The Abandoned Bride

Rose, Just Rose

Run away.
That was what she wanted to do.

It hurt to think that after everything she'd been through with the man she considered her husband, he would just throw it all away by being reckless. By being the very person he always claimed he hated.

But even if they somehow managed to fix their troubles and got back together, how was she expected to live alongside a married man who was growing a family with someone else?

To witness him with her; the woman he betrayed her with, every day of her life.

Had he lost his mind?

Not that it was even one of her worries, but how did he think he would have time for both of them while ruling an entire kingdom?

She loved him, there was no question there. But it hurt too much.

She would almost understand if they were just forcing him to be with someone else, but the fact that he bed her willingly made her doubt everything they'd built together.

Every time she would even attempt to think about the old days with the Prince, the memories got clouded by images of him with her.

How could one speak of love yet proceed to perform an act so atrocious? Did he think her a fool?

She'd waited patiently for him after he left without her approval. Day and night she was worried sick about him. Had something gone wrong during his travels? They'd left in the middle of the storm after all.

Meanwhile, he was laying with someone else, someone who'd consequently moved in with them in the castle. Someone she had to look at, knowing she'd had him in ways that were only meant for her.

It was irreversible.

Her trust was gone. It was going to take a while for her love to be gone too but she was patient.

Rose looked at the large walls that encircled the humongous castle. Walls that were built to protect the King. Walls she had no chance climbing.

That had been the least of her worries.

Even if she managed to do the impossible, she hadn't a plan nor a place to go. If only her family hadn't abandoned her. If only the church could accept her return.

Those were all wishful thoughts.

Her reality was that she had no one. She was all alone in a world that could care less about her kind, a world that would take advantage of a lowlife girl all on her own.

She didn't even have a husband as she'd recently found out.

She was homeless, orphaned, and she hadn't a penny to her name.

She gave her heart to someone who stepped on it. Someone who made her feel at home and accepted every broken part of her, only to pull the rug from right under her feet.

That was what hurt the most.

He made her trust her, he made her feel safe. And when she wasn't looking, he did to her what every single person in her life had done.