NTR: King gets Cucked-Chapter 20: The Forgotten Night

The harvest festival had ended, leaving the kingdom in a state of revelry and exhaustion. Zyran had spent most of the evening dealing with courtly matters, while Althea had felt an increasing unease she could not shake. Karlos's presence was suffocating—every brush of his fingers, every lingering glance sent her body into a betrayal of heat. She loathed how easily she reacted to him.

Zyran had noticed her change. He reached for her at night, and she flinched, making an excuse of fatigue. Each time she turned away, guilt clawed at her, but so did the lingering arousal that haunted her dreams. She hated it. She hated herself.

Karlos, as if sensing her internal conflict, had grown bolder. At court, he would brush his hand against hers when passing, his fingers caressing the sensitive skin of her wrist. During feasts, he leaned in too close, his lips nearly grazing her ear as he whispered mundane pleasantries laced with hidden intent. And worse—when he placed a hand on the small of her back, a seemingly innocent gesture, but his thumb caressed the dip of her spine, sending a shudder through her that made her want to scream.

Nyra noticed. Though timid and reserved, her sharp eyes had caught the way Althea stiffened under Karlos's touch. She had begun to watch, curiosity twisting into suspicion.

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But Althea's turmoil ran deeper. Her mind clawed at the void left by that forgotten night. The fragments of pleasure and shame that surfaced in her dreams felt too vivid, too real. What had happened? Why did she feel as though something had been stolen from her?

Determined to know the truth, she summoned her handmaiden in secret. "Find an elixir dealer in the underground market. One that restores lost memories."

The girl hesitated but nodded, vanishing into the night.

⸻

The vial trembled in Althea's hands as she sat alone in her chambers. The liquid shimmered an eerie shade of violet. She inhaled sharply, then downed it in one swift gulp.

The effect was immediate.

Her vision blurred, the world twisting and reforming as flashes of that night struck her like lightning. The Nectaris lilies. The laughter. The way Karlos had watched her with hooded eyes, his fingers tracing the rim of his goblet as she drank the wine he had given her. The taste of honeyed berries... the way her body had burned.

She saw herself—willing yet unwilling, drowning in a haze of lust induced by the aphrodisiac Karlos had slipped her. His hands roamed her body, his voice a poisonous whisper against her lips, feeding her mind with false desires. He had made her believe she was the one initiating, her body manipulated into betraying her true will. The pleasure had been overwhelming, forced upon her, the shame even more so. She had tried to resist, but the elixir had clouded her thoughts, twisting her perception of reality.

Althea gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as nausea churned her stomach. Tears welled in her eyes, rage replacing horror. That bastard. He had done this to her.

⸻

She moved like a shadow through the castle halls, heart pounding as she reached Karlos's chambers. Her hand tightened into a fist, and with all the force she could muster, she struck his face the moment he opened the door.

"You vile, disgusting creature," she hissed, her breath ragged. "You drugged me. You made me—" Her voice broke, but she steadied herself. "Why?"

Karlos, rubbing his cheek, grinned wickedly. "Why? Because I wanted you, Althea. And you wanted me too."

"I never—"

"You did." He leaned against the doorway, eyes gleaming. "Even now, you do."

She trembled with fury, ready to strike again, but he caught her wrist, yanking her into his chamber. The door slammed shut behind them.

"You think you can fight this?" His voice was silk and steel. "You belong to me now."

She struggled, but his strength overpowered hers. His hands roamed her body, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear. "If you resist, I will tell the court what happened that night. Your beloved Zyran will hear of how you moaned for me, how you spread your legs so easily."

Tears burned in her eyes. "You're a monster."

"And yet," he murmured, lips grazing her jaw, "you're wet."

Her body betrayed her again, shuddering under his touch. She hated it. Hated him. Hated herself.

Karlos chuckled, pressing her against the wall, his hands slipping under the silk of her nightgown. "Give in, Althea. There's no turning back now."

And as his lips claimed hers, as her body burned against her will, she knew the night was lost to him again.