CHAPTER 516: LOVE AND HATE

Life felt like it had finally fallen in place for Eleanor. Over the years she kept on delaying her marriage. It was cool since it seemed the king of Crystarium, her father, had bigger plans.

He had planned from the start to wed her to the Von Drakkar family. After all, with her beauty, only the Von Drakkar or the Ceaphyr family was worth her look, but the Ceaphyr family’s crown prince, Silvanius, already had a crown princess.

"Are you sure of your decision?" Her father asked. He was surprised she chose Kaiden. Among the princes, Kaiden was known as the coldest. He thought she would consider the crown prince who had a gentler nature.

Eleanor bowed her head to hide her blushing cheeks. "The one I want is Kaiden." She repeated bashfully. Her father smiled, realising his daughter was fond of the cold prince. He must be the reason Eleanor has been pushing off other suitors.

"He is not a bad choice." The king chimed. If not for the fact that Kaiden wasn’t the queen’s son. He was the most capable.

Crystarium wasn’t far from Draconia, so the deal was finalised in Kaiden’s absence since the prince was out in war. Months went by and Eleanor was to travel to welcome him from the war.

The entire trip was a blur of excitement. She could not wait to meet Kaiden again. Eleanor still kept the primrose, a symbol of her ’ love ’ she preserved with her power stuck in time.

The single primrose was placed in a glass jar.

Her fantasy got crushed at their reunion. The way his smile faded and how he held her hand.

For the first time in forever, Eleanor’s pride was crushed. She wasn’t the fairest of them all. That was a joke now..

She didn’t need anyone to tell her, Ariel was prettier. It felt inhumane.

His gentle gaze was gone, he hardly looked at her. Kaiden loved another who wasn’t her. Maybe at this point she should have given up but she didn’t.

She thought just maybe he would realise her importance. A village girl would never compare but she was wrong. All Kaiden saw was Ariel.

It hurt every time she was by his side, and his eyes searched for Ariel. Even at their wedding the only time he smiled genuinely was when he looked at Ariel. He couldn’t even hold her after their wedding night. He went back to Ariel.

She loved him, but why couldn’t he see her? They were more polite strangers instead of a couple.

It hurts to love someone who could never love you. Days passed, and her resentment grew until the day she could not take it anymore.

Even when she had his child he was still distant. Although he paid little attention to the girl, his entire world revolved around Ariel.

Despite this, she still loved Astrid because she was a piece of them

******

She still remembered how the poison vial felt in her hands. "A drop is enough to force the labour, two drops would kill her." The priestess instructed giving her the poison.

"Thank you," she chimed. It was late at night. The winter was particularly cold that year, or she was the one who felt this way after overhearing the prophecy about Ariel’s child.

Eleanor secretly sought out a priestess during the winter prayers. They made a deal; in exchange for the vial, she would grant the priestess one wish.

Weeks passed after the winter prayers, winter was slowly fading away and spring was near. That’s when the priestess visited her.

She held on tight to the bottle. This was going to be the answer to her problem. Once Ariel was gone Kaiden could finally love her. "Remember your promise and remember just two drops. More than that would cause excruciating pain."

*****

Eleanor did not listen to her. She tried a drop but there wasn’t any effect on Ariel. She thought the poison wasn’t effective.

She then tried 2 drops but still nothing happened. Why was it hard to kill a girl?

Ariel was fond of taking her afternoon tea in the garden. Ariel didn’t have many duties since Eleanor ran the harem, she lived a carefree life like she was the real queen.

Eleanor instructed the maid to pour the entire vial into Ariel’s cup. She was so excited to finally get rid of the obstacle.

Dear goddess, she despised Ariel. A village girl who walked like an empress with a noble aura which made her feel inferior.

Her plans worked, Ariel finally died and Kaiden would look her way. How wrong she was. He mourned her for days until on a rainy night, the Kaiden she knew died.

She returned to the palace drenched in rain, and something about him felt off, like his heart had died.

Some nights, he thought no one was around, she heard him secretly cry over another woman.

Why was it so hard for him to love her? Everything was Ariel, Ariel, Ariel.

It fueled her hatred for the bastard Ariel left behind. Luckily Kaiden didn’t care if the bastard lived or not.

Till the end, he never loved her, not even when she had his son. His feelings never really changed. He treated her politely, he knew she loved him but never acknowledged him

Eleanor thought she was fine as long as he loved her children. At least he treated them better than Cedric.

Then Kaiden had to marry for political reasons, which she understood she didn’t have an issue with.

Until she realised he treated Karissa differently. He didn’t love her, but he at least smiled softly at her, something Kaiden never did for her.

Marinette came along, She saw Kaiden finally open up for another woman who wasn’t Ariel. She became his favourite. Maybe it was because Marinette reminded him of Ariel. They had the same softness and spirit.

Ariel was the only one he could ever love.

Years of handling the harem, scheme after scheme, the hopeless romantic slowly faded. The love she had for Kaiden turned into deep-rooted resentment.

All she cares about is her children. With that hatred, she did what she did. She killed Kaiden in the end. He could finally reunite with his precious Ariel.

******

The lights faded, and Eleanor was left struck. Sarah stood before her. Callista was Sarah. "I guess this is enough evidence, your majesty. " Callista smugly said.

Eleanor laughed, and a smile graced her lips. "So what are you going to do ?" She scoffed at Callista.

"I will expose the one behind the lives lost. How could the queen be so cruel?" Callista sneered. Eleanor tilted her head, and a smirk graced her lips.

"You won’t do that?" She said, " If you wanted to, you would not have confronted me, knowing I can stop you."