"No matter how it is—you are my wife, and you are my Empress," he said, his voice heavy with anger and frustration.
"I'm nothing to you, Your Highness," I replied, turning to leave when something he said froze my steps.
"Wait a minute! Did you just remember that we never actually got married?" His voice rose with sudden realization, as if he had finally started using his brain. But his words trapped me.
What should I say now?
I can't tell him that I'm not Aria but someone from a different timeline. Because I don't look like myself—I look like Aria. I feel her emotions. Everything about this body feels like her… except for how I ended up here.
"Tell me—why can't you remember? Is this how you've forgotten me? Is this why you refuse to know me?" he asked, making me turn toward him.
"Is it true? Answer me! Why won't you look at me when I'm standing right in front of you? Answer me!" His voice grew louder, more desperate.
Finally, I snapped and pushed him away.
"Yes! Whatever you said is the truth!" I shouted, unable to hold my emotions any longer.
"I can't remember anything! I can't remember you, I can't remember your face, and I don't even know who the father of Elian is! I remember nothing!"
"Then how on earth do you remember taking me in when I fell near your home? If you can't remember anything, how do you remember me leaving you and Elian behind? Answer me!"
Once again, his questions crashed over me like a storm.
"I'm not obliged to explain how I remember some things and not others! This is me—Aria Lumiere! And as you said, I never married you. So why do you keep calling me your wife when no marriage ever took place? On what grounds do you question me?" I said, my anger flaring.
"Even your way of speaking has changed, Aria," he muttered.
"Oh? So you finally noticed? Good! You finally sound like an emperor—but until now, you've been nothing but a dumb tyrant!" I said, twisting my lips in irritation.
Suddenly, I felt the cold edge of a sword against my neck. My eyes darted toward Ethan—his blade gleamed under the sunlight.
"Nice, very nice!" I said bitterly. "The loyal dog of the emperor, pretending to give us privacy while lurking in the shadows—waiting for a chance to point his sword at the Empress's neck. Is that how you see me as your wife, Your Majesty? The great Emperor Darius Alexander Blackwood?"
My anger boiled over. Even Elian, frightened, wriggled out of Ethan's arms and ran to me, clinging tightly to my legs.
"Is this what that title means to you? Answer me, Darius!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the garden.
Ethan flinched, his sword trembling.
"Is this how you show loyalty, Ethan?" Darius said in a low, sharp tone.
"I apologize to the sun of the empire. I have made a mistake," Ethan said, bowing deeply.
"Ha! Ha ha ha ha!" I laughed loudly, but it wasn't from joy—it was from pain that had nowhere else to go.
Then I felt Elian's trembling hands clutching at my legs. My heart softened instantly. I knelt and gathered him into my arms, patting his back gently.
"There, there, baby. Mommy just got a little angrier than usual. Did that scare you?" I asked softly.
He nodded.
"Okay, Mommy won't shout in front of you again, alright? Don't worry."
"Yes, but… Mom," he hesitated.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Do you hate Father?"
The question struck deep. My gaze lifted to Darius.
"Um… it's complicated, my baby," I said gently. "Do you remember playing with your father? Listening to bedtime stories from him? Talking to him?"
He shook his head. The ache in my chest deepened until I thought my heart might stop.
"Nor do I, my baby. I remember nothing either. Don't you feel angry that your father left you all these years? Don't you feel sad about that?"
"I do," he whispered.
"Then my anger is justified, isn't it?"
He nodded again.
"Thank you for believing me, my baby. Now go to your room and play with the maid, okay? I'll be there in a few minutes—like a rocket," I said, setting him down and calling the maid from afar.
"Mom, what's a rocket?" he asked, his eyes bright with curiosity.
I smiled. "I'll tell you during your bedtime story. But it'll be our secret, okay?"
"Okay!" he said cheerfully, running toward the maid.
Once he was gone, I turned back to face them, my smile sharp.
"So, where was I?" I asked calmly. "I thought the Emperor and Empress held equal status in this empire, but I guess I was wrong. I thought that even if I were your wife, I'd still have the right to speak freely to my husband—but clearly, that's forbidden here. Otherwise, your personal knight wouldn't have pointed his sword at my neck just because I called the Emperor what he truly is—a tyrant."
"Aria, it's not what you think. I've never once thought of you as beneath me. I've always looked up to you," Darius said, his tone pleading.
"I don't need your pity, Your Highness. Now that the truth is out, I see no reason to stay here any longer. I'll go to the commoners' district, where my son and I can live peacefully. I don't wish to be this empire's Empress—nor your wife."
And with that, I turned and walked away.
"Do you think if you even try to leave me, I'll let you go?" Darius said, making me turn slightly.
"And you think I'm obliged to hear you?" I answered.
"You are not obliged to hear me—nor am I obliged to hear you, if that's what it takes to make you stay with me,"he said, and then promptly walked toward me, picking me up and slinging me over his back like a sack.
"You're making a big mistake!" I glared at him.
"I know!" he said firmly.
"And Ethan! I'll be seeing you soon," he added, turning toward him before walking away—still carrying me like a sack.