For a moment, Lila could only stare at Aaron, her mind racing. 'Axel was already here?' She had just written the letter, barely considered what her next steps would be, and now the man she had been preparing to negotiate with was at her doorstep.
She stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. "How long has he been waiting?"
"Not long, Your Majesty. He arrived just as I was preparing to send the letter."
Lila composed herself, trying to push aside the sudden flood of emotions. "Summon him to the throne room. I will meet him there."
Aaron hesitated, his worry evident. "Your Majesty... are you certain? He came without warning, and with soldiers."
Lila's eyes flashed with determination. "I am the Empress. If he wanted to attack us, he wouldn't be standing outside the palace. I will face him."
Aaron bowed quickly and rushed off to arrange the meeting, while Lila took a deep breath, her mind swirling. 'What did Axel want? Was this an act of aggression, or something else entirely?'
Within minutes, the throne room was prepared. Lila stood at the center, her heart steadying as the heavy doors swung open. Emperor Axel strode in, his presence as commanding as ever. Dressed in his imperial black and gold, his sharp eyes scanned the room before finally settling on her.
Lila stood in the grand throne room, her posture regal and her expression carefully composed. The ornate decorations of the hall, the polished marble floors, and the towering pillars all felt distant as she focused on the figure before her—Emperor Axel. The man she had once loved, the man she had once called her husband, now stood before her as a stranger.
Axel appeared calm, his casual demeanor making her blood simmer beneath the surface. He showed no sign of recognition, no flicker of memory in his cold eyes. 'Does he really not remember anything?' Lila's thoughts churned in frustration, though she kept her face impassive. She was Empress now, and she couldn't afford to let her emotions surface, not here, not in front of him.
'He doesn't remember,' she reminded herself, repeating it like a mantra as if to suppress the anger bubbling beneath her calm exterior. 'He's forgotten everything.'
Pretending to be a stranger to the man she once knew better than anyone was a small price to pay for her kingdom's safety.
The silence in the room was thick, broken only by the soft rustle of their robes and the distant crackle of the torches lining the walls. Lila's gaze didn't waver as she met Axel's eyes, holding back the surge of memories that threatened to flood her mind. 'This is not the time to dwell on the past,' she reminded herself once more. 'He is just another emperor, and this is just a political negotiation.'
"Empress Lila," Axel greeted her in a formal tone, bowing his head slightly.
"Emperor Axel," she replied with equal formality, her voice smooth and controlled. She betrayed no emotion, no hint of the storm swirling inside her. It was as if she had never known him, as if their shared past had been washed away by the tides of time.
Inwardly, though, her mind was sharp, taking note of every detail—the way he carried himself, the subtle tension in his shoulders, and the controlled calm that seemed to radiate from him. She could sense the power in him, but something else lingered beneath the surface, something that tugged at her intuition.
'What game are you playing, Axel?'
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From Axel's perspective, standing in front of Lila again was an exercise in restraint. He fought the overwhelming urge to reach out, to touch her, to break the formal distance between them. She looked as beautiful as ever—perhaps more so now, with the weight of her empire reflected in her eyes. Her blonde hair cascaded like molten gold, and her dark ruby eyes burned with a strength he remembered all too well.
But according to Raul, Lila had forgotten everything because of Mateo. Her memories—of him, of their time together, of their life before—were gone. The thought both relieved and tormented Axel. If she had truly forgotten, perhaps it was a mercy. He could keep his distance without the guilt gnawing at him. But seeing her now, so poised and regal, stirred something deep inside him. A part of him that he had buried.
'She doesn't remember,' he reminded himself, gripping the armrest of the throne to ground himself. 'She's a different person now.'
But despite the years and the changes, he couldn't stop himself from feeling. The cold mask he wore as Emperor threatened to crack, but he couldn't let it. Not now. Not in front of her.
"You probably know why I am here, Empress," Axel said, his voice steady, though it took every ounce of control to keep his tone casual. He saw her flinch, barely noticeable, but it was there. Her response was guarded, as if she were pretending not to know him, just as he was pretending not to be affected by her.
'This is torture,' Axel thought as he studied her face. She was still Lila, the woman he had fallen in love with, yet so distant. He was tempted to touch her, to see if she would react, to test if there was any memory, any fragment of their shared past still hidden somewhere in her mind. But he couldn't.
'You need to focus,' he reminded himself. He could feel the weight of her gaze on him, the tension thick between them. He had come here as an Emperor, but it was impossible to separate the man from the role. His heart still beat faster in her presence.
He forced himself to stay calm, to keep his distance. He was here to negotiate, not to rekindle the embers of a love that no longer existed. And yet, in that moment, as they faced each other in the throne room, all Axel could think about was how much he wanted to hold her again.
But he couldn't.
Not anymore.
Not unless she remembered.