Chapter 174 Chapter 174: Do you expect me to believe that?

Chapter 174 Chapter 174: Do you expect me to believe that?
~ Liam's POV ~

I woke up with pain shooting through my entire body.

My stomach felt like it was on fire. Every breath hurts. I tried to sit up but my muscles wouldn't cooperate.

Where was I?

I blinked several times, trying to clear my foggy head. Slowly, the room came into focus.

A medical chamber filled my sight. The smell of herbs and medicine filled my nostrils.

How did I get here? Suddenly I remembered the ambush.

Wait, Raven. I must find her. Where am I? Could it be the Duke's estate? If it were, it means Raven saved my life. I need to see her.

I struggled to stand up but it was so difficult.

"Your Majesty!" Dorian's voice came from beside the bed. "Thank the gods, you're awake!"

I turned my head to see my advisor sitting in a chair next to me, looking exhausted and relieved at the same time.

"How long?" My voice came out rough, probably from lack of use.

"Two days, sire. You've been unconscious for two days." Dorian leaned forward. "The Queen said you were close to death. If we'd arrived even an hour later..."

"Raven." Her name came out before I could stop it. "Where is she?"

Dorian's expression turned to one of concern. "Her Majesty is resting, sire. She worked herself to exhaustion saving you."

"I need to see her."

"Sire, you need to rest…"

"I need to see my wife, Dorian." I tried to sit up again and immediately regretted it. Pain exploded through my stomach. It felt like I shoved my hands into a burning flame.

"Your Majesty, please!" Dorian pushed me back down gently. "You'll tear your stitches! Her Majesty was very clear, You must stay still for at least two weeks, or the wound will reopen, and you'll die."

Two weeks. I didn't have two weeks. I needed to talk to Raven now. I needed to explain everything, the potion, Julie's betrayal, the seven months I'd spent searching for her.

But my body wasn't listening to what I wanted. I was so weak I could barely lift my head.

"Fine," I muttered. "But send word to her. Tell her I want to see her. As soon as possible."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Dorian stood and called for a servant, giving quiet instructions.

I lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to process everything and what I was going to say when I saw her.

The door opened again hours later. I'd been drifting in and out of sleep, the pain medicine making everything hazy.

I heard soft footsteps and I forced my eyes open.

Raven stood in the doorway, her medical bag in hand. She looked different from when I'd last seen her clearly.

Her face was thinner, more guarded. Her hair was pulled back simply. And her robes were loose, hiding her figure.

But her eyes, those beautiful blue eyes I'd fallen in love with, were the same. Except now they looked at me with fear and distrust.

"Your Majesty." Her voice was cold and weary. "Dorian said you requested to see me?"

"Raven…"

"I'm here to check your wound and change your bandages." She walked closer, her movements stiff and careful, like she was approaching a dangerous animal.

I tried to sit up to face her properly.

"Don't move!" Her voice came out sharp. "Lie back down. Now."

The commanding tone surprised me. This wasn't the soft-spoken girl I remembered. This Raven had fire in her voice.

I obeyed, lying back down slowly.

She just stood there, staring at me with those guarded eyes.

I stared back, confused. This was the woman who used to look at me with so much care. Now she looked at me like I might attack her at any moment.

"Are you just going to stand there?" I asked quietly.

Raven seemed to shake herself out of whatever thoughts she was having. She approached the bed and began her routine, checking my pulse, examining the bandages around my stomach.

Her hands were gentle but impersonal. It felt like I was just another patient. Not her husband.

"The wound is healing well," she said, her voice still cold. "No signs of infection. The stitches are holding."

She began unwrapping the old bandages, exposing the long, ugly wound across my stomach. I hissed in pain as the fabric pulled at sensitive skin.

"Sorry," she muttered, but didn't slow down.

I watched her work, memorizing every detail of her face. There was a small scar on her temple that hadn't been there before. The way she bit her bottom lip when she concentrated. The dark circles under her eyes told me she hadn't been sleeping well.

She cleaned the wound with care and then began wrapping fresh bandages around my middle.

The whole time, she didn't say a single word to me.

"Raven," I finally said. "Please. Let's talk."

"About what, Your Majesty?" Her hands didn't stop working.

"About everything. About what happened seven months ago. About why you ran…"

"I didn't run." Her hands paused for just a second before continuing. "I escaped."

"Escaped? From what?"

She finished securing the bandages and stepped back, finally meeting my eyes. "From the men you sent to kill me."

My blood went cold. "What?"

"The men with your royal seal. The ones who kidnapped me from the hallway outside your chambers and dragged me to a cabin in the woods. The ones who told me you wanted my head delivered in a box by sunrise." Her voice was steady but I could see the pain in her eyes. "Those men, Your Majesty."

"Raven, I never…"

"Save it." She turned away, packing up her medical supplies. "I don't want to hear your excuses."

"They weren't my men!" I tried to sit up again, ignoring the pain. "Raven, please, you have to believe me. I would never hurt you. Never!"

"Lie back down before you tear your stitches," she said without looking at me.

"Not until you listen to me!"

"I said lie down!" She whirled around, and for the first time, I saw tears in her eyes. "Do you understand? If you tear those stitches, you'll bleed to death! And I didn't spend hours saving your life just to watch you kill yourself over stubbornness!"

The passion in her voice made me obey. I lay back down slowly.

Raven took a shaky breath, wiping her eyes quickly before the tears could fall.

"The curse broke that night," I said quietly. "When we were together. I remember saying your name. I remember coming back to myself. And then I woke up and you were gone. I thought you'd left me. I've spent seven months searching for you, Raven. Seven months going mad wondering if you were alive, if you were safe, if I'd ever see you again."

She stood frozen, her back to me.

"I executed everyone involved," I continued. "Lady Johanna, Lady Cecil, I beheaded them publicly. Julie is now a servant. Lady Annalise is imprisoned in her own home, forbidden to ever leave. I destroyed King Edward and conquered Titan because he kept standing in my way and requesting for his damn daughter. I searched everywhere, Raven. I searched everywhere.”

Raven's shoulders shook slightly.

"I love you," I said, my voice breaking. "I never stopped loving you. The curse, potion, or whatever made me forget, it made me cruel, but it's gone now. I'm myself again. And I came here to find you, to beg your forgiveness, to bring you home…"

"Home?" She turned around, and now the tears were falling freely. "You think I have a home? You think after everything I've been through, I can go back to Grok and pretend nothing happened?"

"Raven…"

"Do you have any idea what it was like?" Her voice rose. "Waking up in that cabin? Being chased through the forest? Having men tell me my own husband wanted me dead? Running for my life all these months, thinking every shadow might be another assassin you'd sent?"

"I didn't send them!" I tried to reach for her but she stepped back.

"How do I know that?" she demanded. "How do I know the curse is really broken? How do I know you're not just pretending again? How do I know that the moment I let my guard down, you won't turn cold and cruel again?"

The pain in her voice was worse than the wound in my stomach.

"I don't know how to prove it to you," I admitted. "But Raven, please. Give me a chance. Let me show you that I'm telling the truth."

She stared at me for a long moment, tears streaming down her face.

Then she picked up her medical bag and headed for the door.

"Raven, wait…"

She paused in the doorway without turning around.

"I missed you," I said desperately. "Every single day for seven months, I missed you so much it felt like death."

Her hand tightened on the door frame.

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Her voice came out in a whisper. "After everything? Do you really think I'm that foolish?”