Chapter 34: Chapter 34

The whole ride was torture for Zachary. Diana was sulking all the time and they both hadn’t spoken a word to each other. Zachary tried to initiate a conversation with her multiple times but she always gave him a wide berth.

“King we arrived.” The coachman informed Zachary.

Though Zachary could have brought Diana himself, he wanted to treat her as a Queen now. He doesn’t want her flying like other witches and demons of his world. Call his stupidity or call him an orthodox but he doesn’t want Diana to change her lifestyle and behave like the Queen of Hell. He liked her ladylike manners, her shyness, and her modesty and he didn’t want her to abandon those manners or adapt to the devilish lifestyle. That mere thought even haunted him.

Zachary gave the coachman a curt nod and alighted the carriage. Opening the door wider, he extended his hand forward for Diana to take but she refused to acknowledge him and got down herself. Straightening on her heels, she gave a bored look at her ankle-length purple gown. Stomping her foot, she headed forward while Zachary quietly followed her trail.

“Wow!!”

Diana exclaimed and clapped her hands as she was enthralled by the beauty of the Celestial Meadows, the garden which Zachary had designed especially for her. Beautiful would be an understatement to describe it. The place was lush with exotic blossoms, huge mountains, beautiful gazeboes, fountains, splendid scenery and the wooden bridge on the milky white river was just the epicenter of this enthralling Heaven.

Tracing her fingers over the white lilies, Diana bent down and plucked one. Undoing the pins, she let her hair loose and tucked the flower into her left ear. She then tossed her heels away before jogging to the river and perched on a stone.

“Princess, where are you?”

Zachary came running inside as Diana was jumping from one spot to another, without a break. Like a butterfly, she was wandering in the huge garden, savoring the redolence of nature.

Zachary was instructing his guards not to let anyone enter the garden. Bringing Diana outside was a very risky decision. No one in his kingdom dared to look at their Queen. But his biggest headache was Kiora who was looking for a chance to pounce on his angel. Kiora was a powerful witch and his family was affluential as well. Both the royal families were in good relations with each other but Zachary knew that Kiora would definitely take advantage of it. And his mother would be the one helping her out. She still hadn’t accepted Diana and was weaving a way to throw her out of his life.

Zachary was too tense about all these issues that’s why he always unleased his frustration on Diana. He knew he did wrong that’s why to make her happy and ease her mind, he brought her to the place which he had designed with his powers. Zachary was on his toes all the time and was building a protective shield around the Celestial Meadows when Diana abruptly vanished from his sight. Drenched in sweat, he was searching for her like a madman when he found his baby wife giggling at her reflection in the water.

Her dulcet voice instantly melted him down. A small smile broke on his lips as he watched her cute acts silently.

“Whoo-hoo!!”

Diana splashed the water with her legs and arms. She pulled her gown up to her knees and started playing with the water. Approaching her, he noticed her heels and pins strewn all over the ground. His jaw ticked. He was furious at her stubbornness. He then looked at Diana who was playing without any care in the world. The sight of her naked legs aggravated him. Since they were all alone, he decided to drop the idea of scolding her and let her enjoy herself. He had already hurt her enough by tearing that gown. Now if he berates her further, she would definitely burst out crying.

“Enough, come out now or you’ll fall sick.”

Zachary called her softly from behind. Diana looked at him but his smile faltered when her frivolous expressions suddenly turned hard. She turned his back on him and stood up. Zachary’s heart skipped a beat when Diana started hopping from one stone to another and crossed the river.

“NO, DON’T GO TOO FAR!!” He shouted in fear and dashed to her.

“No flying!!”, Diana shrieked when Zachary caught her within a blink of an eye and draped her drenched figure in his black wings.

“What?” Her words made him baffled.

But ignoring him, Diana quickly moved away from him. Zachary again tried to hold her but she raised her palms in front of his face, “If you want to catch me, run but don’t fly. The one who breaks this rule will be punished.”

With that, she again disappeared into the woods leaving Zachary shocked. He remained rooted in his place till his mind registered her words.

