My Enemy, My Love

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔒𝔫𝔢

Lord Saetiao [Khao]

News of the happy couple reached Kelasin promptly after the grand celebrations in Bangkok. I did not bother to attend the wedding itself; I had no desire to endure the nauseating spectacle of two pompous Princes parading their newfound union. Instead, I made a brief, calculated appearance at the afterparty. I offered the requisite congratulations and, to my relief, drowned the bitterness of the evening in their finest champagne.

I despised weddings - pitiful charades meant to disguise desperation as love, mere excuses to flaunt wealth and power. To me, they were fruitless ventures, wastes of time and coin. Yet, I would be lying to myself if I didn't admit their necessity. In times of unrest, with revolutions stirring in shadowed corners and the West encroaching like vultures, alliances were imperative.

And I had secured one - a brilliant one, in fact. The Princess of Chiang Mai was mine, her hand won not just for love - as if love had anything to do with it - but for strategy. It was a victory that stung my rival, Lord Chuo, like salt on an open wound. I had bested him. I had won our bet, and soon, I would be Kelasin's overlord. My wedding, the grandest event this province had ever seen, would seal my triumph and secure my power.

The grand hall was filled with the tension of heated arguments that morning. Lords barked over finances, military shortcomings, and the festering threat of revolutionaries clawing at the edges of our realm. Their grievances swirled like a storm, grating my ears until I slammed my palm against the table.

"Enough!" My voice cut through their bickering like a blade. "You squeal like pigs."

My rebuke earned a low chuckle from Chuo, seated to my left as always. His amusement was grating, but I allowed myself a small smirk - one of triumph, not camaraderie.

"I believe it's time we turn our attention to something far more pressing," I began, leaning back in my chair, the weight of my growing power palpable. "My engagement. As you all know, the wedding will take place in November. It will be an affair unlike any other, a symbol of Kelasin's strength and prosperity."

Chuo's smile faltered, his eyes narrowing. For the first time that morning, he looked truly dangerous.

"It will be costly, yes," I continued, savoring the moment. "But my fiancée's family will bear the brunt of the expense. Rest assured, this alliance will strengthen our province without draining its coffers."

A collective sigh of relief rippled through the room. The fools. So easily placated, so blind to ambition.

"My Lord," came a voice from the far end of the table. Lord Fah, a tedious man with no sense of humor but a purse deep enough to warrant tolerating him, pushed a pile of documents toward me.

"These require your signature," he said, his voice trembling ever so slightly. "Matters of state, finance... assurances. We must be certain that your ambitions align with Kelasin's future before this union proceeds."

I waved away his concerns, dipped my quill into ink, and signed each document without a second glance. Formalities bored me, and I had no patience for them. As I scrawled my final signature, Chuo rose from his seat. I paid him no mind, dismissing him as irrelevant. A miscalculation.

The moment I finished, I pushed the documents aside and rose from my chair. "Will that be all my Lords?"

"No... not quite."

Chuo's voice was deceptively calm. I turned to him, irritation curling my lips. "What is it, Lord Chuo?"

He stepped closer, the spark in his eyes now a roaring flame. "I would be forever in your debt if you could help me select the perfect wedding attire."

"Wedding attire?" I laughed bitterly. "And who, pray tell, would you be marrying, Chuo? A farmer's daughter? A prostitute?"

The room was silent - uncomfortably so. My jab, meant to humiliate, hung in the air like a noose.

Chuo tilted his head, his smirk widening. "No. I am to marry you."

For a moment, I thought he was jesting. The absurdity of it was laughable. But his tone, that unrelenting confidence, scared me.

"Surely, you're joking," I said, though my voice faltered.

His smirk deepened. "Feel free to check the last document you signed, my Lord, if you require clarity."

The stone in my throat grew heavier as I snatched the final page from the table. My eyes scanned the words in mounting horror.

I declare my marriage to Lord Chuo of Kelasin to take place in a fortnight from hereon...

No.

No.

This couldn't be. How had I missed it? How had he tricked me so effortlessly? My own arrogance - my fatal flaw - had blinded me.

Panic overtook me. I lunged for the fireplace, intent on burning the damned paper, but Chuo was faster. His arms wrapped around me like iron bands, forcing me to the ground.

"You fool," he hissed into my ear, snatching the document from my trembling hands. "Did you truly think I would let you take everything from me?"

He read the words aloud, each syllable a knife twisting in my chest.

"You've sealed your fate, Saetiao," he whispered. "Now, we will rule Kelasin - together. My love."

He released me with a violent shove, and I fell to the floor. Humiliation burned in my chest like wildfire, and as Chuo towered over me, triumphant, I realised the bitter truth:

He had destroyed everything.

And I had handed him the means to do it

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