Men only want to talk about…" I said, my voice trailing off.

"About what?" He asked, seeming to get irritated.

"Boring things…" I say and sigh. "Like politics or business. Things that don't have anything to do with me and don't interest me."

He chuckled and finally backed off. "You've always been a simple girl."

I blushed but was a little confused. "H-how would you know?"

He frowned slightly. "I've seen you from afar for several years. And Osamu would gush about you often around me."

"G-gush?" I blurted out, a little embarrassed.

"He has a big crush on you." He said so matter of fact.

That made me blush even more. "I-I know." I said and turned away.

"He was very upset when we arranged your marriage to Ned." I could practically hear the frown he must've been wearing. My heart dropped just thinking about Osamu – was he worrying about me? What I'd been through and how I was doing?

I cleared my throat. "It had to be done…I was getting too old. No one would've…" I said, my voice trailing off again.

"Would've what?"

"W-wanted me." I wrapped my hands around my arms and held them there, as if to extend a hug to myself.

"Aidan still did." Thebes said, it didn't seem like it was to cheer me up but more like a statement. "I was hoping he'd lose interest after all these years but…"

My eyes widened and I turned around to look at him. "Y-you knew about…us?"

"That you were the one he was looking for?" He asked and I nodded. "Of course I did. He was apprehended on his way to see you. He begged to see you but…my father was not a kind man."

I smiled and put my hand on my chest, as if to hold my heart. "So he was coming to see me…"

"He stole some cheap hair pin from the market, presumably to sell for food or travel. The guard recognized him from the description the vendor gave, and he was tracked down from there."

"S-so it was my fault." I could feel the tears well up in my eyes and roll down my cheeks like avalanches.

"You care about him…"

I nodded. The knot in the back of my throat prevented me from talking for a moment.

He sighed. "You're certain you want to go with him?"

"W-what? Why wouldn't-" I started to say. He interrupted me by grabbing my arms and pulling me closer to him.

"If you want to go home, I will take you back with me. You can change your mind now if that's what you want."

I shook my head. "N-no I, I want to be with Aidan." I shook him off and wiped the tears from my face.

"I won't marry you off this time. You don't have to live in the palace – I can have a house, staff, and a stipend arranged for you to live on if you prefer that. Whatever you want."

"M-marry me off? Who would even want me now?" I scoffed.

"My brother still cares for you." He says.

"He-he's a Prince! He-he couldn't m…"

"No, of course not. We have to marry for our kingdoms not for some crush or even love. But every Prince has their mistresses…" My face lit up when he said that.

"He-he's only 15!"

"Fifteen, he should be engaged by now, but he won't hear of it because of you." His voice sounded sharper now, angrier, where it was soft and almost sweet before.

I sighed. "I care for him too b-but not like that. I want the Prince to be happy, like I am now…I want to go home with my husband."

"You think of that place as home now?"

"I-I do."

He let out a sigh and rubbed his temples. "There's nothing I can say, nothing I can offer to change your mind?" I shook my head in response. "Then I wish you luck. And, before we go back to that crowded room, I want to tell you I was sincere when I said you will always be welcome in Cordova if you want to return. Always."

He took my hand, placed a kiss on it, and left shortly there after. I wasn't ready to go yet, I needed some time alone. I stayed on the roof a few more minutes to cool down before I went back.