The Cursed Prince

Mars planted a deep kiss on his wife's lips. They still tasted sweet and soft as the last time he remembered. Ohh... how much he missed her scent... her soft skin, her taste in his lips. He wanted to kiss her and hug her and make love to her.

"I love you so much..." he let go of her lips just to profess his love. Then, he kissed her again.

Emmelyn closed her eyes as Mars grabbed her waist and squeezed it gently. His kiss was intoxicating and she was soon out of breath.

Mars was immediately reminded that Emmelyn must be feeling so weak when he heard her panting. She was sleeping for a long time. Fighting the urge to kiss her more and devour her right then, Mars moved back and looked at Emmelyn with a gaze filled with longing.

"Daddy..." Right at that moment, Harlow pursed her lips and reached out to her father. She felt abandoned because all Mars ever cared about was this older woman. Mars had no choice but take Harlow and carried her in his arms.

He chuckled when Harlow immediately wrapped her arms around his neck possessively and turned to look at Emmelyn with narrowed eyes.

"Uff... please forgive her," Mars touched Emmelyn's head gently and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "She is a bit spoiled. It's my fault."

"Oh... no, don't blame yourself," Emmelyn's heart ached when she realized Harlow might not immediately consider her as her mother.

It was true that Harlow had warmed up to Emmelyn earlier, but now that she realized all her father's attention was solely focused on Emmelyn, Harlow started to feel jealous.

Emmelyn moved back and motioned Mars to take care of Harlow. She would rest again since she suddenly feel tired. "You can take her out. I want to sleep."

"Eh?" Mars was in a panic. He was scared that Emmelyn wouldn't wake up like what happened for months. He begged her, "Please don't leave me..."

Emmelyn looked away. "You need to care for Harlow. She must be hungry and feeling bored. You should take her out and entertain her."

"No, Harlow is a good girl," Mars insisted. "She has been very obedient for the past three days and never asked anything or going out. We will stay here. I think she is just fussy because she is confused. She needs time to understand that you are her mother. Please let us stay here... Don't kick us out... If you want to sleep, let me and Harlow wait by your side."

Emmelyn was at a loss for words when she saw Mars's persistence. She just realized he was so worried to see her sleep. Perhaps he thought she wouldn't want to wake up again.

"I am fine," she said softly. "I just need to rest a little bit. I will wake up soon. You can take care of Harlow and feed her with food. Take her for a walk, spend time with her, and let her know that she is still the most important thing in your life."

Harlow looked at Emmelyn attentively when she recognized the words 'food' and 'Harlow'. She suddenly felt hungry. She clung to her father's neck more tightly, and whispered, "Food..."

Mars understood what Emmelyn wanted and he finally nodded. "Very well... I will talk to Harlow."

He bent down and kissed Emmelyn on the forehead before he went out of the chamber.

"Just let the servant outside know if you need me. I will be back immediately," he said.

Mars was really reluctant to leave Emmelyn but he knew he must do what she said. He needed to talk to Harlow and showed her that she was not competing with Emmelyn for Mars's affection because Mars still loved her as much as before.

Mars didn't understand that Harlow must have felt the pressure and boredom from staying in Emmelyn's chamber for three days, without doing anything meaningful. He should feel lucky that Harlow was really patient with him and didn't demand anything.

Now that Emmelyn had woken up, Mars should give Harlow a reward by taking her out and enjoy the beautiful garden. Spending quality time between father and daughter.

You could say this was a formative time since Mars wanted Harlow to understand that, no matter what, Mars would always love her.

Emmelyn watched the father-daughter duo left and then she lay down with her eyes closed.

It was true that she felt tired and wanted to rest again. However, the real reason Emmelyn wanted to be alone was that Emmelyn wanted to talk to Kira and Maxim after her husband left.

Once her husband was gone, Emmelyn called the servant outside with a faint voice. When he came in, she told him she wished to see the king.

Maxim arrived so fast. As soon as the servant told him that Emmelyn woke up, Maxim felt as if he grew a pair of wings and went to see Emmelyn immediately.

When he entered her chamber, Maxim was surprised because he didn't see Mars and Harlow who had been faithfully waiting for Emmelyn by her bedside for the past three days.

"Hi, Emmelyn... you wake up?" Maxim was very emotional when he saw her opened her eyes. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"

Emmelyn smiled when she saw how worried the man was. She shook her head and tried to sit up again. Maxim helped her and sat by her bed. "Where are Mars  and Harlow?"

"I asked him to go out and take Harlow to see the garden and eat something. That poor child is bored to death."

"Oh..." Maxim agreed with Emmelyn. He also felt sorry for Harlow. "That's good."

"I'm scared..." Emmelyn suddenly whispered. "I missed them so much and I kept dreaming of the day I could see them again. But now that they are here... I am so scared that they will soon suffer because of me."

"Why do you think that way?" Maxim touched Emmelyn's arm to calm her down. "Don't be scared. Nothing will happen to them."

"No... you forget that I am cursed because of the late Queen Catalina's spell..." Emmelyn looked at Maxim with deep sadness evident in her eyes. "It's not your fault, so I haven't told Mars anything. I don't want him to lash out on you..."

Emmelyn realized Maxim was not at fault and he shouldn't be blamed for what happened to her. However, Mars might not take it too kindly and would blame Maxim for all the misfortunes that Emmelyn suffered.

"No... don't worry about it, Emm...." Maxim faked a smile. "When you were sleeping, I met with Elise Leoralei. She went away to find a cure for her father's illness but she came back right before I took you back to Castilse. We talked about our engagement and, apparently, she is against that too."

Maxim had rehearsed this lie so many times, he could speak about it so convincingly.  He added, "After we talked to her father and grandmother, they confirmed that Elise had the power to cancel the betrothal if she refused to marry me. So, we went to her mother's grave and she read the spell to officially reject the betrothal."

"Ohh... is that so?" Emmelyn pressed her lips in surprise. "So... the protection spell is now gone?"

Maxim nodded. "Yes. I am a free man now. And so are you."

He had officially proposed to Elise by letter and talked to her father to ask for her hand in marriage. So, now Emmelyn was free. She no longer had anything to do with Maxim's affection.

"Oh... this is really good," Emmelyn's tears slowly streamed down again. "I'm so happy... finally things are sorted."

"Yeah..." Maxim nodded with a smile. "I am glad we went to Myreen. So, we can solve the problem. I am sorry for causing so much pain and suffering for you. I truly am."

Emmelyn wiped her wet eyes and touched Maxim's face. She looked at him deeply and sincerely. "It's not your fault. I don't blame you. So, please don't blame yourself. What matters now is that it is now behind us."

Maxim knew Emmelyn well enough to understand that she was too kind and would never blame him for the calamity she had suffered. And she wouldn't allow him to sacrifice himself just to free her from the curse. But Maxim had to do that. He couldn't bear to see her suffer for even one day longer.

Now that her husband and daughter were here, Emmelyn should feel happy. That's why Maxim decided to fake a story that the protection spell was canceled by Elise. It seemed, Emmelyn really believe his story.

Her eyes lit up and her face was filled with relief.