The Dragon King's Hated Bride

>>Aelin

The music carried across the courtyard like waves, its rhythm echoing in my chest while I stood in the farthest corner, pressed against the cold stone wall, my cloak pulled tightly around me. 

The shadows were hiding me from the celebration below. My hood cast a veil over my face, and I was grateful for the dimness.

It was better this way. Better not to be seen.

I looked at Draegon and Ruoxy. They looked… perfect. Together, they were everything the demon race could want in a royal couple. Strength, beauty, unity.

"Love live Prince Draegon!! Long Live Princess Ruoxy!!" The crowd roared in approval, chanting their names in unison. I flinched at the sound, shrinking further into the shadows. They were already calling Ruoxy Princess… I had the title but people didn't address me with it…

I couldn't tear my gaze away.

Not from the way Draegon looked at her, from afar, I could only see his smile, but it was so wide it looked off. I could never have thought that he was capable of smiling like that.

I felt like I was suffocating.

The cheers grew louder when Draegon raised his hand for silence. His deep voice carried effortlessly across the courtyard.

"Tonight, we celebrate not only victory but the bonds that give us strength," he said, his tone steady and commanding.

Ruoxy stepped forward, her hand still resting on his arm. "And it's those bonds that have brought us here," she added, her voice light and filled with pride. "Together, we've defended something worth protecting. Worth fighting for." She looked at the crowd, "You all,"

The crowd erupted into cheers again, their voices merging into a deafening wave of approval.

My fingers curled into fists beneath my cloak, my nails biting into my palms.

"And now," Ruoxy said, turning to Draegon with a radiant smile, "there's something else to share. Something worth celebrating."

Draegon looked down at her with confusion and Ruoxy placed a hand over her stomach. "We're expecting a child."

!!!!

The reaction was immediate. Gasps of delight rippled through the crowd, followed by thunderous applause and cheers. The demons chanted their names, their joy palpable and overwhelming.

But me?

I couldn't move.

Ruoxy was pregnant??

Pregnant…

The words echoed in my mind, sharp and unforgiving. My chest tightened, and I pressed a trembling hand against my stomach as if to fill the hollow ache that was suddenly there.

The crowd surged closer to the platform, their excitement unstoppable. 

"Woohooo!"

"We're so happy for you!!" 

"Congratulations!!"

"Get married right away!!!" Voices called out blessings, cheers of congratulations filling the air. Draegon stood there, his hand resting protectively over Ruoxy's stomach, his expression one of quiet pride.

I stood frozen in the shadows, my eyes fixed on the scene before me.

The difference was glaring.

Ruoxy stood in the light, adored and celebrated, while I remained in the darkness, unseen and forgotten.

The palace, the demons, even Draegon himself—they all encouraged her. They lifted her up, showered her with love and praise, while I was left to rot in the cold emptiness of my room.

I glanced down at my hand, bare and trembling. The hand that had never been given a ring. The hand that had never been held in public, never been lifted to the light.

Ruoxy's fingers glinted under the lanterns, the mithril ring sparkling brighter than the stars above.

My chest felt like it was caving in.

Ruoxy was carrying Draegon's child. A child that would be celebrated and cherished.

And I… I had lost mine.

The crowd cheered louder, their voices merging into an overwhelming roar. But it was the silence within me that was deafening.

My world crumbled in that moment, the weight of it pulling me further into the darkness. There was nothing left. No hope, no light.

Only the emptiness. 

Draegon stood there, at the center of it all, basking in the adoration of his people. His smile gleamed with pride, his posture tall and confident, as if the weight of the world no longer pressed on his shoulders. He looked... happy. 

So happy.

But I couldn't stop myself from asking, even though the thought made my chest ache, even though I knew the answer.

What about our child?

I glanced down at my empty hands again. Our daughter? Wasn't she the reason he was here today? The reason he was being celebrated, being loved by the very people who had once feared him? The very reason the demons had gathered to chant his name, to raise their glasses to him?

But then I remembered how he had reacted when I told him. His eyes, cold and indifferent, the way his lips barely twitched when I spoke of our child. I had expected him to be excited, to share in the joy, but there was nothing. 

And then the times I had tried to approach him. How he had avoided me. How he made it so clear that I wasn't important enough to even acknowledge.

It hit me then, like a stone sinking into the depths of my soul. It was something I could no longer delude myself with. 

I could no longer lie to myself

Draegon didn't just ignore me. He didn't just avoid me. He found me repulsive.

I felt a sharp, bitter sting in my chest, and for a moment, the world around me seemed to tilt.

It was me. I had never been loved before. Why would I even think anyone would love me now?

The realization came like a slap. It was always me. It wasn't my race, my origins, my bloodline. It was me. The very essence of who I was. 

I was repulsive.

My childhood memory came back to me where my brother told me

"You are a curse!"

It had always been this way, hadn't it? Even when I was a child, when I lived with my family. I was unwanted. I was treated like an outsider, even by those who shared my blood. I had never been enough for anyone. Never been enough for them to truly love me.

I was always the one pushed aside. The one who never belonged.

The emptiness in my chest grew wider, suffocating me, and I felt my heart and my reality shatter.

With a heavy heart, I turned away from the scene, my footsteps slow, dragging with the weight of the crushing realization as I walked away

***

"I want to take a bath," I told the maid who I met in the hallway, my voice coming out so flat, so detached. 

"The bath is cold," She said, "It'll take some time to get a new one." I wasn't even looking at her properly, so I didn't recognize her. But to be fair, at that moment, everything inside of me had gone numb and I couldn't focus on anything.

"It's fine," I began to walk towards the bathroom, "Don't disturb me. I want to be alone" She nodded and watched me walk away for a second, then went about her own work.

I slowly made my way to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Then I walked to the bathtub, the sound of my feet dragging against the floor almost as heavy as the thoughts in my head. 

I didn't even care to undress, I just took off the robe and looked around the bathroom.

On the sink were a few bottles of perfumes. I walked over to it and picked the biggest one, then smashed it against the sink. All of it shattered and I got a sharp piece of glass in my hand.

The strong scent of perfume began to roam in the room as I walked back to the bathtub and slid into the water with dead eyes, the fabric of my dress clinging to my skin 

So, this is it…

I guess, this was how my end was going to be. Alone… And broken…

My breath hitched as I pressed the edge of the sharp glass against my wrist. The pain was almost welcomed when I slashed it against my wrist. The blood started to flow, mixing with the water, a strange sense of relief washing over me.

Maybe this isn't so bad, 

For a moment, I let myself sink deeper into the tub, closing my eyes, letting the water swallow everything. 

I won't have to live in fear anymore. I won't be a burden to anyone either.

The world could keep turning without me. It always had, and it always would. I was just a curse, a mistake. I didn't belong here, or anywhere.

The cold seeped into my bones, my body started to feel weak due to the loss of blood but I let the darkness consume me.

With this, my misery will finally end.