**
Queen Ariadne's POV.
I was taken to my room by the emperor. He did not leave my sight for a second. The royal doctor came to check if I was fine.
"Why on earth would he do something like that?" Mother asked with tears rolling down her cheeks. She paced back and forth in the room like a stranded cat. "Has he lost his mind? Yes, who in his right frame of mind would rape a pregnant woman for crying out loud?"
"Prince Elvin," princess Marlena answered the rhetorical question. I wished she had closed her mind instead.
My heart was still racing like a horse being ridden by the prince of hell. This was supposed to be a setup for Prince Elvin, but he ended up fooling us. The fool tried to rape me…he didn't even care that I was pregnant with Akkad's heir.
