I gripped the fence and screamed. "No! Stop! Stop it!"
Lola pulled me away and pressed my thrashing body against her chest.
She held me there while I struggled and howled.
"Alaric, when the time is right, I'll make you my secondary husband. Our child can carry the title of a legitimate heir. We can be just like before."
But Lola, I am the Crown Prince. How could I ever be your secondary husband?
The homestead was gone. There was no going back.
Three years ago, I had a fight with my father and stormed out of the palace in a fit of anger, chasing after my dream of a quiet life in the countryside.
I shook off his secret agents along the way and settled at the foot of this mountain.
That was when I met Lola Black. She was on horseback, hair streaming in the wind, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. One look, and I fell hopelessly in love.
I hid my identity from her, and she told me only that she was a wandering swordswoman. With heaven and earth as our witnesses, we became husband and wife.
We had no silk robes or lavish feasts, but tilling the fields and weaving cloth side by side, we were happy.
Now the cottage was destroyed, and I was locked away in that side manor.