Conquering His Cold Heart

It was indeed Zenon who was at the door. After hearing the King’s order, he bowed even though he couldn’t see the King and replied, “I will do as you said. Everyone is waiting for your order.” He reminded the King that everybody else was already ready to head for the border so that the King wouldn’t keep them waiting for much longer.

After hearing the sound of the footsteps getting fainter and fainter, Caspian buried his face into Anastasia’s neck and mumbled, “I’m going to miss you, Anna.”

“I will miss you too,” Anastasia whispered back while gently running her fingers through the beautiful blond hair of her husband.

And before she forgot, she asked him to pass along her message to her brother, “And please tell my brother that I am doing fine. Also, ask him not to worry about me since I am really happy here.”

She genuinely meant what she said. After all, Caspian never made her feel that she was unloved or uncared for. Even in Sorvando, she was still as pampered as she was back in Orsenia.

“Sure,” Caspian’s face beamed with joy when Anastasia said that. “Anything else that you want to say?” he asked.

Anastasia shook her head and asked Caspian while patting his hand, “Alright now. I think you should clean up and leave. Else everyone will think that I am deliberately keeping you here.”

“No one will think like that,” Caspian said with a little frown on his forehead. “But you are right. I should really go now.” He then took a deep breath with the intention to leave.

.....

He got up from the bed and went straight to the bathroom after jumping down the bed.

Anastasia, on the other hand, lightly pressed her stomach and sighed. She was a little bit sad because she had already given up hope about having a baby. She also didn’t wish to conceive a baby anymore since she didn’t really know how much time she had left.

With that thought in her mind, she sat up on the bed and pushed her gown to cover her legs. And she thought in her mind, ‘I think I should ask Martha to prepare some tonic for me. I don’t want any accidental conception.’

She then got out of bed and straightened her gown. After patting and combing her hair with her fingers, she looked at the mirror and thought, ‘I should also ask her to prepare a bath for me.’

Anastasia was distracted from her thoughts when Caspian came out of the bathroom. His hair and neck were all wet, and so were his trousers.

“Oh, Caspian!” Anastasia knitted her brows and pursed her lips.

Caspian smiled as he knew what she was going to say. “Don’t worry. I will change my clothes before leaving.” When he saw Anastasia’s eyes lingering on his hair, he further added while nodding, “And yes, I will ask the servants to dry my hair too. But it will dry on the way nonetheless. I will have to fly somewhat faster than what I had planned.”

“Make sure to fly carefully,” Anastasia showed her concern. “And rest if you feel tired.”

Caspian was sure that he wouldn’t feel tired because he had had long journeys in past as well. Countless times. Still, he felt good when his wife was showing her concern for his safety and well-being. “I will do that,” he said with a bright smile on his face.

Anastasia didn’t have anything more to say. So, she stepped forward and gave Caspian a quick hug. “See you tomorrow,” she said as she finally looked at him and waved her hand.

“See you tomorrow,” Caspian’s voice sounded somewhat sad. He held his wife by her arm and pulled her close to hug her once more. He closed his eyes as the fragrant smell of lavender lofted around his nose. He took in his wife’s scent and whispered, “Ugh! I already miss you.”

Anastasia let out a soft chuckle and whispered as she tightened her arms around his neck, “I am flattered. But you should really go now. Bye.”

Caspian hummed for a while and finally broke away from the hug after a great effort. He looked at his wife’s beautiful face before pecking her and turning towards the door. “Have a good night,” he said as he walked out of the bedchamber.

“I will,” Anastasia replied even when she wasn’t sure if she would get any sleep at all.

While walking out, Caspian happened to take a look at the table. He saw an open notebook, ink, and quill lying there.

‘Was she writing a letter to send with me?’ he thought and turned his head to look inside the bedchamber. He wanted to ask Anastasia if she had prepared any letter but she had already entered the bathroom.

Thus, he took a step toward the table and looked at the notebook to see what she had written there.

However, before he could thoroughly go through the notebook, Anastasia opened the door and asked, “You are still here?”

“Oh!” Caspian pointed at the table and asked, “Were you writing a letter?”

Anastasia suddenly felt a sting in her heart when she remembered that she had left her secret diary on the table. She didn’t want Caspian to find out about its existence. So, she quickly sprinted towards the antechamber and stood in between the table and Caspian.

She then replied while slightly panting, “No, I was not.”

But when Caspian tried to look at the diary, she tilted her body to cover his view, knowing that he would be able to read the contents of the diary from where he was standing. And she quickly made something up, “Umm… I was just scribbling some nonsense while reading the book. It’s nothing important.”

She then made a hand gesture to shoo Caspian out of the antechamber and said, “You’re already late.”

Caspian slapped his palm on his chest and pretended to be hurt by her words. “I can’t believe you are so eager to get rid of me.”

“It’s not like that!” Anastasia exclaimed to defend herself.

However, Caspian smiled in amusement seeing her getting so nervous. And he calmed her down, “I know, I know. I was just pulling your leg.” He then winked at her and turned around.

Before he exited the room, he lifted his hand to give her a subtle wave and said without facing her, “And I am still waiting for your tea. Why don’t we have it together after I return tomorrow?”

“That sounds lovely.”

He heard Anastasia shouting back at him.

Caspian smirked as he had just suggested having the tea together after seeing the word ‘tea’ in Anastasia’s notebook.

He happened to catch a glimpse of the contents of her notebook before Anastasia obstructed his view. And he caught some words and sentences here and there.

And he couldn’t help but grin when he recalled the last sentence that his wife had written in her notebook. He softly reiterated that sentence, “I can’t help but miss him even when it hasn’t even been a few hours since I last saw him.”

Caspian’s lips curled up even more prominently when he muttered to himself, “I thought it was just me. But I am happy to know that she also feels the same way. Ah! I wish I read a few more sentences. I want to know what else she has scribbled there.”