Selene felt as though the ground had vanished beneath her feet. Andreas's laughter, once so warm and infectious, now echoed in her ears with a cruel, twisted edge, like a knife slicing through the remnants of her trust.
Every vile word struck her with the force of a physical blow. The memories they had shared—the comfort of his touch when she had a bad day, the softness of his voice as he plastered intense kisses on her lips—now felt like cruel parodies of the love she had once believed in.
She couldn't move. It was as if the earth had risen to trap her, rooted in place by the weight of her shattered heart.
The vibrant greens of Andreas's backyard, once a sanctuary of their secret meetings, blurred into a suffocating haze. Her vision clouded, tears threatening to spill, but she blinked them away refusing them to fall. The betrayal choked her like a poison, seeping into her soul.
Andreas's smug smile now seemed like a distortion of the affection she had once cherished.
"How could I have been so blind?" she thought as her heart twisted in agony.
The man she had trusted, the man she had loved, was nothing more than a deceiver—a snake who had coiled himself around her heart only to squeeze the little life from it.
Ermis's voice brought her crashing back to the present, his tone dripping with vulgarity. "Brother, you're so lucky, you're going to get a taste of the princess, her curves are out of this world," he sneered, reducing her to nothing more than a conquest in their sordid game.
Andreas's laughter filled the air around them.
"But come to think of it, how did she manage to be with you without getting bent over?" Ermis's words, casual and crude, hung in the air like a foul stench, each syllable tightening the invisible chains around Selene's chest. Breathing suddenly became physically difficult for her.
Andreas, still laughing, stopped and seemed genuinely puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you remember Felicia, Priscillia, Sohna... and let's not forget that maiden from Nimuyi. What was her name? The one with watermelons for breasts." Ermis's eyes glinted with perverse delight, his voice filled with a sickening nostalgia that made Selene's stomach churn.
"Tosin, do you mean Tosin?" Andreas asked, his tone shifting from confusion to recognition, as if these women were nothing more than names on a list—a list on which Selene now realized she is on.
Ermis, who had been lounging lazily beside Andreas, suddenly sprang up with excitement upon hearing the name. "Bingo! That's the one! I can't believe I forgot her name."
The names they continued to toss back and forth felt like stones, each one bruising Selene's spirit. The image of Andreas that she had held onto so dearly—the kind, gentle man who had been her haven—was crumbling before her eyes.
He was nothing more than a manwhore–a public toilet even.
Andreas's laugh sliced through the air like a whip, sharp and unforgiving. "How could I forget that maiden? I fucked her till her legs shook and she couldn't walk," he boasted, his voice thick with pride and cruelty.
The words hit Selene like a physical blow, knocking the breath from her lungs. The man who had whispered sweet nothings in her ear when they were without clothes now spoke of his conquests with a savage glee that turned her stomach.
"You're a legend, brother!" Ermis clapped Andreas on the shoulder, their shared laughter a sickening sound that filled the space around them.
Andreas waved him off, but his grin—so familiar, yet now so alien to Selene—revealed his pleasure. "Oh, fuck off! I'm not a legend."
"Yes, you are! You fucked two sisters, although at different times but still!"
Andreas laughed, "It's not my fault they want me. I just make them feel loved and wanted. Before you know it, they're on their knees begging for my cock." His laughter mingled with Ermis's, creating a symphony of debauchery that made Selene's skin crawl.
In that moment, something within Selene broke. The final blow didn't just shatter her emotions—it obliterated them.
The tears that had been brimming in her eyes dried up in an instant, leaving her gaze cold and vacant, as if the very essence of her soul had been drained away.
The warmth that had once filled her heart, that had once defined who she was, extinguished itself, replaced by a numbness that spread through her body like ice on skin.
She no longer felt the sharp sting of betrayal, nor the overwhelming sadness that had threatened to consume her. Instead, she felt nothing at all.
Her heart, once so full of love and hope, the desire to please him, to make it up to him had hardened in an instant. Andreas's words, which had once cut so deeply, now echoed hollowly in her mind, detachment that had taken hold of her.
Without another moment's hesitation, Selene rose quietly from her hiding place amongst the bushes. The laughter and voices of the two men still rang in her ears, but it no longer affected her; it was nothing more than background noise, distant and meaningless.
She moved with calm, calculated precision, each step deliberate and measured, as if she were walking away from her own grave. The forest around her, once a vibrant backdrop to her life, now seemed distant and foreign, as though it belonged to a world she no longer recognized.
She reached her horse that she had tied to a nearby tree. Her movements were smooth and unhurried as she untied the reins, her face a mask of serene indifference, as though she were simply going through the motions of a life she no longer felt connected to.
When she mounted the horse she felt the familiar comfort of the saddle beneath her, and without looking back, urged it forward.
The sunlight filtered through the dense canopy of trees, casting dappled patterns on the ground as Selene rode her horse at a slow pace.
Each step of her horse felt heavy, burdened with the weight of her shattered heart, as if she were carrying the remnants of her former self alongside her.
She had learned the truth—a truth that cut deep into her soul, somehow she knew it would leave scars that would never heal. Andreas was a man whore, he was like the type of men she nicknamed "Public Toilet".
