Rowan stopped in his tracks just as he reached the end of the corridor. When he turned to look back, Rosalind had already left completely, leaving only her scent trailing behind.

His chest tightened at what had just happened. He had seen her but was not able to talk to her, hold her, or call her name, and it was making him lose his mind.

Rosalind did not look happy like she always was, if anything, she looked saddened, and when she had seen him, her spirit had lifted as though she had almost forgotten the promise they had made, but had he not forced himself out of her sight immediately, they would have failed.

It was harder than he thought, pretending to leave her alone.

He did not want to do this, in fact he would have never agreed to it, but it was only for Rosalind’s sake and nothing else.

Hell, he would never stay away from her even if she belonged to the king.

The king had kept her locked up with no one coming to see her, and Rowan could not imagine how unbearable that must have been for her.

If things were already like this before the marriage, then how was the king going to treat her after it?

He turned on his heels and continued on his way with a dark cloud hovering over his head.

Rosalind was inside the chapel now, kneeling and closing her eyes to pray, cupping her hands together, but her mind was not there at all because it kept going back to Rowan. Although she was relieved that she had seen him and that he was slightly better than before, it still hurt her that he had just left like that.

Rosalind knew they were not supposed to say anything or even look at each other, but it still stunned her how quickly it had ended, and unlike him, she was not very good at hiding her feelings, so now the promise between them felt too real and it made her heart ache.

An elderly woman was moving past, lighting the candles, and she stopped next to Rosalind to light the one beside her.

Far behind, the footman stood watching, but the woman spoke. "As the future bride of the king, you do not seem happy," she mused quietly.

Rosalind opened her eyes to look at the woman before lowering her gaze again. "How can I be happy? I’m doing this against my will," she said sadly.

"I can see that a lot is weighing down on you," the woman said calmly, "but don’t worry, all will be well as long as we have hope," she added.

Rosalind’s lips curled faintly. "I’ve been trying to be optimistic all this while, but it just seems like something bad keeps happening. I don’t know if I have hope anymore," she said softly, her eyes turning misty as she started to break down.

The elderly woman placed a hand on her shoulder. "As long as we are alive, we must not give up," the woman said calmly. "Even when things look hopeless, they can still change. What feels like an ending now may not be your ending at all."

Rosalind listened as the woman spoke, feeling her heart heavy and aching "Do know that this is a safe space for you and you will always be welcome here," the woman smiled before excusing herself and moving on to light the other candles.

Rosalind watched her go and breathed heavily as she returned to her prayer, closing her eyes again. "I really hope I don’t get to marry Alaric. I hope things get better and I can leave here and live the life I’ve always wanted. I don’t want any harm for anyone, I wish everyone happiness and that they get what they deserve, and I hope I can get better in return too," she prayed inwardly as tears slid down her cheeks.

When it was time to leave, Rosalind’s footman followed behind her, leading her back to her chamber, and she felt her heart a little lighter after praying.

As she passed by, she did not see Rowan at all, and everyone just continued their day, greeting her and congratulating her.

Rosalind returned to her chamber, and the door was locked once again. She sighed and flopped onto the bed, hoping to sleep so that everything could just remain behind her.

When she woke up, she had lunch, then massages, and read for a while. Jae tried to engage her in conversation, but Rosalind was careful with her answers, avoiding anything related to Rowan because it was already enough that she had seen him and knew he was fine.

By nightfall, she had been exfoliated, bathed for longer, scented oils applied to her skin, and her hair washed and set so it could fall in curls the next day. She was left in her nightgown and had dinner in her room.

When she was done and had laid down, the candles were blown out, leaving only a little light in the room.

"Goodnight my lady, sleep early so as to get your beauty rest before the wedding tomorrow," Jae said to her. Rosalind smiled faintly in response.

Jae then pulled the other maid along and they both left the room at once, leaving Rosalind alone inside.

Silence lingered in the air as she remained on the bed, her fingers clutching the silk sheets tightly.

Having slept in the afternoon and evening, Rosalind found it difficult to fall asleep quickly.

She tried to hold on to hope just like the woman in the chapel had told her, thinking that maybe if she tried hard enough, something would still change.

Her thoughts drifted to Rowan again, and the realization settled heavily in her chest that this was the end for them as all she would be left with were duties expected of her as Alaric’s wife and queen, even though she had no desire for any of it.

****

Deep into the night, when everywhere was quiet and still, Rosalind was still awake when her eyes suddenly shifted toward the ceiling upon noticing faint movements above her.

At first, she thought it was her mind playing tricks on her, because being locked inside for so long was already making her feel like she was losing her senses.

But then she sat up when she heard another sound, and this time the movement shifted toward the side of the room where a divider stood.

Rosalind rose quietly, scanning the room for anything she could use, and she gripped a nearby object tightly in case she needed to defend herself.

It could be a rat or something worse.

However, her heart jumped to her throat when she saw a figure descending from the ceiling, and the shadow cast itself across the curtain divider.

Who the hell was that!?

Rosalind quickly pulled the curtain aside, ready to scream if it was an intruder, but she froze when he removed his mask and revealed himself. "Rowan?" she called out in shock, her gaze shifting between him and the open ceiling he had just climbed out from.

"Rosalind," he said, and immediately stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.