4. Humiliated

"You must be the only husband Selene should have."

Those words took root in Henry's heart and mind, and his desire to make Selene his own was stronger than any other longing, but to have her, he first had to reclaim his reign. The crown belonged to him by right, just as Selene Russell did.

Henry looked at his mother, a strange smile forming on his face, as various possibilities crossed his mind on how to make his cousin's engagement to Selene last less than the announcement. The first thing he had to do was find out the agreement reached between the royal family and the Russell family, that would be the beginning of everything.

"Mother."

"Listen carefully, Henry, you cannot allow them to continue trampling over you. You, my precious boy, should be the one seated on the throne, not the grandson of a whore. A mere concubine!" she shouted angrily.

Henry thought the same, he couldn't comprehend how everything had been stolen from him and given to Frederick, when he was the queen's grandson, the rightful heir by birth and blood.

"Henry…"

"I promise you, mother, I will do everything in my power to reclaim what is rightfully ours, what they have shamefully stolen from us. I will regain the crown, have Selene as my wife, and I… I will restore you to your place on the throne," he said vehemently.

Anabel smiled.

"That's my beloved son," she murmured, approaching Henry and caressing his cheek.

"Mother…"

"Go, my son, and do better than your father," she ordered.

Meanwhile, Selene trembled like a piece of paper. She had never felt as humiliated as she did in that moment, but what broke her heart was knowing that her parents allowed all of this. Did they care so little about her feelings to allow this atrocity?

The nurse's gaze only made her feel even more humiliated and miserable than having the doctor between her legs. She didn't even touch herself excessively when bathing or grooming, so having someone so close to her intimacy was overwhelming.

"Miss, please illuminate here," the doctor asked the nurse, who held a lit candle on a candelabra.

The woman approached, and Selene felt a bit of the candle's heat against her left thigh, causing her to flinch to avoid being burned.

Without saying a word to Selene, the doctor brought his hand to her center and without permission or warning, he was already opening her lips for the necessary inspection, which lasted only a few seconds but felt like centuries to Selene.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she remained completely silent. It was enough humiliation already to let her sobs take over the room. The doctor removed his hand, leaving a slight discomfort in Selene's center.

"You can ask Their Majesties to come in," he said to the nurse, and she wasted no time heading to the door.

Selene hurried to adjust her clothes, as she didn't intend to be seen half-naked by anyone, no matter how important they were as king or queen. She turned her head to avoid seeing them when they entered, but she hadn't counted on the strategically placed mirror in her room that showed her the king's angry face and the queen's seriousness.

"Well?" Frederick demanded in a caustic tone, especially because he could imagine the test result since Selene couldn't face him.

"Your Highness, Miss Russell has not been touched, I dare say, by anyone other than me," the doctor assured, and the king's face tensed even more at the thought that he might be lying.

"Are you sure?" he asked seriously, his eyes meeting Selene's gaze reflected in the mirror. Her eyes were red, and tears continued to silently fall, momentarily moving Frederick.

"Very sure, Your Majesty," the physician confirmed. "I would never dare to lie to you, my lord. My life would be at risk," he added.

"Arrange Lady Selene's basic belongings and we will leave shortly," the Queen Mother demanded of the young woman's mother, and then she left the room, followed by two of her maidservants waiting outside.

Selene couldn't believe the hell her life had turned into in the last twelve hours. She waited for everyone to leave her room and turned around.

"You too, Mom… Leave my room. I'll take care of organizing what I need to bring to the palace," Selene requested her mother, trying to control her emotions.

"You can't treat me like this!" Clarice refuted, as the young woman in front of her bore no resemblance to the obedient daughter she had raised.

"After all this, what you and my dad have put me through, the least you can give me is a moment alone… Possibly, the last moment alone I will have in this room and in this house," Selene pleaded with her mother, as the lump in her throat made it hard for her to even breathe.

"Fine, but… don't take too long, because we can't keep your fiancé and the queen waiting. That would be an offense," her mother warned, then left the room.

An offense?

Selene didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her mother's words. No offense could be worse than what they had caused her, shame and humiliation were two words that ate away at her soul and hurt her deeply when she realized that nothing was more important to her parents than the approval of the royal household.

The young woman had no rush to gather her belongings. It actually didn't sound too bad to stay in her room longer than necessary. However, after witnessing Frederick's demeanor, doing so would only go against her, rather than in her favor. Without paying attention to her tears, she began packing a small suitcase with her most sentimentally valuable belongings, because when she opened her wardrobe, she noticed that her best clothes were no longer there.

"Obviously, they're not here… Yesterday they were ready to send me off to the palace," Selene thought ironically, her heart breaking as she never imagined her parents would go so far as to disregard her wishes and feelings. They had never asked her what she wanted!

She stored her sketchbook, some special pens she used for drawing, grabbed a small painting of herself as a child with her dog Kay, who had been her best friend until she was nine years old. She didn't want to take anything from her parents, and many other things she used daily would be replaced at the palace, so she didn't even consider them. She took a deep breath and walked toward the door, but it was forcefully opened, revealing her mother, who appeared concerned.

"What's wrong?" Selene asked her mother.

"I almost forgot…" her mother said, confusing Selene even more. "Do you remember the brooches I gave you the other day? The ones I asked you to keep as if they were your own life?" she asked, and a chill ran through Selene's body, as she had worn them and had even given one to her beloved Henry.

"Yes… What about those brooches?" she inquired, fearing the answer she was about to hear.

"You must take them and continue to keep them as the treasure they are," her mother requested, and Selene swallowed nervously. "Those brooches were given by the Queen Mother and are part of a tradition in the royal family. As the king's betrothed, you must have them in your possession until you know you are pregnant with the firstborn, and when that happens, you must give the corresponding brooch to King Frederick of Astor. Each of you will have a brooch to wear daily as a symbol of your union and to validate your marriage," Clarice explained, and Selene couldn't contain her discomfort when she realized the terrible mistake she had made.

"I-I-I will take them," she stuttered, offering her mother a smile that resembled more of a grimace.