Marked By The Mad King Alpha (Phoebe and Perry) novel Chapter 276

Chapter 276: Chapter 276 Hearts Without Heirs

Phoebe’s POV

I understood that Perry would cherish me regardless of anything else. He remained by my side even after discovering I couldn’t provide him with an heir.

Shutting my eyes, I pulled my mate closer against me. I refused to release him. His devotion ran so deep it threatened to destroy him, and that was exactly what I feared most. I couldn’t bear watching him sacrifice himself for me.

We hadn’t discussed this yet, and Perry never brought it up, but I was certain he’d discovered the truth about my inability to conceive, including the miscarriage I’d suffered.

Marcela must have informed him...

Still, I was too terrified to address it. I was a coward, plain and simple.

"Phoebe?" I felt Perry tense beside me as he gently lifted my head to see tears streaming down my face. "What’s wrong? What happened? Why the tears? Did I mess up somehow?"

"Is it something I said?" Perry couldn’t identify his error, but he offered an apology regardless. "Listen, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, alright?"

"You don’t even understand what you’re apologizing for," I replied, brushing away my tears.

"I don’t know, but anything that brings you pain is wrong." Perry pressed a tender kiss to my forehead, offering the solace I craved. "I’m sorry."

I shook my head. "Please, stop apologizing. You’ve done nothing wrong. I..." The words lodged in my throat, refusing to emerge. "I..."

"It’s alright, love." Perry drew me closer, intertwining our legs. "It’s alright."

But I continued shaking my head. Nothing would be right until I voiced my feelings. "I lost a baby," I finally managed to say. "And because of that... no." I shook my head again as fresh tears spilled down my cheeks. "Even before that happened... I can’t carry your child. I can’t provide you with an heir, Perry. I’ll never be what you need."

Perry kissed my forehead, and just as I suspected, he already knew—his face showed no surprise at my revelation.

"I know. I’ve known, love." Perry absorbed my anguish along with his own, yet he also felt relief that we were finally addressing this issue.

A massive divide had existed between us, even during our most intimate moments, because we’d kept this buried.

We desperately needed to tear off the bandage to confront it properly.

"I’m sorry."

If only... if only he hadn’t been so foolish... if only he’d trusted me sooner... I might have carried the pregnancy to term, and our child would be walking and talking by now. If only... 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The divide was healing, but it left us with even more pain to process. The wounds had reopened and were bleeding once again.

"I’m sorry, love. I’m so sorry."

"No..."

Neither of us wanted to blame the other; we each tried shouldering the guilt, but the weight was crushing... our hearts felt unbearably heavy.

"You need to find someone else, Perry. Find another woman..." I couldn’t finish before Perry silenced me with a kiss.

"No. Don’t you dare say that. Don’t you ever dare speak those words. I won’t allow it. Don’t you dare, do you understand?" Perry spoke against my lips, fury evident in his voice at hearing what I’d tried to suggest.

"Perry..." I pushed him back slightly and cupped his face. "You will..."

"No. I don’t want to hear any of that. I want you—only you. The only child I desire is one from you, and if that’s impossible, then I want no children at all. Let the kingdom fall with me, or let it rise under a new generation with a different king. I’ll abdicate if that’s what you think I should do."