Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 116: Price to pay (1)

Back in the palace, Joel stormed into his chamber with his family behind him.

The news of Freya’s future had been shared and settled after what felt like an entire day of negotiating how Joel would appease the third prince, who lost the woman he was to be engaged to.

Joel appeared to be happy and apologetic when he stood before the king, but he was fuming inside. Not only had Freya placed him in a bad position with the king, but she embarrassed the family name.

"Father," Freya cried as she ran behind Joel. "I did not mean for it to be like this. I only wanted to be queen."

"I placed you to be the wife of the third prince. It was an honour many ladies in your position would have loved to be bestowed, but you didn’t listen and placed yourself in hot water. I would have liked for you to be queen, but I knew it couldn’t be so, so I set you up for what was next best," Joel said, trying to restrain his anger.

"If you wanted me closer to the chance to be queen, you would have placed me with the second prince at least or fought for me to be considered as the crown princess. You failed me father. I wouldn’t have to go to these limits if you had helped me!" Freya argued, shifting blame.

Ophelia had become the wife of a lord thanks to the support of Joel. In Freya’s eyes, if her father tried harder, she would have been the one engaged to the crown prince.

Joel turned around to silence Freya, but when he saw Bella, he could not.

"Giselle, take Bella to her chamber while I have a word with Freya. Have the maids start packing your belongings," said Joel.

Giselle gladly took Bella’s hand and led her out of the chamber. It was time that Joel unleashed his anger upon Freya for her behaviour.

Giselle wished she could stay to witness it, but she would keep Bella away from her disappointment of a sister.

"You didn’t think of this family when you went to his chamber. You claimed the crown prince promised to take you as his wife, but who would believe you? In this mess, you are the one who did wrong. No one will question his actions. You also stand here and blame me," Joel laughed.

"You helped Ophelia to be married off to a lord. You gave her what she wanted, but expected me to settle for less. I thought I had a chance to become queen, so I took it. It did not turn out as I wanted, but you can help me. Please father," Freya pleaded, hopeful it could all be changed.

Freya didn’t want the title of a mistress. It was embarrassing for a lady of her status.

"You are to stay in the palace by the crown prince’s side. You will not wed anyone now that you have been bedded by the prince. You are to stay at his side until he grows tired of you. For your sake, you should hope you are with child now to cement your place in the palace," Joel advised Freya.

"I don’t want to stay-"

"You belong to the crown prince now!" Joel yelled, raising his hand to strike Freya in the face. "You are no longer my daughter, but a woman of the crown prince. You are to listen to him, not to me. He owns you, and it is because of your actions that it is this way."

Freya touched her cheek. Twice in one day, she had been struck in the face.

It hurt most with her father since Joel was always the one to protect Freya, no matter if she was in the wrong.

"Let yourself be with his child now and hope that it is a boy, so you are deemed useful. You have put yourself in this position, so I suggest you make use of it. Hope that every other child the prince has is a girl, so your child might be the future ruler," Joel said, offering Freya one last piece of advice.

"It is what you should do if you survive. You have angered the queen with what you did to her son. She will not make your time in the palace pleasant, and rightfully so. I will not be here to protect you, nor will my friendship with the king mean anything for you. You are on your own," said Joel.

"Father, do not leave me," Freya pleaded, holding onto Joel’s arm. "I made a mistake, and I regret it. Please don’t leave me."

"I cannot take you with me now that you are his woman. I certainly can’t take you for you to ruin your sister. You didn’t think of how this would affect Bella when it comes her time to marry. She’ll forever be the sister of the woman who offered herself to the crown prince and never married," Joel said, fearing he would lose out with Bella’s marriage.

Joel had high expectations for both his daughters. Now Bella needed to work hard to prove she was not like Freya.

Joel turned away from Freya. "I pray that you survive all the dangers you will face and make this decision you made worthwhile. Do your best for Bella’s sake. She now has to grow quickly and hear insults because of you."

"I do not want to stay. I can still marry the third prince. I only need to have a moment alone with him. You must convince Nigel to speak to the crown prince," Freya said, holding onto hope. "I will do as you ask if you get me out of this. I don’t want to be with Sebastian. He isn’t caring."

"I know he isn’t caring. If you had told me of your plan to sneak into his chamber, I would have told you that he would use you. That is the true side of the prince, and you shall have to bear with it for as long as you live. Do not upset him to ruin the friendship Nigel has with him," said Joel.

Freya released her father’s hand. "It is I who faces ruin, yet you speak of Nigel and Bella. It is I who will suffer, and all you think of is others."

"I must focus on the children who have not ruined me. The two children I can have hope for. You ruined yourself when you thought only of yourself when you went to his chamber. I will do your siblings a grand favour by thinking of them now," Joel said as he walked away from Freya.

"From now on, do not think of yourself as the daughter of Lord Valthorn, but rather, the woman of the crown prince. You have reduced yourself to a mistress."