As Prince Nikolai nursed, the king gave the queen the good news of Vetta’s survival.
Danika was so happy. Tears of joy returned to her eyes again. So much joy it was contagious. She kept thanking the heavens over and over again, and immediately after she was done breastfeeding, she insisted on going to see Vetta.
No matter how Baski and the others tried to discourage her because of her vulnerable state, she refused adamantly. In the end, the king instructed Chad to carry her to Vetta’s bedroom while he stayed with their sleeping baby.
Vetta teared up at the sight of Danika. They were hugging when Danika’s body touched the bed. They were crying together too. Vetta was thanking her for saving her life while the queen thanked her for being alive. Today has changed Anarieveta’s life for the better.
Not only did she see the queen for who she really was, but she also saw her as the friend she never had and the best woman the king could ever have. Today, she also saw people’s love for her. Baski, Chad, Sally, Dargak, and Zariel visited her times without number. It was beautiful.
She and Danika spent a lot of time lying together on the bed, talking together...bonding together. Vetta agreed with tears in her eyes to be Prince Nikolai’s aunt and godmother alongside Sally. It made her so happy she cried. But Danika held her hands consolingly all the while.
They agreed that once she was better, Vetta would see the prince and get to hold him. The former mistress was all too happy. She had so many new reasons to live again.
A few hours after the queen was taken back to her bedroom to get some much-needed rest, the king visited Vetta too.
He hugged her.
Kissed her forehead.
Scolded her for giving them all a scare.
Thanked her for killing that monster, Coza, for him.
Thanked her for saving Danika, almost giving her life for her and his son.
Thanked her for being alive.
He made her promise that she would never give him a scare like that again. She had no right to die on any of them, he chided her gently.
“I never knew that...so many people would c-care!” Vetta burst out, new tears trailing down her cheeks.
“We care. We all care.” He palmed her cheek. “Live for us, Anarieveta. I don’t mind if you want to live in the palace. I don’t mind if you want to live as my mistress again—not the intimacies, of course. I do not want that from any other person but my Danika now. But I’ll happily give you the title, the power, and the money. I don’t care how you want to live again, but please, live for all of us, Vetta.”
Those words meant the world to her, and she hugged his waist because he was standing over her. “Oh yes, I’m going to live for so many reasons, my king. I am Prince Nikolai’s godmother, and I love it so much. Thank you so much, but I don’t want to live in the palace. I don’t want to be a mistress again.” Vetta smiled at him. “There’s a whole new world outside the palace. I’m happy to have explored a bit of that life. Now I plan to explore so much more of that life and find myself completely while living this time. Thank you so much for sending me out of the palace months ago. Thank you for helping me begin healing and finding myself again, my king.”
King Lucien cupped her cheeks, his eyes filled with admiration. “I’m so proud of you, Anarieveta.”
Her smile waned a bit then as the thought of everything she did to Danika in the past filled her head. If she was going to start over this new life that was gifted to her, she wanted to do it with a clear heart. So she told him everything she did while crying in remorse.
“I know about it. All of it.” King Lucien surprised her when he dropped that bomb of a statement.
Vetta’s mouth remained open in shock for a few minutes. “H-how did you?” she managed when she could get her lips to work again.
He shrugged. “After I found out about your infidelity and miscarriage and sent you to the dungeon. I called your personal maid, Kaya, and threatened her with torture and whippings if she did not tell me the truth about the identity of the man who carried his child.”
Vetta's jaw dropped. Talia?
“You took her around almost everywhere then; I knew she must know something. She told me everything.”
It was a huge pill for Vetta to swallow. Talia had told the king everything?
No wonder the maid looked outrightly guilty whenever she visited her in the dungeon. Talia worked for Coza, so that monster must have known everything she did. Now it made sense why Coza never used her sins against Danika to threaten her, but instead, he used her guilt for Declan's death to blackmail her. He knew fully well that the king already knew about that one.
“B-but y-you...” Her mouth opened and closed in a futile attempt to ask why he never punished her. Why didn't he hate and forsake her even after finding out.?
Pain flashed in his eyes. “Why do you think I kept you in that dungeon for more than two weeks, even when I knew fully well how horrifying dungeons were for you? Why do you think I left you there, even when I knew fully well that that place might drive you mad because of what we went through? It was because I found out.”
She'd wondered that. Every single day in that godforsaken dungeon. Did he hate her that much? Did he want to drive her insane? Why would he leave her there knowing fully well what that enclosed confinement means to her? She'd asked herself over and over again in that place.
He continued. “But then, that was what opened my eyes to everything that was happening to you. To the fact that our time of hellish captivity affected you much more than it showed. Then I remembered Anarieveta. The woman that died over and over again, so that I could live.”
Vetta lowered her eyes in shame, tears splashing on the bed. “I am so sorry, so sorry!” she sobbed.
“I told Danika about Anarieveta. She was so hurt to hear it. She cried for you. For the woman you were. I knew I had to let you out and let you go out there to the world to try and find yourself again.” He paused, swallowed. “It was also my way of doing my darndest to let go of the pains of finding out that you connived and slept with Karandy. The pains of finding out that you almost killed my unborn son and my woman.”
“I am so sorry. I will never forgive myself for that,” she sniffled, her head still lowered.
But he held her jaw and tipped her head upwards so that their eyes met. “Remembering the girl you were and sending you away helped me to let go. Today, seeing you with Danika, seeing your close brush with death, seeing the woman who saved my woman and son...destroyed the rest of that pain.” He kissed her forehead. “I forgive you, Vetta. I know Danika forgives you. I hope you forgive yourself so that you can keep living for us. We all love you, Anarieveta.”
She threw her arms around him again, sobbing opening while he patted her shoulders soothingly. She thanked him over and over again.
Vetta might be crying, but she was happy. Now she knew how to move on, and even if she had no idea what her future would look like, she knew that it was time she work towards it and figure it out by herself.
And she was ready.