CHAPTER 88: A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST

Aiden’s POV:

Yeah, I knew I was acting like a love-sick teenager, but I didn’t care.

Sleeping with Alexia last time had given me the best damn sleep I’d had in years, and right now, that’s what I needed—peaceful slumber. And maybe, just maybe, I could get her to change her mind.

But for now, I’d settle for the fact that she had agreed to sleep on the bed with me.

She lay stiff beside me, her back turned, body wound tight like a coil. I smirked to myself—so damn stubborn.

"Relax, little wife," I murmured, resting my hands behind my head. "I’m not going to bite."

She huffed but didn’t respond.

I turned slightly, watching the way her fingers clenched the sheets, the way her breath came just a little too fast, betraying the calm act she was trying to pull.

"You sure you don’t want me to hold you?" I teased. "I heard cuddling helps with sleep."

She scoffed. "For someone who threw me out of this very bed when we got married, you sure have changed your tune."

I chuckled lowly. "Maybe I just like annoying you."

She turned her head slightly, just enough for me to catch the sharp glare she shot me over her shoulder.

But she didn’t move away.

Interesting.

I reached out lazily, trailing a finger down the curve of her exposed arm. She shivered.

"You’re cold," I noted, smirking when she tensed even more. "Come here, I’ll warm you up."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Go to sleep, Aiden."

I chuckled but withdrew my hand, content for now that she was beside me.

But as I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of her breathing, I realized something.

She had spent the entire conversation avoiding saying she didn’t want me.

She never denied being affected.

And that? That was something I could use to my advantage.

******

Darkness stretched across the expanse of my mind, hazy yet familiar. I felt myself drifting, weightless, as the present bled into something far older—something buried deep within me.

Then, I was there.

The scent of damp stone and burning torches filled my senses. My body ached, a sharp, stinging pain spreading across my back. My wrists were bound, arms stretched above my head, my skin raw from the thick, rough rope biting into my flesh. The cold metal cuffs around my ankles rattled as I shifted, my breath coming in sharp gasps.

I knew this place.

The dungeon beneath the royal palace.

A figure stood before me, bathed in the flickering glow of torchlight.

Her.

Princess Alexia.

She was dressed in a flowing crimson gown, her golden hair cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall of fire. A delicate crown sat atop her head, but her expression was anything but soft. There was no kindness in her gaze—only cold fury.

"You defied me," she said, voice laced with quiet anger.

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to meet her piercing gaze despite the pain wracking my body.

"I only spoke the truth, Your Highness," I rasped, blood trickling down my temple. "I did what I thought was right."

Her eyes flashed with something—anger, frustration, betrayal—before she turned sharply.

"You forget your place," she bit out, motioning to the guards at her side.

One of them stepped forward, cracking the whip against the stone floor. I braced myself, muscles tensing as I heard the rush of air before—

CRACK!

Pain exploded across my back, tearing through my nerves like fire. My fingers curled into fists, my breaths shallow as I fought the urge to cry out.

"You were my most trusted servant, Aiden," Alexia’s voice wavered, though she masked it quickly with indifference. "And yet, you betrayed me."

My lips twisted into a bitter smirk despite the agony. "I never betrayed you, Princess," I managed between labored breaths. "I only refused to be your puppet."

Her expression hardened.

"Again," she commanded.

The whip lashed across my skin once more.

My vision blurred at the edges, but I refused to break.

I had sworn to protect her once. Sworn my loyalty, my very life. And yet, she had thrown me into the darkness without hesitation.

Or was it hesitation that flickered in her eyes now?

The dream began to fracture, slipping away as a rush of voices and sensations overwhelmed me. I gasped, my body jolting—

I gasped, my body jolting awake.

The ceiling of my bedroom came into focus, my heart pounding harder than it should have been. My skin felt damp, my breathing uneven as I stared up at the dimly lit room.

A dream. Just a dream.

