Said No to the Prince and Yes to the King novel Chapter 173

Chapter 173 Would Never Find Peace

By the end of his words, Christopher was overcome with quiet grievance, and he dropped his gaze.

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He said, “I’ve long wanted to sit down and talk with you properly, yet I never got the chance. Now that we’ve finally met, all you do is insist on leaving. If this is your way of playing hard to get, it’s gone far nough. Push this any further, and there truly will be no way back for us.”

Margaret tugged hard at the locked door, straining to pull it open as she spoke. “There was never any uture for us to begin with. You must have heard of King Spencer’s royal decree dissolving our engagement. Going against the king’s official order would be treason. Since you pride yourself on being he noble Crown Prince, you ought to abide by the royal will and stop pestering me.”

Christopher lifted his head sharply. “No one dares open this door without my command.”

Margaret grew thoroughly exasperated. “What exactly do you want from me, Crown Prince Christopher?”

Christopher rose slowly and stepped toward her one deliberate pace at a time. “Answer my question. Why? Is it true, as the rumors say, that you’ve fallen for someone else?”

Margaret stopped struggling with the door, worn out from the effort, and shot Christopher an angry glare.

There’s no such thing as falling for someone else. I’ve never cared for him in the slightest.

Yet a sudden sharp twinge pricked deep inside her, stinging right from her soul.

She pressed a hand lightly to her chest and let out a bitter laugh. “You keep asking questions, yet you’ll never believe the truth even if I tell it. I don’t understand why you waste your time pestering me like this.”

Christopher said coldly, “You’ve never once told me what’s truly on your mind.”

Margaret scoffed, “Did I ever even get the chance to speak honestly with you?

‘How many times have I tried to talk to you calmly? Did you ever listen? You say we haven’t sat down for a quiet talk in ages–do you remember when it all fell apart? It wasn’t after I jumped off the cliff. It was the moment you turned your heart toward Stella.

‘I still remember the day Stella came back. You went hunting outside the city with the other young nobles, bringing back all sorts of rare trinkets. You told me you’d brought a gift for me, smiling happily and saying that once we were married and I became your Crown Princess, you’d take me hunting by your side everywhere you went. I believed every word.”

She stared straight into Christopher’s eyes as she went on, “That very same day, you met the returning Stella. She called out to you sweetly, and you lost all sense of reason. You forgot you’d come to deliver my gift, and you handed every last trinket you’d brought straight to her instead.

“We were betrothed long before I grew plump. You’re right, we were young then, and I knew little of love and affection. But deep down, I always knew you were my intended husband, that I would marry you and spend my whole life with you. With that belief rooted in me, I stayed loyal and devoted to you. Even before I understood what love truly was, I’d already settled on you as my lifelong partner.

“But how did you treat me, Crown Prince Christopher? As I grew heavier and heavier, you told me to eat

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Chapter 173 Would Never Find Peace

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less. I gained weight because of a hidden poison inside me—I had no control over my cravings at all. Did you ever bother looking into the cause? When you injured your leg once, I searched everywhere for skilled healers day and night, all just to help you recover faster.

“Do you remember when I visited you at the Crown Prince’s Estate? You hated the bitter taste of medicine, so I tasted every brew for you myself. I baked marchpane tartlet with my own hands, and you always praised how delicious they were. Later, when I ate the very same tartlets again, you snapped at me for being too fat to indulge in sweets.

“I’ve wondered too how we ended up like this. We were once properly betrothed, after all. Maybe it started the day Stella fell, and you rushed to carry her away without a second thought, leaving me standing alone in the wind. Or the day she fell ill from bad food, and you instantly believed I’d poisoned her, forcing me to apologize to her.

“Or maybe it was when you gave her all my favorite things and told me to be the bigger person. Or later, when I came to see you, you always hid behind excuses of being busy, only to sneak off to meet Stella in

secret.”

Margaret let out a bitter laugh. “You claim that since we were never married, we shouldn’t spend time alone together–yet you sneak off to meet Stella every day with no formal tie binding you two at all.”

She knew perfectly well that saying all this would change nothing. Yet these grievances had been buried deep in her soul for far too long. If she never spoke them aloud, the original spirit trapped in this body would never find peace.

Christopher looked utterly lost and flustered. “I never knew you held so many grievances in your heart. I’ll admit I neglected you, but you never once explained any of this to me. I was kept completely in the dark. How can you hate me so deeply over something I never understood?”

Margaret shook her head slowly. “No, I don’t hate you at all. It’s not that you knew nothing–you understood everything perfectly. You just never cared enough to bother for me.”

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