Chapter 184
Chapter 184 ns are hard to keep
Prince Martin showed Doris every room in the house, even where Beth was staying. Her mind was far
from him even as he tried to keep the excitement through it all. He painted an image of happiness in front
of her, but she only saw misery, She tried to memorize every step she took and every exit she saw just in
case her time for escape came. Sheid out each hallway in her mind and followed the direction from her
room a hundred different ways until she knew exactly where the exit was. Once she was alone, she
waited a few hours before she tested the door. Even when she knew it wasn’t locked, it still sent a thrill of
shock through her when it opened. Her hands trembled as she pulled it open. Doris poked her head out
of the hall and immediately flinched when she saw the same guards staring right back at her. She quickly
smiled. “Just a bit hungry.” “We can get you something from the kitchens if you need, mydy.” One of
the guards said. He stared down at her as if he didn’t trust anything about her. She supposed she didn’t
trust anything about him, either. “Oh, no. I need a walk. I couldn’t ask you to go out of your way for me,
either.” She smiled and pulled her cloak tighter around her. When they said nothing, she took her first
step out into the hall. A small taste of freedom made her want to kiss the grounds. They didn’t stop her,
but they followed her the moment she started heading towards the kitchen. She could hear their steps in
the dim hallway mirror her own from behind her. She briefly wondered if there would ever be a day in her
life where something didn’t follow her. When Doris got to the kitchen, the smells almost made her faint.
She’d forgotten to eat again and she wanted to curse herself for being so foolish. She didn’t have the
luxury of only caring for herself when there was now a life inside her. At least Beth wasn’t there to scold
her even further. She sat on a stool at the ind that overlooked the stoves. Both of the chef’s nced
back at her as if she was a strange object that just rolled into their kitchen. “Hello. Sorry to bother you, I
was hoping for something to eat.” She said kindly. They bowed their heads and quickly turned away from
her again as if she said nothing at all. Faster than she thought possible, a te of food was set in front of
her on an elegant te with Prince Martin’s initials. Doris almost rolled her eyes but remembered herself.
“Thank you very much.” They bowed their heads again and left through the kitchen door with a pot still
stewing on the stove. She nced back at the guards to see them staring straight ahead in the back of
the room. The te held small a meat pie with diced potatoes and a dinner roll. She didn’t care if the
men watched her tear through everyst bite until it was empty. The silverware gleamed back up at her.
She discreetly shoved the knife into her sleeve as she reached for her water. “Would it be possible to
visit my friend tonight?” Doris asked innocently. She hopped off the stool and turned to look at the men,
the knife felt heavy in her sleeve but neither of them looked suspicious. “Not tonight, mydy. Would you
care to go back to your room now that you’ve eaten?” Doris furrowed her brows and opened her mouth
to argue, but quickly swallowed her words. She didn’t need them on her bad side if they were the ones
that followed her everywhere. Instead, she smiled. “Of course, thank you.” The next day, Doris wasted no
time. She hid her knife on her belt under her cloak before she ventured out into the halls. The guards
didn’t have time to ask where she was going before they had to hurry just to keep up with her. She
headed straight for Beth’s room, but almost screamed when Prince Martin stepped in her way. “Out for a
walk?” He asked with a smile. “Oh! My, you scared me.” She cleared her throat. “Yes. I was hoping to
see Beth today. It’s been a while since we spokest and I quite miss her.” “I don’t think she would mind
if I stole you away for a little bit.” He held out his arm for her to take. Doris sighed inwardly and epted.
“I had hoped to talk to you shortly, if you don’t mind.” Something about the way he said it told her that
she didn’t have an option with this conversation. It would happen with or without her approval. “About
what?” “William has gone a bit mad, my informants have told me that he found you missing and he’s now
tearing through my army looking for you.” It was like a warmth spread through her bones at the thought
of Williaming for her. She was almost afraid to respond incase she said the wrong thing. “Oh?” “Yes.
It’s strange, because he sent a letter this morning, demanding a meeting with me.” Doris’s heart raced in
her chest. Did he know where she was? Was heing for her? “Oh, very interesting.” Doris said lightly.
“He also said he wants you to be there to make sure I didn’t kill you.” Martin snorted. Doris once would
haveughed at the polished prince doing something like that. Now it only made her shiver with disgust.
Everything about him made her want to recoil. “Are you going to meet with him?” Doris asked. She tried
her best to sound uninterested, but she knew that he would see right through it. She hadn’t been here
that long, he knew her heart stillid with him. It was best not to ask too much. Prince Martin stared at
her silently for a moment. “I am. He will be here by tonight.” Her heart skipped a beat. Tonight? She
would see him again tonight? Doris prayed all of this would be over, she prayed the war would end and
they woulde to an understanding. Most of all, she prayed that he would get her out of here if her
own ns fell short. But as she walked further with him down the hallway, she knew that wouldn’t be so.
He would never let her go-everything he built here was for her. For them to live together away from the
pce in this life he made without her say. “I want you to tell him to leave here.” Prince Martin said
calmly. “I want you to tell him you’re happy here and he doesn’t need toe save you.” Doris said
nothing, so he continued. “I know you might still be confused for your true feelings, so I thought a little
push might help you decide quicker.” “A push-“ “If you agree to send him away, I’ll free your friend. If not,
you’ll never see her again.” Doris stopped dead in her tracks at his words. It felt like a dark cloud fell over
them. “What did you just say?” He looked so calm, unaffected, and even friendly as he looked down at
her. “I had Beth moved the moment we got the letter. I knew you wouldn’t have it in you to be cruel to
William so I thought this might motivate you.” 2 Doris pushed away from him. “What did you do to her?
Where is she?” “She’s fine. We moved her to the cers underground until all of this is sorted.” A sh of
Beth in a dark cell made Doris sick to her stomach. She almost copsed right in front of him . “Please,
don’t hurt her. She’s done nothing wrong, she shouldn’t even be here!” “I know that, which is why we
haven’t harmed a hair on her head. If it was anyone else, they might not have been so lucky.” Prince
Martin took a step towards her, she took one back. Her eyes blurred with tears that threatened to pour
out. “I’ll give William the crown. He was right, I never truly wanted to be a king. I let others call the shots
because I couldn’t care less what happened to the kingdom. I sat back and let the world happen around
me-too afraid to join in. I’m through with that.” “Why didn’t you give it to him sooner?” Doris said weakly.
“None of this had to happen, your mother would still be alive.” “Because he had you. He had everything I
wanted and the only thing I ever asked for.” Prince Martin’s kindness was starting to crack, she could see
his anger trying to pour out of him. “I’ll give him the crown, if he gives you up in return.” 2N?velDrama.Org content.