Said No to the Prince and Yes to the King novel Chapter 1

Chapter 1 I Will Die Without Regret

“Margaret, I gave you my word—even if Stella comes into this marriage alongside you, the Crown Princess’ seat is yours and yours alone. That should be more than enough. So why the hell are you still pulling this crap?”
On the edge of a cliff that stretched into oblivion, an ancient tree stood battered and alone against the wind and snow. Beside it, Margaret stared blankly at the young man before her—the Crown Prince of Northpoint. Her fiancé. Her so-called future husband.
“You think this is me acting out?”
Christopher’s face twisted with impatience. “From the moment I said I’d marry Stella, you’ve been scheming against her, pulling this self-harm bullsh*t, and now—with the wedding right around the corner—you’re here threatening to throw yourself off a cliff? How long are you gonna drag this out?”
Margaret laughed bitterly, “Self-harm? The wounds on my body—”
“Enough! Don’t give me that crap again about Stella being behind them. She’s innocent and kind. She’s never said a bad word about you in my presence, and yet you keep slinging mud at her. Have you no shame in acting like a jealous older sister?”
He cut her off, waving irritably at the guards behind him. “I should be at court right now, handling state affairs, but instead I’m out here in the freezing cold coddling you. I’ve given you more patience than you deserve. If you keep this circus going, I don’t give a d*mn if you jump.”
Margaret’s eyes burned. “You once told me I was the only woman you’d ever love.”
Christopher’s jaw tightened. “Back then, I didn’t know what real love was. Then Stella came back, and I finally understood. You and me? It was a mistake from the start.”
His gaze hardened. “Besides, you owe her. If you hadn’t lost her three years ago, she’d be the one engaged to me. You’ve already stolen her place. Now you’re just letting her walk through the same door on the same d*mn day. What more do you want?”
“Same day?” Margaret let out a hollow laugh. “Oh, that’s rich. So in your book, having the Crown Princess and a concubine walk through the main gate together is nothing? You keep saying I’m first and she’s second, but you’re treating us like co-wives. Humiliating me before we’re even wed—where’s my dignity in all this?”
She took a step back. One more, and she’d be gone. “And you say I lost her?” Another bitter laugh escaped her lips. “Have you forgotten? Three years ago, you weren’t the Crown Prince. You were a cripple. I stuck by you. I searched for healers. I prayed every day for you to walk again. And now that you’re on your feet, now that Stella’s back, you don’t want to know what really happened back then—”
“Same old story!” Christopher’s patience snapped. “How vile are you, Margaret, to keep trashing your own sister? She was thirteen when she disappeared—what did she know about anything? And we were barely fourteen—what did we know about love? It was all a mistake. Why can’t you just accept that?”
For a moment, watching tears streak down her face, something flickered in his eyes. Regret, maybe.
“I know what you did for me. I know how hard life gets for a woman who’s been cast aside. That’s why I never planned to abandon you. Even with Stella back, I only gave her the side position. She never asked for more. So why can’t you let this go?”
Whenever he mentioned Stella, his voice softened.
“You only see your own pain. Have you ever thought about how much she’s sacrificing, letting you keep the main wife’s seat? She’s suffering in silence while you throw tantrums. She’s good, Margaret. And now she has this one little wish. Can’t you just… let her have it?”
“Haven’t I given enough?” Margaret’s voice cracked. “My mother raised me to give in to her. She wanted my room? Fine, I moved. She ran from her crippled fiancé? Fine, I stepped in. Now she’s back and changed her mind, and everyone acts like I stole her man. Like I’m the villain. I—”
“Stop badmouthing her—”
“No!”
The scream tore from her throat, raw and broken. Tears flooded down her face.
Christopher sucked in a breath. Maybe he saw how far gone she was, because his voice softened.
“Enough. If it means that much to you, fine—you walk first. Stella follows. Happy now?”
The casual dismissal cut deeper than any blade.
“That’s not what I—”
“I’ve bent over backward for you. What more do you want? Me to dump Stella altogether? You’ve already won. Why can’t you just leave her alone?”
His temper flared again—until he saw her face.
Utterly destroyed. Eyes empty. Hopeless.
He sighed, forcing himself to sound calm. “Don’t be ridiculous. Come here.”
Not a trace of fear in his voice. Not a shred of belief she’d actually jump.
“Last time,” he warned. “Come. Here.”
Margaret barely heard him. She was laughing now—soft, broken, bitter. “Won? You think I’ve won?”
Tears kept falling, freezing on her cheeks.
“I push back once, and you call it a tantrum. Everyone calls me difficult. My own family says I bully her. And you tell me I’ve won?
“Everything I do is ‘hysterical.’ Everything I say is a lie. And I’ve won?!”
Ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous.
She stood utterly alone, with no one to stand by her!
Ridiculous that after two years of devotion, his precious Stella only had to smile to take it all away.
Ridiculous that her own wedding day meant sharing a husband with the woman who’d made her life hell for over a decade.
And the thought of spending the rest of her life in that shadow? Unbearable.
“She wins. You win.” Margaret’s fists clenched, hatred burning through her tears. “Take it. Take it all.”
She clenched her fists, her gaze burning with hatred.
“When I’m dead, I hope a demon drags her soul to hell. I hope she pays back every drop of suffering—a thousandfold. Then… then I’ll die without regrets.”
She jumped.
Her gaze was so resolute, so utterly devoid of hesitation.
As if she had truly grown weary of this world.
Christopher’s eyes went wide.
“Margaret, have you lost your mind?”
His heart slammed against his ribs. He lunged—caught nothing but air.
“No!”
This wasn’t real. She was acting out. She wasn’t supposed to actually—
Something in his chest felt… missing. It took him a moment to find his voice again, and when he did, it was a roar at the stunned guards behind him. “What are you all standing there for? Go down there and find her!”
“Alive or dead—I don’t care! Find her!”