2: The fool's duty

Mia's lips quivered, and her eyes blurred at the sight before her, but she held herself together. She couldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her in tears. He didn't deserve to, not after what he had done. He had broken their vows to belong to each other alone and no one else.

She turned and walked away from the study as fast as her legs could.

She needed to escape to a private place where no one would see her. She needed to find a place where she wouldn't have to bother about being queen and looking the part. Go far away, hide, and cry because of her shattered heart.

She wanted to grieve her loss, and she wanted to be alone.

Xavier didn't come after her, and she was happy about that.

Her mind played back the grunts he made, and she remembered the blonde-haired woman's hands all over him as if he belonged to her. Her hand also had his most intimate member in her possession. She didn't need to see it to know it was there; how he responded said it all.

Why would he do this to her?

Why?

What did she not give to him?

There was nothing left; she gave him everything. Her life, her love, her body still, that wasn't enough to keep him.

What did she do wrong?

Once she shut their chamber door behind her, the tears poured in beyond her control. She wiped them away, but they kept pouring. She told herself he was going through a phase and blamed it all on the upcoming war. She believed he would soon come out of it, but from what she saw in there, she knew it wasn't a phase; it never was.

She was foolish not to see things the way they were sooner. He placed a barrier in his mind to keep her away from his disgusting thoughts. If he hadn't done that, she could have found out the truth sooner.

She couldn't hold in the pain, and she leaned heavily against the door, sliding down onto the floor and staying there.

She wanted to grieve for her broken heart and shattered promises. Knowing the truth didn't make her feel better; it made her feel worse and doubt herself.

What did the blonde woman give him that she couldn't?

There was no one here to answer the question.

He didn't come after her, which was fine because she didn't want to see his face. She couldn't control herself, what she would do to him, or what she wanted to do.

He hurt her in a way she never thought he would. It's been years since she's cried because of him. He had made it a duty to do what she wanted and what made her happy—well, until a few months ago. As much as she would like to deny it, she knew he had changed physically; she could see it but figured it had to do with the stress of preparing for war, but it wasn't.

A fool she had been.

A slight knock came on the door, and she pulled herself to her feet and wiped at her teary face.

"My queen," the voice of Rio, the guard who had stood before the study, called.

She calmed herself and found her voice to ask. "What is it?"

"The king gave me words for you, my queen."

Whatever he had to say, she didn't want to hear it. Still, she had no choice here.

She wiped off the lingering tears on her face. "Say it then."

"I will need you to open the door, my queen," he said calmly.

She hesitated before opening the door. His eyes met hers, and he must have figured she had been crying because his eyes dropped in pity.

"What do you have to say?" She demanded, already wanting to close the door to his face and return to her grieving.

"The king instructed that you move out of the royal chambers," he answered in a small voice.

Mia, at this moment, couldn't believe her ears. First, he brought a strange woman into their lives, and now he wanted to chase her out of the royal chambers, which was another form of disgrace.

Just when she thought he couldn't hurt her any further, he did.

Why was he doing this to her?

She bit down on her bottom lip, willing herself to shed no more tears. If he wanted her gone, she would do him a favour and leave. Yes, she loved him still, yet she couldn't ignore his disrespect for their disregard for their marital vows.

"Okay, then I shall move out." She answered and stepped back to close the door but noticed Rio was not ready to take his leave just yet.

Her brows pulled together in a frown. "Is there something else?"

He nodded before adding, "The king instructed me to assist your moving."

Wow, he wanted her gone that fast. It felt as if he couldn't wait to have his mistress in their room and on their bed.

She still couldn't believe what was happening to her.

Mia didn't realise she was crying until teardrops landed on the back of her hand. She turned away from Rio in an attempt to hide her face, then wiped the tears off.

She calmed herself and glanced around the room, her eyes noting everything. She had many of her things all over the room, yet her most essential items, her clothes, were in her bag.

If the king wanted her gone, she would leave the royal chamber; hell, she would even leave the palace to save them both from the torture of seeing each other.

"I would like to leave," Mia said to Xavier, who was currently sitting and reading through the scholar's report on his desk. He had his robe fixed and the buttons adjusted.

He was done with his blonde whore, and she has left now.

He placed his feathered ink beside the report scroll and glanced at her. "Leave to where?"

His green eyes held so much intensity that it left her weak in the knee, but she focused on her reason for being there. "To the Asika house."

"Why?"

"Because I do not want to be here, at least not yet."

"You are queen; you are my wife," he argued.

"Well, that isn't how it feels or seems, my king." She answered.

"What will the people say when they learn that the queen has left the palace and returned to her father's house?"

She couldn't believe his hypocrisy: "I didn't know you cared so much about what people would say, considering what you have done."

"You are queen; you are my wife."

She scoffed at his audacity at using those titles with her. "You also threw your wife, the queen, out of the royal chambers. There is no greater disgrace a queen can face at the hands of her mate and king."

"You are mad at me."

"I wish I could say I am mad, my king; I simply want to be granted these requests. I will only be gone a few weeks, and I will take our sons," she replied.

As much as she wanted to run away from Wahala with her sons, there was much to consider. A war was coming; nowhere was safe, and she had better chances of survival here than anywhere else. Besides, this was her kingdom, her land, and her home, and she didn't want to give it up to some whore. Not without a fight.

"I cannot grant your request to leave." He replied in a voice so low that she almost didn't hear it. "We might be king and queen, but we are still answerable to the people, and if it is not in the people's interest, then it's best not carried out."

Her teeth gritted at his words; his hypocrisy was showing, but not in a good way. She turned away from the study when she halted and turned to him. "Please remind me of what purpose your mistress in white serves the kingdom."

His eyes narrowed at her, but he seemed to understand what she said and where she was headed with her line of question.

"I do not understand." He spoke, his eyes narrowing.

"I just want to know what contribution your blonde-haired whore brings to the kingdom outside of seduction."

He rose to his feet in anger. Calling her his whore had triggered him more than it should, considering that was what she was. "She is not my mistress, nor is she my whore."

"That is not the answer to my question, my king."

"That is because you asked a stupid question, Mia." He slammed. "You are better than this."

Red flashed in her eyes. "Says the king, slaving away at the hands of his mistress instead of focusing on the coming war, which will bring us all to our deaths. Tell me which of us is the stupid one. The one who wants to sacrifice everything for his mistress or one who wants to be far from this mess."

Xavier didn't look pleased with everything she was saying. "You should leave before you say something you will regret," he advised.

"You threw everything away for a strange woman!" She exploded, "You crossed the line; you forgot about your mate, your queen, the mother of your sons!"

Oh, she had a lot of things she wanted to say, but she bit down on her tongue glared at him from head to toe, and took her leave, slamming the door hard on her departure.