I exhaled slowly, running a hand down my face before shifting onto my side. Beside me, Alexia lay still, her breathing soft and even.

I let out a low, humorless chuckle.

Of course, she had been in the nightmare. I had been thinking about her too damn much lately—why wouldn’t my subconscious drag her into my torment? The past-life bullshit was just my mind playing tricks on me, warping reality into something ridiculous.

Still, as I lay there, staring at the ceiling, the phantom sting of a whip still lingered on my back.

And for the life of me, I couldn’t shake the feeling that—real or not—I had betrayed her once before.

ALEXIA? A PRINCESS?

I scoffed at the ridiculous thought, running a hand through my hair as I tried to shake off the lingering sensations of the dream—the nightmare.

Of all the people I knew, Alexia was the least princess-like. There wasn’t a royal bone in that petite body of hers, just sheer stubbornness wrapped in sharp wit and an even sharper tongue. A princess was supposed to be graceful, obedient, delicate. Alexia? She was chaos in human form. A woman who challenged me at every turn, defied me even when she knew it would get under my skin.

And yet...

I could still see her, standing in that dungeon. Her regal stance, the fire in her eyes. The way she looked at me—not just with anger, but with something deeper, something more complex.

I shook my head.

No.

It was just a stupid dream. Probably my brain’s way of messing with me after everything that had happened between us. Nothing more.

I turned to look at her, sprawled out on the bed beside me, her lips slightly parted, her dark lashes fanned against her cheeks. Peaceful. Unaware of the fact that she had haunted me even in my sleep.

Hmph. A princess?

Yeah, right.

She was nothing but stubborn bones and trouble.

Alexia’s POV

Waking up to something hard poking my behind was not

part of the deal.

My sluggish morning brain took a few seconds to process what the hell was happening, but once it did—oh, I wanted to scream. Aiden was spooning me. Again. And this time, there was absolutely no mistaking the very male reason for my sudden, unplanned wake-up call.

I froze. My breath hitched as my brain went into full shutdown mode, refusing to acknowledge the very real, very firm reality pressing against me.

Oh. My. God.

Heat flooded my face so fast I was certain I had just reached a new level of human combustion. And to make matters worse, the stupid jerk was practically naked!

I could feel his entire body against me—warm, firm, and unfairly sculpted. The only thing separating me from a full-on skin-to-skin disaster was his stupid excuse for nightwear. A flimsy pair of briefs. Briefs! Who even sleeps in those? Had he never heard of pants? Pajamas? Some goddamn decency?

This was harassment. I was being harassed. By a sleeping man.

And yet, despite all the mental sirens blaring in my head, the real problem was my bladder.

I needed to pee.

Badly.

But when I tried to wiggle myself free, Aiden’s grip only tightened around my waist, pulling me flush against him like I was his personal body pillow.

Oh, for the love of—!

This man was going to make me pee on myself. Was that his plan? Torture me into submission by holding me hostage in my own bladder crisis?

Nope. Not happening.

Since gently prying his arms away clearly wasn’t working, I decided to take the more dramatic approach.

"Aiden!" I gasped in fake alarm, my voice laced with urgency. "Wake up! It’s 11 a.m.! You overslept!"

And just like that, my trap was sprung.

Aiden shot up so fast, you’d think the bed was on fire. His body jerked away from mine, his arms flailing as he scrambled into an upright position. "What? Eleven?! Shit—"

That was all the distraction I needed. I rolled out of bed like a ninja, making a break for the bathroom, leaving a half-awake, fully-panicked Aiden in my wake.

"Wait—what the hell?!" he called after me, voice still thick with sleep. "It’s not even—"

Too late. I had already slammed the bathroom door behind me, locking it with a triumphant click.

Only then did I glance at the actual time on my phone.

7:02 a.m.

I grinned to myself.

Serves him right for turning me into an unwilling little spoon.

Outside, I heard a groggy, grumbled curse, followed by a very frustrated Aiden realizing he’d been duped.

Yup. Totally worth it.