Chapter 98: I am a coward.
Gwen’s POV
I woke up to the sensation of being watched.
My body ached, my limbs felt heavy, and there was a warmth under my skin that hadn’t faded. I had expected relief, an absence of the unbearable heat that had tormented me for days. Instead, it was still there, beneath the surface like a low-burning fire.
And then I saw him. Looking all elegant and majestic in black flowing robes. I have never noticed his attire, probably because he is always never on one.
Drogon was staring at me, his golden-red eyes steady and unreadable. His presence filled the room, almost as though, he occupied the entire space. I hated how familiar it felt, how my body recognized him before my mind could reject him. How I couldn't stop my eyes roaming over him.
I pushed myself up, swallowing the dryness in my throat. I needed to leave. And return to my world. This man's world is playing with my mind.
" I helped you. You have marked me. That means I can leave without the heat and burn disturbing me, right?”
Drogon didn’t answer right away. His gaze flickered downward, his fingers curling slightly against the sheets. The hesitation sent a cold wave of dread through me.
Finally, he spoke, voice low and careful. “Marking you makes it even worse.”
I stilled.
His words didn’t register at first. “What?”
“Until you are with a child-my child-the heat is only going to get worse. It will start in a week.”
I sucked in a dry breath, my mind blank for a moment before crashing back into reality with a sickening realization.
How? How could he do this to me?
I clenched my fists, my voice shaking. “I told you, I told you I am not Arabelle. I told you I am not your mate. I told you, I am married. So why?”
Drogon looked away. His fingers twitched, and for the first time since I had met him, he looked uncertain. Hesitant. Guilty.
His voice was barely above a whisper when he said, “I just wanted to help you.”
I let out a bitter laugh, the sound hollow in my ears. Help me? He had ruined me. Completely ruined me. How was I going to explain myself to Anastasia? How was I going to resist him?
Drogon continued, his gaze fixed on the floor. Not daring to look at me. “I know you deny our bond, but don’t forget, I have feelings too. I have always loved you, even before our bond. I loved you before I knew you were Arabelle.”
I didn’t want to hear this. No, I don't want to. Hearing it makes it harder for me to get angry. Hearing it makes my heart ache for him.
“So treat me kindly,” he pleaded. “That’s all I ask. Reject me if you must, but do it kindly. Just, don’t push me away. You need me now. More than ever.”
A sharp, painful lump lodged in my throat. I hated the way my chest ached at his words, hated the way a part of me wavered for even a second.
So I said the next thing that came to mind. The next cruellest thing I could think of.
“I don’t need you,” I whispered. “I only need Anastasia. I only want her.”
A lie. A desperate, pathetic lie. Drogon exhaled through his nose, his eyes shuttering for a moment before he nodded. For a moment, I thought he was crying.
“I know, Gwendolyn.” His voice was quiet. Resigned. “I know your heart isn’t for me anymore. But the mate bond has already been established. If I leave you now, you might die from the heat, from the yearning of your soul for me. And I can't allow that. You can not die."
My heart sank.
I wanted, for the first time in my life, to turn back the hands of time. But deep down, I didn’t regret setting him free. He deserved to see the world rather than be caged in it.
I swallowed hard, forcing my emotions aside. “Let’s go set Ava free first. If we don’t, Raphael might run berserk, and the world will be out of balance.”
Drogon only nodded. He didn’t say anything. He just stood up, walked over to the other side of the room, and grabbed some clothes. He brought them to me, his expression unreadable as he handed them over.
I took them and got dressed in silence.
Seeing Drogon in his body didn’t feel as unreal as I thought it would. Maybe because I had already felt his touch, already known his presence long before he took form.
Once I was ready, he held out his hand. “Let’s go.”
I hesitated. Then, slowly, I placed my hand in his.
The next moment, the room we were in faded. The air shifted around me, my feet lifting from the ground as we moved through space. When the dizziness faded, I opened my eyes...
And my stomach dropped.
We were in the palace. Not just anywhere in the palace.
The blasted courtroom.
In the suffocating courtroom where Raphael sat, his ministers and council gathered around him. The room was tense, voices raised in argument. And now, every single pair of eyes was on us.
I stiffened, my fingers curling into Drogon’s.
His grip was warm. Solid.
I turned to him, my voice a sharp whisper. “Why did you have to come to this room of all places?”
" You said to come to heal, my master," he said innocently. Gazing down at me as if his world revolved around me.
Blast the fates for always playing games with me. " I said so, not inside the courtroom!" I replied curtly.
" Oh, I apologize. I will fix that right away." Did what? What's he going to do now? I lift up my eyes and gaze at the room.
I see the faces of over two hundred people staring at me. In some of them, their mouths were open. I groaned inwardly.
" Calm down, little mate, I will fix it this now," He was about to snap his fingers when he suddenly stopped, gazing at someone.
I turned in his direction, and I saw her.
" Gwen, is that you?" I don't know what to say. For a moment, I panicked and hid behind Drogon. He instantly shielded me with his body.
" I am a coward," I murmured; I felt my eyes burning up as tears threatened to spill.
" No, you are not, spitball." Drogon wraps his arms around me and the face of Anastasia hardened.
" What's going on here?"
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