They sleep around with many women and boast of it. It disgusted her to no end. Such men had no taste, no type, no spec. They slept with whom ever was willing, so long as there's a hole between their legs. She couldn't believe Andreas–her own Andreas is like these men and she had been a fool to love him.
Selene's mind replayed the damning conversation she had overheard, each word felt like a knife twisting in her chest. How had she allowed herself to be deceived by him? Andreas, the man who had made her feel so special, so cherished, had been nothing more than a liar.
The memories that had once warmed her now felt like a cruel joke. She had given him her heart, her trust, and he had trampled on it, all the while pretending to care.
How could she have been so blind? The bitter questions swirled in her mind, but there were no answers—only a quickly growing emptiness. She felt hollowed out, as though the vibrant, passionate woman she once was had been reduced to a mere shell of her former self.
The pain was too great to comprehend, her chest felt heavy like an elephant was standing on it. It's like she could no longer breathe right. She took in a deep breath and forced herself into numbness. She mentally pushed the emotions deep within, where they couldn't hurt her anymore.
"Princess Selene?" The deep voice that broke the silence startled her, pulling her back to the present. She hadn't noticed how long she had been lost in thought, the world around her faded into the background.
She groaned inwardly. She didn't want company, especially not now. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts, to drown in her sorrow without interruption. But fate, it seemed, had other cruel plans.
"How did you find me?" she asked, keeping her voice low and carefully masking the tremors within.
She turned to see Prince Kang Dae riding beside her, his posture relaxed and confident as he guided his horse effortlessly towards her. His dark eyes, usually so full of mischief, now observed her with a calculative intensity that made her uneasy. She didn't want him to read her, notice she's slowly drowning in grief.
"I saw you leaving the palace on your horse and decided to follow you," he replied smoothly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
On any other day, she might have found his persistence endearing, a small gesture that hinted at his growing interest to befriend her. But today, nothing felt endearing. Today, everything was tainted with lies.
"Ok." The word was clipped, final. She didn't want to engage, didn't want to let him in.
She urged her horse forward, attempting to leave him behind as she continued down the narrow path that wound through the forest and farm fields.
Prince Kang Dae was taken aback by her response. The Selene he had encountered the day before and this very morning—the one who had sparred with him in conversation, who had shown flashes of irritation and fire—seemed to have disappeared.
In her place was someone cold, distant, and dare he say, unreadable. He couldn't help but wonder what had changed. Did he do something wrong?
It was as though a wall had been erected between them, and he was left outside.
Without a word, he urged his horse around to catch up and match Selene's pace as they rode side by side.
The silence between them was heavy, filled with the unspoken tension that hung in the air like a fog.
Prince Kang Dae stole glances at her from time to time, trying to decipher her emotions. But Selene didn't look at him; her gaze remained fixed on the path ahead, lost in thoughts he couldn't hear.
"Where are we going?" he asked lightly, careful not to provoke the irritation he had witnessed in the morning, something told him she wouldn't be in the mood for jokes. But this time, there was no outburst, no flash of annoyance. She didn't even look at him.
"We're returning to the palace," Selene answered flatly yet calmly, offering nothing more. Her voice was soft, almost detached, as if she were merely going through the motions.
Prince Kang Dae nodded, falling silent once more, though his curiosity only deepened.
"What had happened? Could it be the wedding that troubled her?" He asked within himself.
He knew the marriage was arranged rather quickly, but he had intended to stay in Arcadia long enough for her to grow comfortable with him before they left for Mu. "Was it possible she was feeling the weight of the impending union more than she let on?" He continued to ponder–until…
"When do we leave for Mu after we marry?" Selene's voice cut through the quiet air, surprising Prince Kang Dae. She spoke so suddenly, her tone light and almost nonchalant, that it took him a moment to process her words.
"We would leave a month after. Why do you ask?" he replied, his curiosity now evident on his face. His dark eyes searched her expression for clues, but Selene kept her gaze forward.
"I have a request to make, you could even call it a favor," she said, ignoring his question entirely.
"Isn't it too early for favors?" Kang Dae quipped, attempting to inject some levity into the conversation.
But Selene's blank expression remained unchanged, silently telling him she really wasn't in the mood for his jokes.
Realizing this, he softened his approach. "And what may that be?" he asked, his voice gentle and accommodating, unknowingly giving in to her already.
"Let's leave for your kingdom the day we get married," she said, her voice unwavering. The words hung in the air between them, stark and unexpected.
Kang Dae's eyes widened in surprise, the cool composure he usually maintained slipping away for a brief moment. "What did you just say?" he asked, incredulity coloring his tone.
"You know what? Instead of having our wedding three days from today, let's just wed tomorrow noon and leave Arcadia soon after," Selene repeated, her voice firm and decisive.
For a moment, Prince Kang Dae was speechless. The princess before him—so calm, so resolute—utterly confused him. The urgency in her request was unsettling, especially given the abruptness of it all.
"Where was all these coming from?" He asked himself.
This wasn't the woman he had expected to encounter when he followed her. He had prepared himself to get to know the fiery, headstrong Selene he had met before.
But this Selene, with her icy detachment and surprising attitude, was a mystery he wasn't sure how to unravel.