And the moment it clicked him, he let out a frustrated groan.

“Are you for real Diana?”

He sighed exasperatedly while glaring at her small figure that was peeking from the bushes.

“Well, I am coming then kiddo,” muttering under his breath, Zachary withdrew his wings and started chasing her.

Meanwhile

Inside Theo’s Palace

Jasmine was in the backyard, shedding tears at her miserable fate.

Can loving someone be this painful?

She had only wished for a husband who would love her unconditionally. She never got a chance to feel the love of her parents, her stubbornness separated her from her sister who loved her more than herself. She took all the pain, bore all insults only to be with a man who despises her to his core?

Jasmine knew that she had wronged him but why, just why in the world he can’t see her efforts. Why can’t he remove his blindfold for once and understand the sincerity of her love?

Tears of pain, humiliation, and loneliness rained down her hazel eyes. Jasmine looked up only to be met with sheer darkness. The sky which usually glows with the sparkling moonlight had also hidden its beacon today and was lamenting along with her.

“Poor baby”

Jasmine clenched her fists when she heard George’s sarcastic chuckle from behind. She was in no mood to entertain him further. He had literally crossed his line today by insulting her parents whom she never got a chance to see even. He had lost all his respect in her eyes today.

Jasmine without gracing him with a response started walking ahead but maybe luck wasn’t on her side today. She had barely taken two steps forward when her left wrist was grabbed in a painful grip. She opened her mouth to resist only to let out a hiss when her back collided with a hard wall.

“Grown enough balls in one day, witch?”

George sneered in her left ear. Jasmine craned her neck to look into his piercing eyes.

“Get away from me”, she grated out and started pushing his chest but he didn’t budge. George let out a dark chuckle before he wheeled her around and grabbed her right forearm in a bruising grip.

“Don’t think so highly of yourself, piece of mutt. I don’t even have any interest in staining my hands but I can’t see you living in peace after destroying my happiness. My brother would never accept you, better ingrain this in your mind.” Snarling, he pulled her closer to his lips, “It’s still not too late. Give me my Rose back and scram.”

He rasped while putting a rogue strand of her brown lock behind her ear. Jasmine continued struggling but when he didn’t leave her, she decided to give him a piece of her mind.

She pushed back her tears and squared her shoulders. George was taken aback when he found a defiant look in her hazel eyes.

“Royal Princes, your modus operandi of grousing and shifting blames on other shoulders is really applaudable. You both know that the girls of your dreams don’t even give a damn about you yet you keep wagging their tails. People are showing me the mirror but they should spend some time in preaching you both ’cause you badly need it, probably more than me.” She spoke while eyeing him with disdain.

George turned red in anger. Jasmine yelped when he coiled his long fingers around her neck and started choking her. She quickly gripped his wrists and tried to pry them off. But George had lost all his sanity. Her bitter words sliced his already wounded heart but the power they hold was enough to charr his hopes. Bringing her closer to himself, he bellowed on her face.

“You bitch, you have no idea what I can do to you. I thought I went overbroad today but guess what? Bitches like you deserve to be trampled under our shoes. Yes, I know Rose never loved me but she doesn’t love that Demon too.”

“Calix is far better than you monster. I am happy that I took this decision and saved my sister from you,” Jasmine shot back.

Her eyes rolled back when George tightened his grip and pulled her off the ground.

“Your fucking adulations will never succeed in luring my brother. He will keep loving Diana and soon we will be bringing her back.”

Jasmine started feeling lightheaded. He was strangling her to death. She was about to slip into unconsciousness when George threw her to the ground like a rag doll. Jasmine screamed in pain as something pierced her right palm. But George stormed away from there in rage, leaving her in a sobbing mess.

Jasmine looked at her bloodied red palm. Bringing her knees closer to her chest, she hugged her wounded hand and started blowing air on her scraped skin like a kid.

“Monster. I hate him.”

Sobbing, she tore her veil and started wrapping it around her injured palm unknown to the fact that someone was watching her from afar with guilty eyes.