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My body froze at his sudden declaration and my blood felt like it had been replaced with ice. Those six words sent an ominous shiver down my spine. I stared at him wide eyed. He casually came to a stop by the window and glanced outside.

“It was necessary,” he added, as if that justified his murder confession.

“Allow me to elaborate. The night after the betrothal, Isabelle was supposed to remain here before going back to Meryllia. I don’t know what possessed her, but she somehow got the notion that she could take you and run away. I had been watching her carefully, because she had been severely opposed to making you the prince’s betrothed.

“After the contracts were signed, you no longer only belonged to Meryllia, but to us as well. By going against that agreement, she became an enemy of both kingdoms. I simply decided to remove the threat. She wasn’t necessary if she refused to co-operate.”

The air I tried to breathe seemed to be going everywhere except to my lungs. I was frozen in place, completely petrified. He made it sound no more casual than going out to brunch. As if her life meant nothing to him. As if she was merely a disposable pawn to him.

I couldn’t look away from him. His sharp green eyes bore into mine unapologetically.

“H-How could you?” I choked.

I balled my shaking hands in my lap and he gave me a sympathetic smile.

“It was for the greater good of Crysauralia,” he said, spreading his arms.

I sprang up from my spot beside Ashton and he was beside me in a moment, gently trying to pull me behind him but I stood my ground.

Who the hell did this man think he was?!

He was hurting everyone around him and he didn’t care. It made my blood boil, and I was absolutely livid!

I was scared too, but I was not going to back down from him. The king smiled at me, choosing to ignore my anger, which fuelled my fury even more.

“How could you?!” I yelled again.

Tears formed in my eyes again and I brushed them away angrily. I hated crying when I was angry. I wanted him to see just how enraged I was. I wouldn’t look very intimidating with tears streaming down my face.

“Why did you have to do all that?” I sniffed. “I’m just a regular girl! I have no title or anything. How could you kill someone just to get me?!”

The guilt was gnawing at my heart now. If my mother hadn’t tried to protect me from him, she wouldn’t have died like that. I felt like a part of this was my fault and it made me feel sick to my stomach.

“You’re more important than you give yourself credit for, Elizabeth,” he said slowly. “You’re my key to accomplishing my plans for Crysauralia.”

I stared at him in confusion. His key? I didn’t want to be his anything. I shuddered to imagine what kind of diabolic scheme he was plotting.

“Your marriage to Ashton will form a special bond between Crysauralia and Meryllia,” he explained. “A special treaty was forged on your betrothal, and with it we have gained some major allies. Our wealth and power has been catapulting over the years and it’s time to finally seize what is ours.”

“And what would that be?” Ashton scoffed.

“Cothe, Astar, Nappa, Gregoria, the south portion of Meryllia,” he listed. “They will come under us.”

“But those are allied countries,” Ashton frowned. “Besides, Nappa has a monarchy.”

“Not for long,” The king declared. “In a few years, we will have expanded. Crysauralia is a country endowed with wealth and we must capitalize on what we have. We will no longer be a kingdom. I will establish an empire.”

We stared at him with bated breaths. An empire. So that was his big goal. And that’s why he was determined not to break the agreement with Meryllia. If both kingdoms were to join forces they would be practically unstoppable.

If Crysauralia would be benefitting this much, I could only imagine how much Meryllia would be benefiting as well. And it was all hinged on marriage. A diplomatic marriage. My marriage.

There was no way the king would let me walk away from this. He never intended to nullify the contract at all. He most likely had some loophole to that agreement too.

I sank down onto the couch dazedly and glared at the ground, feeling helpless.

“You are not just a girl without a title,” he breathed. “You have a unique role in all of this. I’m doing this for you, and for your future heirs.”

My head throbbed dully and I pinched the bridge of my nose. This had to be a dream or a joke. I either needed to wake up or hear the punch line, because right now, this was not it.

“As you can see,” his voice hardened. “I will do whatever it takes to achieve this, no matter the sacrifice.”

The last part had a rough edge to it and it was nothing else if not a warning directed at us. He continued speaking, his voice smooth as butter now.

“I did say I would nullify the contract, but I see no reason to do so anymore. With recent submission from the Kingdom of Nappa, I cannot risk all of this now.”

