The same afternoon. . .
Meanwhile, Chonglin sits alone in her room as her servants were busy moving her belongings from her courtyard into her new courtyard.
Her new courtyard, the Pebble courtyard, was no way near the size nor the look of her current courtyard. It is twice as small as her previous one and the interior has nothing that looked pleasing to her eyes. In short, it was very small and very dull.
Her tears silently fell as she reminisced about her love with Liwei and the days they spent together.
When they first met, they were still at the age of discovering. Although Liwei was a year older than her being 13 and she 12, in their country the marrying age is 16. Anyway, when Chonglin met Liwei, she didn't know who he was or what his status in their society were. She treated him just like how she treated everyone else, which made Liwei like her for it. Then with time, they fell in love with each other and eventually they become a couple.
-How did things change so much in such a short time?- Chonglin sobbed, as she thought about her current situation in her relationship with Liwei.
She loved him without even knowing he was a prince, she loved him before he became King....and back then, their love used to be so simple. Now, everything is so complicated.
Chonglin sighed dejectedly as her thoughts snapped her back to reality. She was sitting on her seat beside her bed, as she stared at her bedroom door, waiting and hoping for Liwei to come running back to her and comfort her.
She waited at the same spot the whole afternoon, until evening came she still waited. Even when her servants have finished moving everything she has in her current courtyard into her new one, even when the night has gone deeper, she still sat there. Waiting.....Hoping.....Praying.....
Until her body couldn't hold the exhaustion anymore from starvation and lack of rest, her consciousness started to slip away. Not long after, her body slowly slid down on her seat.
Luckily for Chonglin, her maid was beside her the whole time so when she fell from her seat, her maid was quick to catch her. She was then carried into her new bedroom and her maid tucked her in for the night.
When Chonglin woke up, the first thing she felt was the hollowness inside of her. Last night was enough for her to understand that her Liwei no longer cherishess her, no longer loves her the way he used to. He did not come back to her. Therefore, he had already thrown her away.
Chonglin covered her whole body with her blanket then curled into a ball, after which she sobbed her heart out. Any words spoken to her by her maids was ignored. Not any forms of comforting and coaxing her, had work. All she wanted in that moment was to be alone and sleep. If she died, no one will care anyway. Without her noticing, she fell back asleep.
Sometime after, Chonglin was woken up by the smell of food. Her head whipped in the direction of her bedside table by instinct, and when she opened her eyes the first thing she saw was food. It did not just smell delicious, it also looked delectable. However, she did not have the energy to eat. It was only after some time did she notice someone sitting on the side of her bed.
As she slowly turned her head towards the direction of that someone, she saw the man who she loves more than anything. The same man who shattered her heart very recently.
"Finally awake?" Liwei asked as he lifted his head to look at her face. He smiled at her, however his smile didn't reach his eyes. The look in his eyes were no longer soft and caring, instead they look fake to Chonglin.
"Finally remember me?" Chonglin said in a hurt voice, as tears began to fall down on her face again.
"How can I forget about you? You're my sweetheart. Wherever I go, you come along."
"Hmmph!" Chonglin pouted, she wasn't going to let him win her over so easily. "If that is so, then where were you yesterday? Why did you not come to me when I left that damned place?"
L: "You and I both know that we needed time to calm down. I did not want to say anything that would make the both of us more angry or sad." Liwei answered as he brushed her stray hair back. "If I did not cherish you or care for you or love you, I would not be here now would I?"
C: "Hmmmph!!" She pouted again as she looked away from him. With only a few words, she could feel herself forgetting everything bad he did to her and forgive him. Almost.
L: "Come, have someting to eat. The maids have told me you have not eaten anything since yesterday. You must eat now lest I will
be really worried." He softly said as he persuaded her and offered his hand for her to take.
Whe she didn't say anything or move, Liwei sighed at her stubborness as he gathered her up into his arms and carried her to the table. He then sat down on her chair while she sat on his lap. Afterwards, Liwei proceeded to feeding her.
Chonglin slowly lets him feed her and hold her. She missed his body next to hers. She missed his scent. She missed his kisses. She missed him spoiling her and pampering her. She missed everything Liwei does for her. -'Why could it be not like this forever?'- she thought.
L:"You must eat to have more energy. Take care of your body more so I do not have to worry about you. Do you understand?"
C: "Mei understands."
L: "Good. Now eat more."
Liwei then continued to feed Chonglin while she happily let him pamper her.