Abbott's POV
I made my way home. The eastern wing was mine and mine alone, not even Aldous was allowed to enter without an invitation from me without risking a court proceeding in front of the lords of noble houses.
It was heavily fortified by my own loyal men.
As I walked past the main halls on my way to the eastern wing, I came across a woman surrounded by four of her companions that made me stop.
Her hands were concealed under her heavy dress and her hairdo was so high, I wondered briefly if someone did it on purpose to get back at her for some sin she committed.
"Dowager Princess" I murmured without doing much else.
"Dowager Princess? Why so formal, son? You used to call me mama, child. When did you stop?" she said with a smile that concealed the viper underneath.
Around the time you poisoned me, I was tempted to quip, but it would be unwise to accuse a kin of some sort… of something as diabolical as trying to kill a second prince even though it was the truth…at least, not publicly.
I watched her. She hasn't aged since the last time I saw her.
Lady Beth Raven, Markle's mother and the widow of the older brother I never met.
Crown prince Jensen died when I was six years old.
I never met him or at least, I don't remember meeting him since the first ten years of my life are blank.
He was supposed to be king after Aldous but tragedy struck.
He died when he fell down a horse.
I became the first prince and heir to the throne much to the chardrin of Aldous Raven, I am sure but his prayers were answered when Lady Beth turned out to be with child… Jensen's child at the time of his demise, Thus, my unceremonious fall to the second prince.
I was entrusted in her care to be raised as a spare alongside her beloved son, Markle.
She sat back as i took on the punishments of her mischievous son and when i stopped taking the blame for Markle's idiocy at fifteen, she laced my food with a poisonous tree bark. She tried to kill me.
Coincidentally, it was around the time I tried to murder my father, so who am I to judge?
I was sentenced to Fort Enoch for my troubles. A place no one should ever send their son to.
She leaned in for a brief hug and I obliged her.
"You don't look dead" she whispered.
"I rarely do. I do hope we can move past the time you tried to kill me. It is not like i keep a grudge or something, Lady beth"
"Do not threaten me, boy!" she said through her clenched jaw. "Be grateful I didn't go to the king about your threats to his heir or he will have your head on a pike for your treachery"
"Be careful, Mama. words like that could get your throat slit. You have no idea how disposable princess dowager that are way past childbearing age with no husbands can be. Sometimes, they disappear…never. To. be. Found. Again"
l kissed her cheek and pulled away.
"It was really nice to have run into you, your highness. Please, watch your steps. The floors are slippery this time of day"
"I met your wife. She's a pretty little thing, isn't she? I wonder if she told you about the deal she made with the King"
I turned around and watched her.
She laughed. "Abbott...Abbott... Abbott. You don't think a girl like Abby Spencer would willingly tied herself to you, move into your bedroom and willingly walk down the isle to YOU. Screw you?" Her laughter echoed. "Don't be ridiculous, my son. No one would"
I stared at her disappearing body. Stood froze to the spot.
Fuck! Fuck it!
What the hell did Abigail agree to?!
***
The thought was a virus, infecting every rational cell in my brain.
Lady Beth was a viper, but even vipers told truths when it served them.
I turned on my heel, my stride eating up the distance to my wing of the palace.
The guards at my door took one look at my face and snapped to attention, wisely saying nothing as I shoved the door open.
I found her in the bedroom, standing by the window. She looked small, surrounded by the opulence of a room that was never meant to be hers.
She turned, and for a fleeting second, I saw something unguarded in her eyes—a sadness that mirrored the ache in my own damn chest. Then it was gone, replaced by that infuriatingly brave mask she wore.
It all clicked into a terrible, obvious picture. The willingness to stay. The move into my room. The acceptance of this farce. It wasn't resilience. It was a transaction.
The door slammed against the wall with a crack that made her jump. I was across the room in three strides, the scent of my own blood and the outside air clinging to me.
"What was the deal?" My voice was low, a gravelly threat that promised violence.
Abby blinked, her hand fluttering to her throat. "W-what?"
"Don't," I snarled, closing the distance until I was towering over her. "Do not play the fool with me. What did you and Aldous agree to? What did he promise you?"
Her eyes widened, genuine confusion mixing with fear. "Nothing! Abbott, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Liar!" I roared, and she flinched back against the windowpane. "Why the sudden interest in being my wife? Why are you going along with this so willingly? What the hell did that bastard promise you?!"
"NOTHING!" she yelled back, her own temper flaring, giving her a spine where there should only be terror.
I didn't believe her. A month ago she was set to marry the man she loved and now? Should I believe that she willingly moved into my bed and wants to spend forever with me?
Hell no!