The King's Unbreakable Wife-Chapter 121: Suffer alone (2)

Hazel found this to be one of the strangest things the queen had ever said. Do not fall in love with the man she was going to marry. In what world did this make any sense? Why would she not fall for Tobias right now?

"Forgive me as I fail to understand why I would not fall for the man I am getting married to. I already have feelings for him and that is not going to stop any time soon," Hazel confessed.

It wasn’t love, but she felt something for him. It was growing slowly with all their interactions during the selection. It was not to stop now as she was going to love her husband.

"Don’t get so worked up just yet. I am speaking from experience and offering you some advice. I loved my husband from the very beginning and because of that, there were many times when I was frustrated when I could not see him. We marry the king alone, but they are somewhat married to the kingdom and the kingdom comes before us," Tabitha explained.

"What does that have to do with my love for the prince? I am aware that I will not be able to see him as much as I like. Knowing that, I will continue to grow my relationship with him so that I can fall in love," Hazel replied.

She was not Tabitha and likewise.

"Still, I thank you for the advice," Hazel said as she requested that Tabitha guide her. She looked forward to hearing from someone who was wearing the shoes she one day had to fill, but she was going to pick from what she was told and go from there to make her own decisions.

"Advice that you are not going to listen to," Tabitha said, knowing Hazel had her mind made up to ignore it. "You don’t have to listen to all that I say, but I am telling you this to help you in the future. Get used to how your marriage will be before you start falling for him. It is going to be hard to get used to him not always being by your side if you fall in love now."

The more Tabitha explained it the more it did not make any sense to Hazel.

"What if we just communicate? Wouldn’t that solve the problem? I don’t need him by my side all the time, but should there be a moment out of his day that I want to be near him, can’t I say that?" Hazel asked, no longer stuck on the pain of her shoes as the queen’s words bothered her.

"You will see him for breakfast and dinner. When there are events in the palace or we are just sitting with important guests. You will be lucky if he has a moment to offer to spend time with you like this. The king is a busy man. I wish I had listened to his mother earlier so I would have been more prepared. Even as his wife, you shouldn’t distract him," said Tabitha.

"I don’t intend to distract the prince. I did not make Tobias stray from his duties when he came to you. I don’t ever want him to ignore his duties for something small, but should I need his help as he is more used to the palace than I am, I am afraid that I will seek him out," Hazel said, being honest it would happen.

Who else was there for her to lean on if not Tobias? The queen? The king? For how much longer would they be in the palace or want to be bothered by whatever was happening to her? She only had Tobias at the moment as she was yet to build any connections here.

In moments like this morning when he came to her, would it be so wrong to ask for his advice or help? It wasn’t like she had called him to her room, he went there on his own accord. If Tobias was coming to her, she had to assume he was free to talk and she was not going to push him back to being at work.

"I don’t think you shouldn’t seek him out at all. If it is a matter of life or death or something that is beyond your control and might turn into a big issue in the future, you should go to him. If it is a trivial matter, don’t bother him with it. There is the head maid, your ladies, advisors, and the court for you to go to," Tabitha said, expanding on what she was trying to say.

"Your issues with women or anyone in the palace should be dealt with by you. If you cannot speak up at times when it is necessary and defend yourself against those doing something you don’t like, then you won’t last here long. You need to be able to stand on your own," Tabitha advised Hazel.

"That is what I want to do, but you fail to listen to me. I have only been here for a few hours now and I am trying to get used to this new life. You are asking for too much right now. I only have Tobias," Hazel said, wishing the queen would be a little more understanding. "Whatever he might have done to upset you was not my doing even though it concerned me."

Hazel continued to say, "I’ve been getting to know more about Tobias during the days of the selection and one thing I have learned is that no one can make him do something he doesn’t want to. Well, other than becoming king. I’ve started to notice that it is something he doesn’t want."

"Do not let that leave your lips again," Tabitha said, angered by the fact Hazel already knew of his dislike of the palace. "No one is to know. I will not have him carrying a single flaw for the court to pick apart. Starting now he must be perfect and not distracted. I will help you to stand on your own so if you have any troubles, speak to me or the head maid."

Hazel looked off to the side so she wouldn’t be facing the queen. She wanted the queen’s help, but Tabitha always made it feel like she was against her. She was reminded of their little talk yesterday when her attitude was brought up.

"All I wanted was your help, but I keep feeling like you are against me. Does Tobias know about this advice you are giving to me? That you gave to Helena and perhaps other women during the selection?" Hazel asked and after a moment of silence, she turned to face the queen. "He doesn’t. I would bet he wouldn’t be pleased with what you are asking me to do."

’It is pretty much asking me to suffer alone and not go to my husband,’ Hazel thought.

"There will be many things said that need to be kept between us," Tabitha said as Tobias didn’t need to be brought into conversations concerning women.

"Because you must fear that you are wrong for what you speak of. It is a terrible position for me to be in because I don’t want to be the reason he is angry with you," said Hazel.

Sharing her issues with the queen to Tobias might only lead to him not being happy with his mother. Or what if he is so annoyed with it all that he would end this and pick another woman? What would she do then?

It was best that she wouldn’t be in the middle of what Tobias and Tabitha were at odds over so unless Tabitha said or did something that was too insulting for her to not tell Tobias, she would keep what was said a secret. Though it was not her doing, she did not want to come into the royal family and create a riff.

As the queen wanted, Hazel would defend herself.

"If you wish to tell Tobias everything we speak of then so be it. I was only giving you the cold truth to help you. It is not only you who has to face not seeing your husband as you like,’ Tabitha said, making one last attempt for Hazel to understand her.

This didn’t need to be taken back to Tobias as it was a simple woman-to-woman talk. She would not say this if not for what she had witnessed over the years and the stories Jeffrey’s mother shared.

It was something she said to women with husbands working in the palace to save them from ruining their marriages by having their husbands upset with how needy they were.

"There are many men here who are married to their work and I’ve seen their marriages crumble because of their wives feeling forgotten. We all know what we are signing up for so there is no reason to get upset and act confused when he will not be around you," said Tabitha.

"I understand what you are saying," Hazel replied, wanting to move on. She would do what worked best for her. "I believe I am here for a proper welcome to the palace. Can we please move on to that?"

Tabitha smiled though she was annoyed. "You continue to speak as if the queen is not before you. I could have your tongue for not speaking with respect. Regardless of you not liking what I say, I am still the queen."

"I have not forgotten, Your Majesty. It is why I bite my tongue with what more I wish to say," Hazel replied.