Jealous
“Your…your highness…” she struggled to get out of his hold.” Blood rushed to her face, her eyes grew stark wide and her feet dangled in the air as Rafael’s hold on her neck grew stronger.“What did you say?” Rafael demanded, his eyes turning darker.“Pl…please,” she pleaded for her life. Never for once had she seen the prince act this way, much worse because of a human. It only fueled her anger toward the new human princess. Not only had she succeeded in taking her spot, she’d totally turned the prince against taking a concubine. In the past, he never conveyed his disinterest toward concubines and everyone assumed he approved.“If you go close to her or dare touch a strand of her hair, trust me, I’ll send you to an early grave.”“Prince Rafael!” The voice of the queen rang out. She stood behind, watching in terror as everything unfolded before her eyes.He let go of Zireya and her body slumped to the floor, her cough and cries echoing in the hall as her servants rushed to her side.“Do you realize what you’ve done? She is the prime minister’s daughter.”He swiveled sharply to the queen. “It will be you next if you don’t find your way out.”She looked at him defenselessly. Of course, she wanted to punish him but it was as they say. The second prince of Elyria was above the law and anyone who would dare to punish him was only in fact digging his own grave.“I’ll come back here when you’re in your right mind.”After servants helped Zireya up, she stormed out without sending a single last glance his way. Once they were out of his sight, he retrieved a white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his palm with it.“Your highness, please reconsider your decision,” Draven spoke from behind.Next, it was Adam. “He’s right, your highness. You must get a concubine to sire an heir.”“I think Lady Zireya is fit for the position,” Draven added.“Yes. She’s from a noble family and she only agreed to leave her father’s mansion after so many years just because of you.”“Princess Elora hates you. I doubt that she’ll let you…”He clamped his mouth shut when Rafael scowled at him.“Where is she?”“Huh?”“Where is my wife?” He repeated.Both men shifted uncomfortably, one nudging the other to break the news. Clearing the lump in his throat, Adam informed. “The princess had locked herself in the library for hours now. The maids reported that she’d refused to have dinner.”“Bring dinner to her now.”“She refused…” Both men grunted when a flash of wind burst past them. “Your highness.” But he was out of sight.“Surely the prince is behaving weirdly?” Draven sighed.“To think that the princess dislikes him.”“Did she tell you that, you crackhead?” He spat.Rafael stopped once he appeared before the double doors of the library. His hand clutched the handle of the door but then he paused and sucked in a deep breath. After a brief second, he held the handle again and slightly opened the door, his expression softening when his gaze fell on Elora’s back.She sat with her back to him in the library, engrossed in whatever book was before her on the table. He was certain she didn’t realize his presence yet.For a minute, he stood at the spot, watching her, taking in the sight of her in. And as if suddenly realizing the presence behind her, Elora’s shoulders stiffened. She slowly turned and when her gaze met his, she instantly looked away and returned her attention to the opened book on the table.He cleared his throat and walked into the library. “I heard you’ve refused to have dinner, Princess,” he said. With hands crossed behind him, he stepped closer to her.Like she hadn’t seen him, she ignored him and pretended to be engrossed further in her book.“Princess,” he called again. When he received no reply, he stepped even closer until he leaned against the spot on the table before her. “Will you continue to ignore me?”She rolled her eyes and finally lifted her gaze. “What is it that you want now?”His brows shot up. “Did anyone offend you? Is it because of the other night? Forgive me. I’ll make sure it never happens again.”“Your highness, it’s my reading time. I demand to be alone.”“But from what I heard, you’ve been here for hours. It’s way past your dinner time, isn’t it?”Elora again returned her eyes to her book. “I don’t see how this bothers you, your highness. You can return, I’ll be fine.”“Princess.” This time, his voice was a little commanding. But she remained stubborn and continued with the book before her as if he wasn’t there. Shutting his eyes closed for a second, Rafael lowered his tone and added. “If you keep proving stubborn, you’re going to end up harming yourself. It’s unhealthy for you to skip meals.”Deciding that she had had enough, Elora slammed her book shut and rose from her chair. “It’s not the first time I’m skipping meals and I’m not going to die just from skipping damned meals, so, you can kindly return to wherever hellhole you crawled from or return to choosing as many concubines you want,” she spat without a breath in between her words and after she was done, she let out a breath. “I also don’t care.”Hastily grabbing the sides of her dress, she turned on her heel and intended to walk away but his hands closed around her wrist. He pushed away from the table, spun her around, grabbed her waist, and hoisted her onto the table.“Are you jealous, princess?”