THE KING'S POSSESSION

Chapter 63

Chapter 63: The Dead Boy's Mother

Lucian's voice echoed inside the room as he called out for his guards.

"Take this boy away!” he commanded out of anger as his men immediately made their way to take Liam out of the room.

"Don't hurt him! No! Liam!" Isabel cried out, trying to reach her son as he was being taken away. Liam cried out to his mother, his voice filled with fear and desperation.

"Mother! Please, help me!" Liam's small voice echoed in the room, his eyes wide with terror as the guards pulled him away.

"Take him to the dungeon with his father!" Lucian added, his voice cold and resolute.

Isabel's heart shattered at those words. She fell to her knees, her hands reaching out in a desperate plea. “Please, no! Not Liam! He’s just a child! Don’t do this, Lucian, I beg you!”

Lucian’s face remained impassive, though a flicker of something unreadable passed through his eyes. “You have defied me, Isabel. This is the consequence of your actions.”

She crawled towards Lucian, tears streaming down her face as she clutched at the hem of his cloak. “I’ll do anything! Just don’t hurt him, please! He’s innocent in all of this!”

With a hardened expression, Lucian looked down at her. “Anything, you say?” His voice was dangerously soft, the threat implicit in his words.

“Yes, anything!” Isabel sobbed, her voice breaking. “Just let him go. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Lucian studied her for a moment, then nodded to the guards. “Take the boy to a safe room. Do not harm him.”

The guards hesitated for a moment, then changed direction, leading a still-crying Liam away. Isabel’s relief was palpable, but her fear for her son’s safety lingered. Just then, Lucian smiled satisfactorily and closed the door behind him, locking it close.

He then knelt down, tilting Isabel’s chin up to face him. “Now I have your attention," he smirked.

But instead of an obedient nod, Isabel’s hand swung up, delivering a sharp slap across Lucian’s face. The sound echoed in the room, and for a moment, Lucian was startled. He didn’t react, letting her anger pour out.

“You think you have my attention?” she spat, her voice trembling with fury. “You’ve had it for years, Lucian. You had it when you chose another woman over me. When you made promises to me and then shattered them. You had it when you imprisoned me, treating me like a prisoner rather than someone you claimed to love.”

She began to punch and slap his chest, her tears mingling with her words. “You loved me first! You made me believe in a future with you, and then you chose someone else. Why? Why didn’t you let me go? Why did you keep me here, trapped in this palace, when you never intended to keep your promises?”

Lucian absorbed each blow, his face a mask of restrained emotion. He let her vent her pain and frustration, each word a dagger to his heart.

“I hated you, Lucian. For six years, I’ve hated you for what you did to me. You had no right to imprison me, and tell me it is for my sake!"

Her strength ebbed, her punches growing weaker until she collapsed against his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Lucian’s arms instinctively wrapped around her, holding her as she cried.

His voice, when he spoke, was a whisper filled with regret. “I know, Isabel. I know I hurt you. And I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it right.”

Isabel pulled back, her eyes blazing with residual anger. “You can’t make it right. You’ve taken too much from me. Just let me go. Let Liam and me go.”