Chapter 90: In Each Other’s Arms
The gasps that circulated around the grand hall expressed the shocks and bewilderment of everyone present, and the once heavy air that weighed in the atmosphere now reeked with an oppressive silence.
Samantha’s pupils had dilated when she snapped her gaze at Ivan, wondering what he was doing by making such an inane announcement to his family, and when her green eyes moved to the hand that interlaced with hers so affectionately, he made sure everyone witnessed his intimate gesture, and that alone spiked Samantha’s heart when she felt all eyes land upon her frame.
"This girl?!" Claire raged out her disbelief as she pointed a finger at Samantha, "you can’t possibly stoop that low to marry a servant, right?" She questioned her brother, hoping it was one of his tricks, but of course, the last thing she expected was for him to pay her any attention, whilst she turned to look at her Mother, hoping she would do something to end this madness.
Queen Carina, who finally noticed the maiden standing beside Ivan didn’t need to study her twice before coming to the conclusion that she was a mere servant. Her gaze moved to their interlaced fingers as if she was yet to believe the incongruous declaration, and she scoffed repulsively before eyeing Ivan.
"Are you joking with me? What do you think you are doing?" Queen Carina questioned Ivan in a no-nonsense tone before shaking her head in denial, a soft laugh leaving her lips. "You must be joking, there’s no way you can marry a servant as it is against the rules, even if you decide to marry her, she’ll end up as your concubine, not a wife." Carina corrected her step-son who wasn’t the least affected by her unwanted opinion, rather, it went the other way round when she heard him say conclusively.
"I can marry whoever I wish to get married to, be it a princess, a laborer’s daughter, a farmer’s daughter, or a servant." He asserted, "she can only turn concubine if...I end up marrying a princess from another royalty, but there won’t be any need for that since I have no intention of following in my Father’s footsteps. I guess sticking my nose to books did come with its own advantage, whereas you, the mighty Queen Carina of EmptyHollow, aren’t even aware of what the proper rule states."
Ivan didn’t hesitate to bite back in a matter-of-fact tone, and he knew he had successfully struck a nerve when the smile on her lips dropped, instantly twisting into one of pure disdain. He could see her left eye twitch in restraint, like she had more to say to him but was clearly stopping herself from doing so. He knew there was more to her return than what meets the eye, and this decision he made, the one he didn’t have the time to process if it was right or wrong before implementing it, was merely to test her, and that confirmed his suspicion.
Meanwhile, everyone else was left aghast by the news, except for Tobias who somehow, had seen this coming.
Watching the two of them whose hands remained interlaced like true lovers only made Ivy feel slightly dizzy, and she could hear something inside of her snap painfully. Her heart ached, and she could barely contain the idea of Ivan liking another woman, but then how is that even possible? If it had been someone else, she wouldn’t have minded it much, but a servant? And most especially that girl?? Ivy refused to accept it, she wouldn’t.
"It can’t be her." Ivy mentally denied it as she shook her head.
The tension around everyone was starting to grow thicker by the minute, and Samantha, who felt wronged in all of this had opened her mouth to clear her name from this royalty mess, but then it happened again.