I Was The Perfect Queen But He Forgot My Name Chapter 05
I pushed down the ache in my chest. “I can compromise,” I said quietly. “Let the engagement stand. You can publicly protect Iris, give her a residence and financial security. Just stop kneeling. Please.”
Even as I said it, I knew the arrangement would humiliate all three of us. It was a system no pack would ever recognize.
Julian refused without hesitation.
“She is not my secret lover, and she will not be an accessory. The woman I love will be the only one I enter into a formal relationship with.”
The only one.
So the words he once said to me could be given, unchanged, to someone else.
I looked up at the rain until my emotions settled. A royal attendant appeared and escorted me to the council chamber.
King Arthur was clearly waiting for me.
He tore into Julian, his voice booming, reminding me that the heir’s marriage concerned royal authority, Cedar Ridge’s council support, and the western grain route. It was not some childish whim that could be overturned by a chance rescue.
At last, he asked for my opinion.
If I insisted, the royal family had ways to keep the engagement in place.
But what was the point of a contract keeping someone by my side who didn’t love me?
If I agreed to cancel it, I would become a public joke, and Cedar Ridge would lose its once-secure position with the crown.
There was a time when the slightest frown from me was enough for Julian to solve any problem.
Now, he was the problem.
I finally understood: the man kneeling outside did not love me.
I stood straight and said, my voice solemn and clear, “Do as Prince Julian wishes.”
I fought to keep the tears from falling.
I am Genevieve Carver. I will always be composed and graceful.
That was how I was raised.