A Wicked Husband - Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2.1

The proposal without a bouquet of flowers or a ring, felt so unreal. Eileen hoped she misheard or that he would say he was joking.

But Eileen’s ears were functioning perfectly, and Chezare was not the type to joke about such matters.

So… Why?

Countless questions flooded her mind, making her dizzy. Slowly she took a deep breath in and out, struggling to steady her erratic breathing, she replied, “I… I don’t wish to marry you, Your Excellency.”

Still wearing a smile, he affectionately asked, “You’d rather face the guillotine than marry me?”

“… I didn’t mean that.”

Fear clung to her throat. But summoning every ounce of courage, she blurted out the words she had been mustering.

“You don’t even like me, you just regard me as a child.”

“That’s right. You’re my child.”

Her heart stung at the matter-of-fact way he defined their relationship.

“That’s precisely why I’m refusing to do this. Your Excellency will need a successor, and you’ll have to do that… that thing with me.” She bit her lip and quiveringly said, “You can’t…”

Chezare grabbed her by the nape, tilted her head, and captured her lips into a deep kiss. Eileen gasped and pushed him away, startled by the soft flesh pressing into her mouth.

Their lips parted with a slick sound. Her heart was beating so rapidly that she felt as though it was going to explode. She looked at the man again with a trembling gaze.

He was no longer smiling. Instead, he simply held her gaze with his bloodshot eyes.

“How was it?”

A languid voice flowed between his slowly moving lips.

“Are you certain now?”

⚔

The first time they met, Eileen was only ten years old while Chezare was seventeen.

Eileen would occasionally accompany her mother, who was also the prince’s nanny, to the palace.

As an inquisitive child, Eileen would visit the gardens whenever she went. She would usually hold her mother’s hand tightly, but that fateful day, her mother had just looked away when she got lost chasing a little butterfly.

She wandered around the vast garden for a long time, and just before she collapsed from exhaustion, she met Chezare.

Boohoo…!

The moment she saw Chezare, she thought that she had met an adult, so she burst into tears. She immediately ran over and hugged him. She sobbed loudly in his wide embrace, and after some time, she sniffed and looked up, observing the “adult” whom she had been hugging.

The man, bathed in the summer sunlight, was truly dazzling. The moment she met his eyes, which were as red as flower petals, she was so astonished that she forgot all about crying.

At the thought that he might be an angel, she peeked at the man’s back, trying to spot his wings. However, instead of a pair of white wings, she saw other adults, who seemed older than him, all of whom stood behind him.

Unlike the clueless Eileen, Chezare instantly recognised the sobbing girl as his nanny’s young daughter. His lips curled up slightly into a smile.

“You must be Lily.”

That was her pet name, one that only her mother used. Eileen stared at him with her eyes wide open, as he plucked the blooming lily that was beside them. Then, he personally carried her out of the garden and back to her mother.

Eileen was harshly reprimanded that day, but she wasn’t upset at all. She simply giggled as she looked at the beautiful stalk of lily that had been placed in a vase.

Before she went to bed, she even meticulously recorded everything about the angel whom she met in the palace hoping to meet him again the next time she visited.

After that, Chezare occasionally asked his nanny about Eileen’s well-being. When that happened, she would get the opportunity to meet him. To young Eileen, that was a joyous moment.

The little girl and the young man, who was about to come of age, would sit across from each other and enjoy their afternoon tea together. But most of the time, Eileen would be the only one chattering away.

Unlike other children her age, Eileen was solely interested in plants. Chezare would listen patiently to the young girl’s ramblings about the various species. And even though it was extremely dry and boring, he would never cut into her incessant chatter.

And that was how their relationship developed over the years, and continued till this day.

⚔