The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 189: Married A Liar

Soleia lay on her bed, tossing and turning, fruitlessly trying to fall back asleep so that she could at least tackle this new conundrum the next day with a clear head. By all accounts, she should have been tired. But every time she closed her eyes, she recalled Raziel’s words, haunting her mind like a nightmare she could not wake up from.

Sir Ralph, her dear sweet husband who she believed to be nothing more than a landed knight, could actually be none other than Raxuvia’s illegitimate prince, Prince Rafael. The very thought made her stomach churn anxiously. She desperately didn’t want to believe his words, but the dots were connecting to form a pretty damning picture.

And Ralph wasn’t even here to defend himself. He had left her alone in the middle of the night despite promising to stay with her before she fell asleep.

Ralph looked too similar to Prince Raziel and Prince Ricard for her to be comfortable. She suddenly recalled Reitan claiming that Sir Ralph looked scary when he first saw him sneaking outside her room.

Reitan mentioned how he witnessed Sir Ralph’s eyes changing color. Soleia’s entire body trembled. This proved that Sir Ralph was at the very least, disguising his appearance with magic. Perhaps his magic had no effect on her, or her very presence nullified it, allowing Reitan a brief glimpse at his true face before he plastered on his disguise.

Either that or Reitan also had nullification abilities of his own. Soleia prayed it was not the case, because Reitan’s life would be hanging by a noose.

Goosebumps formed on Soleia’s arms, and she felt herself shiver. She tucked her head underneath the covers, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.

Just because Sir Ralph used a disguise, doesn’t mean he’s the Prince of Raxuvia. That was simply too big a leap, she tried to tell herself.

He could just be... insecure. About his looks.

Soleia covered her face. Even she thought her reasoning was stupid.

Perhaps this was not as bad as she thought. So what if she married a bastard prince instead of a landed knight? Most people could consider it a bargain. An upgrade. At least, that would explain how she was even lying on a soft big bed and not sleeping in a pig sty in the middle of a farm, how they even got this house to begin with...

No wonder he had insisted on bringing her to Raxuvia at the dock! He had every ability to keep her well-fed and happy, and she would have lived the rest of her life in oblivious bliss until Rafael got tired of playing pretend.

Soleia’s eyes watered. The reason why they were even at the dock to begin with was because Orion had insisted on marrying Elowyn due to suffering from her enchantment. Something that was entirely preventable, if she had known about it in time. She couldn’t stop the tears from falling as Nessa’s voice echoed in her ears.

’Believe me! I did tell Sir Ralph about Elowyn!’

Back then, she didn’t want to believe Nessa’s words. It was simply incomprehensible that Sir Ralph would not inform her of such a development. But now, everything made a terrible amount of sense. Sir Ralph― no, Prince Rafael had deliberately kept this a secret from her, knowing full well the wedding would not be able to proceed as plan, knowing that Orion would humiliate her in front of every guest present and cause her to be separated from her dear brother―

A sob tore out of Soleia’s throat, and she buried her face into the soft blankets. The man she had willingly married had deliberately sabotaged her wedding.

Why? How could he do this to her?

Soleia wiped her tears as her despair was slowly overtaken by outrage. She needed an explanation, and she needed it now. Her husband, no matter what name he chose to go by, had to come clean with the truth.

So Soleia sat up in bed and crossed her arms, waiting for her husband to return. Her mind oscillated between love and anger, and she wondered if she would slap him or kiss him when she saw him again.

She waited, and waited. Soon, she heard the sound of a sigh as the bedroom door slowly opened to finally reveal her missing husband, dressed in what definitely was not his sleepwear. Ralph had a tired, frustrated expression on his face as he quietly walked in, only to pause when he caught sight of Soleia’s unimpressed expression.

Rafael gulped. With any luck, Soleia would have just woken up and he could explain his absence.

"Soleia darling, why aren’t you asleep yet? It’s late at night," Rafael said gently, quickly taking off his clothes so that he could join her in bed.

But his wife seemed even more unhappy at his words.

"So you also know that it’s late at night," Soleia said acerbically, staring at Ralph, or perhaps Rafael, with a raised eyebrow. "Where were you? Did you know how worried I was when I woke up and realized you were missing?"

"Outside," Rafael said, his mind whirling quickly. His heart cheered at the thought that Soleia was worried about him, but he knew he had to pacify her, or else they would be having their first argument as a married couple.

"I went back to the park to check on the crystals. We left in such a hurry, that I realized we didn’t help with the festival clean up. I got worried that some of them might have been taken by the townspeople," Rafael continued to explain, a contrite expression on his face as he came closer to hug her. "I’m sorry for not telling you. I wanted you to get more sleep."

As Soleia wrapped her arms around Ralph’s back, she took a careful sniff. While Rafael did not smell of women’s perfume, there was a familiar coppery tang that wafted off him.

What was he doing with his powers so late at night? Fighting off thieves?

Still, she mentally applauded her husband for coming up with an entirely plausible excuse straight off the bat. If it was any other time, she would have certainly believed him.

"Then do you have the crystals now?" Soleia asked innocently instead. There was a very minuscule chance her husband was telling the truth, and she wanted to give him the chance to prove her suspicions wrong.

Rafael’s eyes darted to the side and he let out a laugh. "I don’t have them with me. It turns out Duke Kinsley had taken all of them back." Rafael shrugged.

"So you made a trip out for nothing. You made me worry for nothing. Next time, please leave me a note," Soleia pursed her lips and faked a yawn. "It’s very late, go and rinse yourself before you return to bed."

Rafael nodded quickly in relief and kissed her lips. He would not be so careless again. "As my wife commands."

When Rafael entered the bathroom, Soleia sagged back into the mattress.

Her husband was a liar. But thanks to his words, she had someone new to question the next morning.

Duke Kinsley.