CHAPTER 257: THE SADNESS BEHIND HER EYE

Primrose averted her gaze for a moment before looking back at her husband. There was a reason she hadn’t told Edmund everything yet.

First, she didn’t want him to worry too much, especially when he was about to leave the palace again.

Secondly, she didn’t even know how to begin explaining the real reason why she wanted Silas to stay in the palace, even though she knew he had been poisoning her from the very beginning.

Sure, it was easy to tell Salem and Raven about her past life, but Edmund was different.

Edmund had been the core of her previous life, the reason—though maybe not directly—why she had chosen to die instead of keep living.

How could she tell him that their marriage had once fallen apart so badly that she genuinely believed he would be happy to see her dead?

That kind of truth was too messed up, and it would only crush him with guilt for something he hadn’t even done in this lifetime.

So no, she wasn’t ready to tell him everything ... not yet.

"Like I said, I just need to talk to him," Primrose repeated gently. She carefully searched for the right words before adding, "Now that Lady Raven is here ... I thought this would be the right time to help Hazelle."

Primrose hadn’t told him yet that Hazelle was the one bearing a slave seal, but since Edmund had likely figured it out already, there was no point in hiding it anymore.

Eventually, she’d have to explain everything to him, but she needed more time before that.

"Then ...," Edmund was caught off guard. He hadn’t expected her to share something like that so directly. "... you can wait for me. I’ll go with you."

Primrose gave him a gentle smile. "This is the perfect time to do it," she said. "The longer I wait, the harder it’ll be for me."

She didn’t want to see Silas’s face any longer than she had to.

His face reminded her too much of her death and of the pain she left behind. Most of all, it reminded her that she had left Edmund alone in that world.

"I need to end this now." Her smile turned bitter. "I know you probably have a lot of questions, but Edmund, my husband ... I can’t explain everything to you just yet."

Edmund’s pupils trembled slightly, a sign that he already sensed his wife was still hiding many things from him, even if he couldn’t guess what they were.

[That look in her eyes ... I hate it when she looks at me like that,] he thought. [I still don’t understand what’s behind it. She looks sad ... but somehow also relieved.]

[I don’t understand.]

[Did I do something that made her feel that sad?]

Primrose blinked a few times, trying to soften the expression she wore, the one Edmund had called her "sad gaze."

Honestly, it was the first time she had ever heard him think about it.

Like she’d always said, her husband’s thoughts were complicated.

Sometimes, it was hard for her to read everything going on in his mind all at once.

Maybe that’s why he needed to write down everything he felt in his journal.

Oh, she still had his old diary ... but if she wanted to understand what was on his mind now, she’d probably need to find the new one.

"Are you really not able to wait for me?" Edmund asked again, glancing at the clock on the wall.

He clearly had to leave soon. A few moments ago, the soldiers had reported suspicious activity near the forest, and he needed to be there.

"Please ..." Primrose reached for his hands, her voice soft and pleading. "I promise I’ll tell you everything after this. But right now ... I really, really need to do this."

She looked into his eyes. "I swear I won’t ask anything else from you. Just ... please let me do this."

[Why would I ever stop my wife from asking me for something?] Edmund thought. [She could ask for anything, and I’d give it to her without a second thought. But this ... why does she have to ask me to let her face something dangerous all by herself?]

[I can’t let her talk to that bastard alone. Should I ask my soldiers to handle the rogues without me? But that would be more dangerous if they can’t stop those damn dogs from entering the palace.]

[Tch. Why can’t my wife just be a little more obedient—]

He paused, his eyes widening slightly at his own thoughts. It was such a brief reaction, but Primrose caught it instantly.

[What the hell did I just think?] he scolded himself. [Obedient? She’s not some soldier who has to follow my orders. She’s my wife, a person with her own mind and choices.]

[What the fuck is wrong with me? If she knew the awful things I was thinking, she might be scared of me.]

Maybe not.

Primrose honestly didn’t feel threatened by his thoughts at all. Maybe she just trusted him too much, so much that she believed her husband would never truly do something terrible to her.

Let’s be honest. If he really wanted to, Edmund could’ve locked her in her bedroom or forbidden her from leaving. But instead, he was kneeling by her side, gently trying to reason with her.

In that moment, Primrose realized that all the things she had taught him about communication and respect had taken root.

If this had been a different version of Edmund, one from another timeline, he might’ve gone ahead and locked her away, even if it was meant to protect her.

"Husband, please," Primrose whispered, holding his hands tighter. Her voice trembled, and her eyes looked so sad, so pleading, that Edmund’s heart softened instantly.

He couldn’t say no again.

"Just one condition," Edmund finally said. "I’ll let you speak with Dr. Silas in the greenhouse, but only for thirty minutes."

"That’s the rule," he continued, "and I really can’t give you more time than that. I’ll have a few guards stationed outside the greenhouse. Lady Solene and Sir Callen will stay close by, and when the time is up, the guards will escort Dr. Silas out."