Hanging onto his arm, Delilah dropped thick tears one after another. What she had endured was far more difficult than this, and it seemed he would never understand. She felt foolish and pathetic for having worried, even briefly, that he might have been hurt. How did I end up holding such a person in my heart, falling in love, only to cry for myself? And would anything change now, even after pouring all this out?
Had there been a faint glimmer of hope in his brief moment of tenderness? All the emotions Delilah had killed off upon coming to the kingdom came bursting out.
“I hate you. Did you… did you ever listen to me even once when I spoke? You suppressed me all this time, and now you’re angry because I’m pushing you away?”
She wanted to leave an indelible scar on this man, just like the one he had left on her. Yet, she was also afraid. Afraid that he might truly be scarred just like her.
Knowing the weight of such a scar, Delilah couldn’t find her emotional footing. Repeating his actions wouldn’t lessen the weight of her own pain. Was this necessary? But she also wanted compensation for her love. That’s why she had gone so far as to make such plans to escape from him.
It was also the first time she realized a person could become so selfish. She had made such a difficult decision and run away, yet this man reappeared and recklessly stirred up her heart. Amidst the guilt and resentment, confessing her true feelings also brought a slight sense of relief.
Feeling relieved in the midst of this was horrifying to her.
“Delilah.”
His voice had grown rough. But Delilah didn’t lift her face from his arm. She didn’t want to see him. She resented him. She resented this man who had made her like this, and she never wanted to see him again. The sorrow overflowed, now beyond any point of containment.
“Del.”
The rough voice had now changed to one struggling for breath. Still getting no reaction, Vicente gently stroked the hand whose nails were digging into him, then lifted her chin to meet his gaze.
“I’m not wronged. Hate me like this. Hate me all you want, resent me.”
Vicente, exhaling hot breaths, forced the words out one by one with difficulty. Her blurred vision prevented her from seeing his face clearly, but the breath reaching the tip of her nose was strangely hot. Much hotter than when she had kissed him.
“It was all my fault. I’m not… ignoring you. I wanted to beg. I’m just asking you to look at me…. No, you don’t even have to forgive me.”
Suddenly faced with his honest heart, Delilah could only gape. He just wanted to beg? Was this his way of asking for forgiveness?… Blinking away the tears obstructing her view at his awkward method, Delilah let them fall.
“I don’t know what to do. I know it’s pathetic, I know…. I’m sorry. Delilah. Until now, I never properly acknowledged my own feelings. That’s why…. I only wished for you to be by my side. Del.”
As her vision finally cleared, Delilah was bewildered to see his deathly pale face. Despite his pallor, Vicente, their foreheads touching, was burning like a lump of fire. Confronted with this version of him, Delilah’s tears streamed down her cheeks incessantly.
“Sorry. I’m late. It’s me. All of it.”
His words came out in fits and starts, matching his ragged breathing. Then, a drop hotter than her own tears fell onto Delilah’s cheek with a plop. Once they started, his tears soon made a mess of her face. The man was crying. Holding her cheeks, clutching her tightly as if he didn’t want to let go.
Delilah helplessly received the tears falling like rain from the sky. Her tear-soaked red eyes looked more beautiful than ever before. Then, Vicente leaned his weight on Delilah’s shoulder and closed his eyes.
Delilah, bearing his full weight, sank to the floor. She couldn’t fully grasp the situation. Lifting her limp arms, she tried to push him upright. The sturdy man, completely drained of strength, wouldn’t budge easily.
Lifting his face, she saw Vicente was sweating cold sweat, only letting out ragged breaths. And she looked at the food he had told her not to eat.
That… why? Delilah sat dazed, unable to form a single thought. It was as if her mind had completely stalled. The wave of his sincerity that had suddenly crashed over her didn’t feel real. Why… how did it come to this?
A sudden chill swept over her. Her whole body trembled violently. The man leaning against her was radiating intense heat, yet she shook uncontrollably.
“Vi, Vicente…”
She shook his upper body. Gently at first, then frantically. As if telling him to come to his senses, as if begging him not to do this.
Delilah screamed a silent scream. Feeling Vicente’s short, ragged breaths, she rushed out of the cottage in a panic. Anyone, anyone would do, she needed someone to wake her from this nightmare.
The only place she could think of was the elementary school Luan attended. With nowhere else to turn, Delilah clung to the teacher, begging him to save Vicente. The flustered teacher followed the distraught Delilah as she ran back to the cottage. Seeing the man who had lost all color, he immediately rushed toward a nearby clinic.
