The Dragon King's Hated Bride

>>Aelin

For a fleeting moment, I thought perhaps I had reached him. He came and grabbed my shoulders, concern etched across his face.

There was warmth in his eyes, "What did you mean you lost our baby?" My head dropped but he placed his fingers on my chin and made me look at him, "We were having a baby? How-when?"

Right then the door burst open, and Ruoxy came running into the room.

"Dear, what are you doing?" she said, her sweet, melodic voice grating against my ears as she ran to him and latched onto his arm and pulled him away from me. Her hair shimmered under the dim light, her fox-like ears twitching as she tilted her head to look up at him with wide, adoring eyes. "You told me you'd only love me."

Draegon's attention shifted entirely to her. The flicker of emotion I thought I'd seen was gone, replaced by a resigned coldness. He placed his free hand gently over hers, his gaze softening—but not for me. 

"Draegon," I called out, my voice trembling as I clutched the pendant. The cold metal pressed into my palm, grounding me as I fought to steady myself. "Don't abandon me…" The words felt like shards of glass in my throat.. But I had no choice. Draegon was my last hope—the only hope I had ever had.

He turned to face me, his violet eyes once again devoid of warmth. The coldness in his gaze struck like a dagger.

"Abandon you?" Ruoxy held his arm tightly, "When did I own you?"

"Draegon…" Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, "I'm your wife… You married me…"

"Ruoxy is my wife now," he said, his voice calm, almost feeling like it was devoid of any emotion at all. 

"You haven't married her…yet…"

"I am going to," His voice felt unnatural, "And then she'll be my wife."

My knees felt weak, but I forced myself to stay standing, to keep looking at him despite the pain threatening to consume me. "But I am too," I whispered, my voice barely audible. My hands trembled as I clutched the pendant tighter. The deep purple of its stone, the same as Draegon's eyes, had been my comfort through endless nights of loneliness.

I shook my head, tears spilling over despite my efforts to hold them back. "You gave me this," I said, holding the pendant up as though it could remind him of the promises he'd made. "You promised me…"

Draegon stared at me, then sighed like I was the most annoying insect in front of him, repeating the same words all over again.

Ruoxy tightened her grip on Draegon's arm, leaning into him possessively. "Dear, don't waste your time," she said, her voice sickeningly sweet. "She's just clinging onto because she doesn't have anyone else." She looked at me, "It's fine, she's a pitiful thing but no need to dwell on her." Her words hit like a punch to the gut, but I ignored her, my gaze locked on Draegon. 

"You said you would protect me," I said, my voice breaking. "You said I would be safe with you. Did none of that mean anything?"

"You are safe, are you not?" He answered, "You're standing right in front of me, alive and well,"

Alive, yes, but well?

"But-" I wanted to say something but he cut me off.

"You're human, from the beginning we were never compatible. Unless you want me to break that fragile body of yours, quietly stay in your place." Ruoxy and him turned to leave. She had a wide smile on her face. 

A look of triumph.

"What about the truce!" It was my last desperate attempt to get him back, 

"The truce will remain as long as you are my wife in name." He looked back at her with cold eyes

The pendant escaped from my trembling fingers, falling against my chest as I crumpled under the weight of his rejection.

I fell to my knees before him, my pride crumbling under the weight of desperation. "Please, Draegon," I whispered, my voice raw and trembling. "Don't abandon me. Don't leave me like this." I chose to beg, to bury all of my pride and beg

He stood before me like a statue, unmoving, unfeeling. 

His gaze flickered down to me for a moment, but he said nothing. No words of comfort. No acknowledgment of my pain.

"Draegon…" My voice broke as I reached out, but he turned away.

"Ruoxy," he said over his shoulder, his tone sharp. "Let's go."

"Of course, dear," she replied, her voice dripping with false sweetness. But instead of following him, she stayed behind, waiting until he was out of sight. The heavy door slammed shut, leaving me alone with her.

The air grew colder as Ruoxy's sugary façade melted into something else. Her grin twisted into a cruel smirk, her golden eyes gleaming with malice. She stepped closer, her fox-like tail swishing lazily behind her.

"You really are pathetic, aren't you?" she said, her tone mocking. "Begging like that. It's embarrassing to watch."

I couldn't bring myself to respond, my throat too tight, my heart too shattered. But the humiliation I felt in that moment could never be compared.

Ruoxy crouched down to meet my eye level, her grin widening. "You have something special about you," she said, her voice laced with mock curiosity. "You don't realize it, but it's fine. I'll figure it out." She chuckled, a low, menacing sound. "If I break you too, my reward will be amazing."

Her words sent a chill down my spine, but I couldn't muster the strength to react.

"You should've known better," she continued, standing and crossing her arms. "Did you really think a human like you could ever satisfy a dragon? Draegon must have found you utterly repulsive."

I flinched, her words cutting deep.

"Do you know where he went after the war?" she asked, tilting her head as if she were genuinely curious. "Not back to the palace. No, no. He came to my village, spent his days and nights with me. He didn't want to see you, didn't want to return to this." She gestured at me dismissively. "Can you blame him? You're nothing compared to me."

Her laughter echoed in the bedroom.

I wanted to reach out and hold the pendant again, this was something I had done a lot in the past two years but this time I couldn't do it. My hand moved a little, then went back to its original place.

Ruoxy leaned closer, her voice a whisper now, "He doesn't love you. He never did and he never will." She scoffed, "Can't believe you were delusional enough to think a demon prince would want a human like you."

The last piece of me shattered then, my heart crushed under the weight of her words. I had clung to the hope that Draegon would return, that he would keep his word, that I had meant something to him. 

I had

I really had. I believed it with all of my heart. But now… there was nothing left, but the hollow realization that I had been fooling myself all along.

As Ruoxy straightened and sauntered away, her laughter fading into the distance, I remained frozen on the cold floor, my tears falling silently while the humiliation ate me up.

And that's when the grueling thoughts came back to me. That maybe I had been wrong to hope. Maybe this was my fate, my punishment for daring to think I deserved something better.

The thought crept in, slow and insidious, wrapping itself around my mind like a vice: Maybe I am a curse.

Why else would my life have been filled with so much pain, so much rejection? Why else would I always end up abandoned, cast aside, treated like nothing more than a burden? My family had made it clear that I was unwanted. Draegon had once seemed different, but now I saw the truth. I wasn't worth staying for. I wasn't worth anything

Maybe I was never meant to be anything more than this

I curled in on myself, my arms wrapping around my knees as I rocked slightly on the floor. 

This must be what I deserve, I thought bitterly. This is what I've always deserved.

This must be my punishment for being born