The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 198: Would You Wait For Me?

"Soleia!"

Rafael stood at the doorway, his shoulders rising and falling as he panted, his eyes searching for Soleia’s. However, they quickly went to the silver-haired woman who stood in the room, almost blocking his view.

Elinora turned back, her smile never fading before fully spinning her body around to look at Rafael.

"Your Highness!" she exclaimed, joy in her voice. "We were just talking about you―"

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Rafael demanded.

He stormed forward, a whip made of blood wrapping around Elinora’s neck before yanking her out of the way. As Elinora stumbled and tried to regain her bearings, Rafael quickly placed himself in between her and Soleia, using his body to shield the latter.

"Who gave you the right to come to her room?" Rafael growled, the gaze in his eyes murderous as the blood tendril clenched a little tighter. The carnelian he wore around his neck pulsed, the red glow murderously intense against the backdrop of the setting sun.

Elinora gasped for air, her hands clawing at the whip only to grab onto nothing. She couldn’t get a good hold of it, and the more she struggled, the tighter it became, leaving her breathless.

"Is what she said true?" Soleia’s question caused Rafael’s concentration to break for a split second. The blood tendril loosened just enough to allow Elinora the time to inhale deeply, her jaw dropping as she gulped in the much-needed oxygen.

Rafael’s attention, on the other hand, was placed entirely on Soleia.

"What―"

"About your engagement," Soleia said, "to her. Is it true?"

"I―" Rafael said, his eyes going wide.

However, his momentary hesitation was everything Soleia needed to know. She stepped away from Rafael, shaking her head as disappointment bled through her eyes. The look of hurt crossed her face, and her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the man — the stranger — in front of her.

"Of course it’s true," Elinora said with a short bark of laughter. "Unless, of course, Prince Rafael had turned down the opportunity to become the crown prince? If so, hurrah for true love― ack!"

"No one gave you permission to speak," Rafael lowly said, turning his eyes slowly to Elinora. He didn’t move an inch from the spot where he stood, but one swish of his hand easily commanded the rope of blood to lift Elinora off the ground.

She grabbed onto the tendril, her lips opening and closing like a fish out of water, but Rafael did not care even for a second that Elinora was quickly turning as purple as the crystal hanging around her neck.

"Let her go."

Those three words caused Rafael’s eyes to widen. The blood tendril that was wrapped around Elinora’s neck suddenly lost all of its structure, spilling to the ground lifelessly as the woman collapsed in its puddle. She coughed, hacking and panting before staring at the pool of blood under her in disbelief.

Likewise, Rafael turned back and looked at Soleia in shock. Her earrings were glowing, pulsing with a milky white light as she impassively looked at Rafael, completely ignoring the woman on the floor.

"Soleia..." Her name spilled from Rafael’s lips as he stared in questioning.

"Oliver," Soleia calmly said, not moving her eyes for even a fraction of a second. "Could you please escort Lady Elinora out?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Oliver said. He hurriedly assisted Elinora out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind him.

It wasn’t that he wanted to bring the latter to the infirmary as soon as possible, but rather, Oliver was afraid of staying in that room for even a second more. The tension was so thick that it was practically suffocating.

With the door shut, Rafael and Soleia were left alone.

What used to be endless chatter and mirthful laughs soon became nothing but an awkward silence. Rafael uncomfortably shifted. He was the first to break eye contact, staring at the pool of blood on the floor. He poised his hand over it, trying to command the blood up, but unsurprisingly, his carnelian didn’t even so much as flicker.

"Spare your efforts," Soleia emotionlessly said. She walked over to the couch, sitting down as though nothing was wrong, and that she was in a palace of her own, where she was the mistress.

"Worth a shot," he mumbled under his breath, though his body remained stiff, as though he was a child being reprimanded by his parents.

"Well?" Soleia prompted. "Did you take up your father’s offer?" she asked. "A crown and a wife. I would say that’s a pretty fair deal."

"My wife will only ever be you," Rafael immediately said― almost a little too hurriedly.

Soleia merely scoffed and rolled her eyes. Elinora wouldn’t have come over to brag if she hadn’t known for sure what Rafael’s choice would be. That would mean only one thing.

"When will your lies ever end?" she asked. The back of her eyes felt hot, but Soleia refused to let any tears fall for this man.

Her Ralph was dead. This man who stood in front of her was not her husband. He could be Elinora’s husband for all she cared.

Or at least, that was what Soleia’s brain desperately tried to tell her heart.

"Princess," Rafael said, immediately dropping to his knees. He knelt right next to Soleia, attempting to hold her, only for her to dodge away from his touch. This time, Rafael didn’t press for physical contact any further, merely staying put as he looked earnestly at her. "I... only agreed to my father’s terms to secure the position. But I will look for a way out― I will never have Elinora Wynsler as my wife. You are the only person I would want as my queen."

Soleia clenched her jaw. The cogs in her head turned as she blinked her tears away, her mind made up.

Then, she turned and looked at Rafael, the coldness in her eyes finally vanishing.

"Is that yet another lie?" she asked, her voice surprisingly soft, filled with weakness and all the fragile insecurity of a woman begging for her husband’s love.

Rafael stiffened in surprise. He had expected anger, jealousy, and sadness. But not this.

However, he didn’t question it. Instead, he nodded and edged a little closer to her. This time, Soleia didn’t back away and allowed Rafael to hold her hands. He clutched her tightly, afraid that if he let go, she would disappear into a puff of smoke and dust. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

"Of course," he promised. "I will do whatever it takes to make sure this engagement does not come to fruit. When I am king, we will be married― officially. You will... wait for me? Yes?"

To his surprise, Soleia gently smiled.

"Yes," she said. "Of course."

Not.