The King's Arrangement (BTS X Reader)

Chapter 36

Soobin POV:

After the palace doctor took Jackson away, my wife disappeared. I had no idea what was happening but when I went to leave the hall to look for her, my father stopped me. His face was filled with rage and I knew I had fucked up. He grabbed my wrist, dragging me from the room like I was six years old again. My mother followed him, along with Taehyung. He pulled me into a room down the corridor, practically tossing me in on my ass before shutting the door behind him. "Want to tell me what the hell is going on?"

I was surprised by his anger, by his words. My father prided himself on his ability to maintain a calm demeanor in any situation, something that made him a gracious and powerful king, but I could see that this had pushed his limit. He was furious and I know that no amount of pleading was going to get me out of this. Knowing that lying would only make it worse, I decided to be frank with him, no matter the consequences. "I... I was having an affair with the woman in the video. I've been seeing her for the last two years."

The sharp gasp from behind me had me turning to see my mother, her face distraught and her eyes filled with dismay. "But... but why? Your wife. Y/N. She's so kind, so lovely. Why would you do that to her?"

Pacing back and forth, I couldn't help the frustration that filled me. "Because I didn't love her. I knew she was the one I needed to be with, but she wasn't the one I wanted to be with." I ran a hand down my face, trying to put my thoughts in order, trying to find a way to fix this disastrous mess that I helped create.

My father flopped down in a chair, the stress of the moment beginning to take its toll. "And what about now? You said you didn't love her."

I sighed as all my errors came rushing over me, as all my mistakes threatened to consume me. "I... I fell in love with her. I finally saw what everyone else did, what I had tried to ignore." As I continued to pace, I thought about how badly I had fucked everything up with YN. All for a woman who never really cared for me.

"This is good. You may be able to redeem yourself with your wife. With the people though? That I'm not sure of. They adore YN and the idea that you were unfaithful to her might be too much." My father stood and began pacing, his movements stiff and full of frustration. "Tell me the truth son. Did you hire that man to kill your wife?"

"Of course not. However I may have treated her before, I would never want to see harm come to her. I swear it to you. I... I love her." I couldn't deny that my father believing I could be capable of such a thing hurt. It hurt more than I wanted to admit, but unfortunately I could see why he would even begin to believe that. However, someone wanted the princess dead and I couldn't begin to imagine who it could be. Everyone she encountered adored her and I had never heard a negative word said about her. The idea of someone wanting to hurt her made the bile threaten to rise up in my throat.

My mother stepped up to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'm so disappointed in you. You knew the responsibilities and obligations when it came to taking the throne. If you didn't think you could handle them, if you didn't want to marry YN then why did you accept it? Why did you agree to it all?" Her eyes searched my face and I tried to avoid her gaze.

I didn't want to admit to it all. Why did I marry YN? Simply because I wanted to be king. I wanted the one thing my brother couldn't do better than me. Looking at it now, I could see how selfish I had been, how disgusting my behavior had become and I hated myself for it.

My father sat down again, leaning forward and clasping his hands between his knees. "Unfortunately now we have some damage control to do. The cabinet will need to meet to determine the next course of action. Although infidelity is not a reason to take away the crown from you, it will definitely cause a rift amongst the people. Especially since YN is so adored by the people. They will not take this lightly. At least the video only showed you embracing. I can't imagine what would happen if..." His voice trailed off as he caught sight of my face, my face that had suddenly become void of all color. "Please son. Say it isn't true."