He ran a hand down my hair and I twisted myself away from his touch.

“I’ll tell you what would have happened if I did nullify the contract. Ashton would have had an arranged marriage with a princess from Meryllia, to preserve the arrangement. However, that would put us at a disadvantage. For breaking our agreement, acquiring the south portion of Meryllia would no longer be a part of the deal. I’m not willing to lose that. Therefore, you must marry Ashton.”

I looked up at Ashton but I couldn’t see his expression. But even from the back side of him, I could tell he was furious. His back was tense and rigid and his hands were balled into fists at his side.

I was breaking out in a cold sweat and I wanted nothing more than to just leave right now. I felt sick and tired. The true reason behind my mom’s death was starting to weigh on me.

The sadness, the anger, the loss, the guilt…

I clamped a shaky hand over my mouth as I struggled to come to terms with this new emptiness. The declaration of the king that he was prepared to execute his plan, even if it left a trail of bodies in his wake honestly scared me. I couldn’t allow him to hurt anyone else.

I did like Ashton… maybe even more than I cared to admit. Maybe…

I got up hazily and it took all my strength to keep standing. Skipping breakfast this morning might not have been a good idea, but I had been too excited to eat anything.

“Are you okay?” Ashton asked, catching hold of my wrist before I could fall back onto the sofa. His features were riddled with panic as he observed me.

“I’ll take you home now,” he murmured, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “This is enough bullsh*t for one day.”

“Be a good girl, Elizabeth, and no one else will have to get hurt.” The king smiled dangerously. “Don’t let anyone else have to die before you realize that I will get what I want in the end. It would be such a shame if your family was to meet an untimely end.”

Ashton shot his father an icy glare as we walked out. I gladly inhaled the air once we stepped out into the corridor. Inside had felt suffocating and my stomach was queasy. I tried to push myself away from Ashton but he refused to let me go.

“I need some time,” I mumbled, pushing against him again.

He was silent, but then led me up to the third floor and into his room. My knees gave way under me and I collapsed onto the carpeted floor. He eyed me worriedly and his arms stretched out ready to hug me or steady me or whatever it was that I would need him to do.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, pulling me closer to him.

I sighed as I rested my head on his shoulder. The one action felt so comforting, but I couldn’t afford to feel comforted right now.

The king was a cold blooded murderer. He’d most likely destroyed all evidence of what happened to my mom. I might not even be able to get justice for her and that killed me on the inside.

All she wanted to do was protect me from getting stuck in a life that I would have no control over. Now she was gone forever and my aunt was too afraid of the king to come anywhere near us.

I didn’t blame her. He had killed her only sister. She had probably been terrified to find out that he knew where she had been hiding. I decided to leave her alone. Trying to contact her again would only cause her more pain and I couldn’t bring myself to do that to her.

I sniffed again, but this time, there were no tears to cry. It felt weird and oddly unsatisfying. I wanted to cry, to scream and shout and let everything out, but there was nothing but a cold, dark loneliness and the tears wouldn’t come.

“C-can I have some time alone?” I asked Ashton, but he only hugged me tighter.

“I’m not going to leave you when you’re feeling like this,” he murmured into my hair.

“Please,” I pleaded softly. “I just need some time by myself.”

He pulled back to look at me. His blue eyes, etched with worry, searched mine to see if that was really what I wanted. I nodded to convince him and he sighed.

“I’ll be right outside,” he told me after planting a soft kiss on my forehead.

He stood up stiffly, pulling himself away from me slowly. I sniffled as the warmth and comfort disappeared, but I wanted to think about this alone.

I wanted to grieve about this alone and thankfully he understood that and gave me some space.

I hated this feeling. I wanted to be sure of what I wanted. I wanted to do what I wanted. I hated feeling so lost and confused about everything. I’d just wanted to finish high school, become a doctor and live a happy, fulfilling life. Maybe deciding to get married when I wanted to… maybe even start a family with that person when I was ready to. It seemed like all of my plans were crumbling to dust right in front of me and I was desperately trying to gather the grains of sand to put my dreams back together.

I buried my face in my knees as he quietly closed the door, and wondered how exactly my life got flipped so upside down.

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