The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 255: Standstill

There was a stunned silence as Rafael’s rejection echoed through the room. Soleia shot her husband an incredulous glance before turning her head to witness the shell-shocked expression on her new father-in-law’s face. Clearly, he had not imagined Rafael’s rejection.

King Recaldo’s face had darkened considerably, and he seemed three steps away from leaping down from his throne to sock Rafael in the face despite his age. Beside her, Orion tensed imperceptibly, keeping an eye out for the nearest exit that he could haul Soleia out of.

The priest blinked, his face paling tremendously. Never before had he experienced someone rejecting a marriage that was personally arranged by King Recaldo himself.

"Excuse me, Prince Rafael? I must have misheard," he croaked out, his voice trembling minutely. He dared not turn around to look at King Recaldo’s face. He wanted to live.

"Rafael, you cannot be serious―" Elinora’s mouth fell open, and her eyes were wet with unshed tears as her mouth twisted with anger and hurt. "This is a joke, isn’t it? You cannot even bother to put on an act?"

"I’m not acting. I do not want to marry you with every fibre of my being," Rafael scoffed.

"Besides, now you can have first-hand experience of how humiliating it was for Soleia when you snatched Orion from right under her nose," Rafael added, crossing his arms as he stared impassively down at Elinora. "Part of me wishes we had invited everyone to witness this momentous event, just so that there would be more eyes feasting on your humiliation."

"Y-You― This is just a way for you to take revenge!" Elinora spluttered, her cheeks red at the audacity of Rafael’s actions. Her head swiveled between Rafael, his father, and Orion, before it finally came to a stop at Soleia’s befuddled face.

A manic glint entered her eyes, and she jabbed a finger so closely at Rafael’s face that he became cross-eyed trying to keep the whole of it in view.

"You have some nerve putting the blame on me!" A wicked smile crossed her face as she thought of a way to strain the relationship between this disgusting couple. "Does your precious darling know you were the one who handed me the amethyst to begin with? Without you, my entire plan to steal Orion at the wedding would never have come to fruition!"

Soleia gave a theatrical gasp, barely restraining the urge to roll her eyes at Elinora’s attempt to sow discord between the two of them. "You don’t say! Rafael, how could you betray me like this!"

"I am deeply sorry for the hurt I have caused you," Rafael said sincerely.

Soleia might have expressed her outrage as a joke, but Rafael was nothing but heartfelt in his apology. Soleia knew that Rafael would spend the rest of his life making up for his actions, and this time, she was willing to let him try.

"If apologies were sufficient, no one would need the law," Elinora scoffed, her eyes shining maliciously. "Which fool would want a man willing to orchestrate her humiliation just to have her?"

"Judging by the fact you’re the one standing before him in front of a priest..." Soleia’s voice trailed off thoughtfully. "Aren’t you the fool in question?"

Elinora drew herself to her full height, preparing to argue, but an angered voice silenced her.

"Enough!" King Recaldo had had enough of this circus of a wedding. It was simply an absolute waste of time. His son wasn’t even bothering to pay basic lip service to his orders, to the crown. At any other time, he would have been flogged in public or even dragged to the execution grounds.

But the circumstances were different now. Rafael was his sole heir to the throne, and he knew it. King Recaldo couldn’t do much to him. His remaining son smiled up at him guilelessly, but there was no denying the shrewdness in his eyes.

"If you refuse to take Elinora as a concubine, you’ll simply be a prince no longer." King Recaldo gnashed his teeth.

He refused to be held hostage by his son. As long as the crown was still on his head, he was the king, and Rafael would do well to respect that power.

"I am young enough that I can produce another heir. I created your brothers once, I can do it again. Guards, throw them into prison."

"Soleia is pregnant―" Rafael’s carnelian brooch began to shine a deep red, but King Recaldo was unmoved. The guards stormed closer, and Orion immediately stood before Soleia protectively, a resigned expression on his face. Once again, he was going to brawl through guards.

"You are the one responsible for her distress, not me," King Recaldo said. "You, who can’t understand compromise, who renegades on previous agreements, who would gladly risk the lives of those closest to you to make a point. You would be a lacking king. I might as well be rid of you."

"Rafael," Soleia hissed out loud, her eyes wide as she caught Rafael’s disbelieving eyes. Her husband had gone too far. They had their fun, but the three of them could not take down an army. "Do it! Marry her! Are you crazy?!"

"At least your wife seems to speak sense," King Recaldo said, giving Soleia a look of approval. "There may still be hope for you yet."

As such, Rafael was forced to grit his teeth and turn back to the priest, who was shaking like a leaf the moment the guards started swarming the throne room. "Speak."

"What?" He squeaked out, his eyes barely open.

"Hurry and ask the question again," Rafael barked out, his mood taking a huge downturn. He needed to castrate his father soon, preferably before he was forced to consummate the marriage. His value as his only heir needed to be set in stone.

The priest nodded frantically, glad that the ceremony was finally going back on track. "Do you wish to take Lady Elinora Wynsler as your wife―"

"Yes," Rafael said curtly, the tone of his voice suiting a funeral more than a wedding. In fact, he would probably sound a lot happier at the funerals of his two brothers, which were due to take place later in the evening.

He tilted his head and glared at his father. "Are you happy now?!"

King Recaldo snorted. He didn’t look happy by any means, but at least the murderous aura around him had been transferred to his son. freewebnoveℓ.com

"This is satisfactory."

Rafael wanted to move away, but the priest hastily stopped him. "Your Highness, please wait!"

"What is it now?" Rafael snarled. "I’m not kissing her." He spat out that last word as though Elinora was something filthy he found stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

"No, it’s not about the kiss," the priest warbled, sweating nervously. Even a blind man could tell Prince Rafael would never touch Lady Elinora willingly. But he still had to continue the second half of the ceremony.

"I haven’t asked Lady Elinora yet. Lady Elinora, do you wish to take Prince Rafael Biroumand as your husband, to love and cherish for the rest of your days?"

Thankfully, Lady Elinora did not surprise him.

"I do," Elinora said, but there was also no joy or sense of victory in her voice. She simply felt hollow in that moment, at the knowledge that Rafael had to be threatened with treason and execution to wed her, and he wouldn’t even give her the barest minimum of affection― a cursory kiss, in front of his father.

There was no way he would be willing to kiss her. Or touch her willingly. Elinora bit the inside of her mouth hard enough to draw blood. She would have to forcefully make him love her.

"See, she agrees. We’re done here," Rafael said coldly, storming off to Soleia’s side. But before he could grab Soleia and Orion and get away from his father, King Recaldo cleared his throat.

"Don’t forget the consummation ceremony," King Recaldo said, causing Rafael’s footsteps to pause.

"Why is there a need?" Rafael pretended to play dumb. "This isn’t Elinora’s first marriage. She was also once pregnant with Orion’s child. Me consummating the marriage with her doesn’t change the fact that she was Orion’s wife to begin with."

Elinora’s face purpled as Rafael reminded everyone that she was not a chaste, virginal bride. Unfortunately, King Recaldo wasn’t impressed by his son’s reasoning.

"Since both of you already have experience, there should be no need to drag your feet. I don’t care if you have to have your wife, your guard, or even the entire town in the room to perform. If you don’t consummate your marriage, it’s back to the dungeons for the three of you."

"Father, there’s no need for such haste," Rafael said with gritted teeth.

"There is no need for such reluctance either," King Recaldo shot back. "Consummate your marriage tonight. If I find out that you haven’t, I will drag you to the bedroom and watch both of you personally."