Delilah hugged Vicente and muttered. Stop this. Did you have to do this to me until the very end? It was a cry with no one to hear it. She resented Vicente so, so much for leaving an indelible scar on her until the end. And she hated herself for still being unable to let him go.
Vicente did not wake easily. The doctor at the small clinic pushed his glasses up and slowly shook his head, saying there was nothing more he could do.
“This, this person is His Highness the Crown Prince of the Adenbarque Empire…. Is there anyone who can relay this news to the palace?”
Delilah, her own appearance a mess, spoke in a hoarse but clear voice. At her words, the elderly doctor and the teacher looked at each other. If this were true, they needed to inform the palace, but it was not an easy story to believe.
“Please, I beg you…”
Moved by the pitiable sight of Delilah’s pleas, the two men sighed and decided to trust her word. The message was relayed through channels until someone from the palace arrived at the clinic.
Upon seeing Vicente’s face, the palace official immediately had him transferred to the palace’s internal medical ward. The fact that Delilah’s words were true left the two men unable to hide their stunned expressions. Then who was the woman they had seen for over a year? They were curious, but given the circumstances, both could only keep their mouths firmly shut.
Once at the palace, Vicente received critical treatment just in time.
“A little later, and it would have been a disaster.”
“…….”
Hearing those words, Delilah felt like crying all over again. What had been his intent in eating that, and had he known what it was?
She was full of questions she wanted to ask, but he did not open his eyes. After keeping vigil by his side for days on end, even Delilah was on the verge of collapse.
Charlotte, having heard the news about Vicente, came to the room. Seeing the two of them in a worse state than just before Delilah’s escape, she clicked her tongue loudly. She hadn’t told her to run away for it to end up like this; it seemed things had gone even more wrong.
“Delilah, are you alright?”
“Ah, Your Highness…”
“That’s enough. I don’t want formal greetings in this funereal atmosphere.”
Looking at Vicente lying motionless, Charlotte was reminded of the time Delilah had been the one lying there, and a hollow laugh escaped her. The reversal of their situations was astounding.
“Poison, I hear. Most members of the imperial family would have a resistance to toxins… For him to collapse like this.”
“…….”
“And it seems he was also suffering from malnutrition.”
Both the person who mentioned the malnutrition and Delilah were shocked. It wasn’t a condition a robust man should have. Especially not the Crown Prince. Just how had he been living all this time for a person to fall apart so completely? Delilah glared at Vicente. Resentment swelled within her, far outweighing any pity she felt.
“The treatment is done, so you should get some rest too, Delilah. You’ll both end up collapsing at this rate. I can’t bear to see that.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Food will be brought here. Go wash up.”
Charlotte issued her commands and left the room. She didn’t want to watch this frustrating situation, yet these two had ended up right in the palace, aggravating her. In a way, she even felt fortunate not to have married Vicente. Seeing these two, trapped in their cycle of misery, for a lifetime would be worse than finding another marriage prospect.
Staggering to her feet, Delilah did as Charlotte said and washed thoroughly in the bathroom. Her whole body was sticky with cold sweat. Then, she forced the food the Princess had provided down her throat. She didn’t want to eat, but it felt necessary. As Charlotte said, collapsing would be the most troublesome outcome for everyone.
As she ate and kept watch over Vicente, Catherine came to deliver news about Luan.
“The elementary school teacher said she would look after Luan and the baby. She thought you might be worried, so she asked me to let you know.”
“Thank you.”
Catherine gave a slight bow and left. Delilah’s gaze fixed back on Vicente. The palace physician had said the antidote had been administered, but he had been unconscious for too long. Every time she closed her eyes, she feared Vicente might stop breathing, so she barely blinked.
She had too many questions for him. She began to doubt if she had heard him correctly. Everything had passed like a nightmare, leaving her mind in complete disarray.
“Wake up…”
Delilah kept vigil by Vicente’s side, just as he had done for her when she collapsed. Just like he had, she held his hand tightly. As if afraid he might disappear, she couldn’t let go.
Over five days had passed since Vicente last opened his eyes. Delilah, growing anxious, began scratching her wrist. A habit she had broken after leaving the Empire was resurfacing.
The bracelet that had once bothered her so much came to mind today. The one he had forcibly put on her, telling her not to scratch. Now, because of him, she was scratching her wrist raw.
It was then. Just as she was scratching hard enough to draw blood, her wrist was jerked to a stop.
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JTLovesYah
Wait. She left her baby to chase after Vicente before she even secured a babysitter?? She received a report that someone agreed to watch the baby after she was already in the palace. Then she stayed away for five days???? For Vicente? The same man who held her brother captive to sleep with her???