26 Unrequited Love (2/2)

She cleared her throat. ”I am well.”

He became silent at the words, and for a moment, she thought he had left. She uncomfortably shifted under the weight of her dress, not used to having so much fabric on her body.

”Then this subject of yours will take his leave,” he said in a monotone voice. Princess Yang Liu saw his silhouette make his salutations, wishing her kind regards. The idea of him leaving made her feel empty and unwilling.

”General!” she called out before she could stop herself. She took a step towards the door then quickly stopped.

Not today, she could not reveal who she really was. Not today.

”At your service,” he said dutifully.

'Tell him. Tell him not. Tell him.'

She was battling with herself.

”What if I was a woman?” Her voice shook. Not only that, withal what if she was a woman who was deeply in love with him?

He took his time before saying, ”Pardon this servant your Highness, but this subject does not understand.”

”What if … what if I was a woman and had a liking towards you?”

”Then this subject would pierce his own heart because courting a princess' heart when not worthy is high treason,” he said without remorse.

And in a split second, her heart shattered, a lump forming in her throat.

”But…” She tried to speak, then changed her line of thinking.

Of course! Of course, his honor for the empire was of greater value than her feelings, that was typical of him. All the more reason why she loved him to begin with.

”Is that so?” She finally collected herself. What else could she say when her love was unrequited? ”Then… then you may leave.”

She saw his silhouette salute her again, then like he was never there at all, he disappeared.

Yang Liu harrowingly breathed out, at his departure. Her heart was beating painfully fast; it felt ponderous, and her chest hurt because of the pursiness.

'So this is how heartbreak feels like? Like being shredded into pieces?'

Her palms moistened with sweat, and her eyelids felt heavy. Her throat was drying up, making it hard for her to swallow.

'General, will you ever know that you give me my very breath?'

She started trembling, her legs shaking from beneath her.

'I have long loved you, and because of this, I shan't give up.'

Her knees gave way, and she plummeted onto the floor. She did not understand where the murkiness of her surroundings was coming from.

”I love you,” she mumbled as a stray tear grazed her cheeks. Then darkness began to engulf her senses. It swallowed her up and numbed her aching heart.

Somewhere, in between, she heard some hysterical voices call out her name but it was already too late.

She was too far gone.

S.V

~ADDITIONAL AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hi, so I have some bad news.

I will not be able to upload for the next week until 22 March as I am in the middle of my test week and really need to concentrate on my studies.

The good news is when I come back, I will do a trio upload. I will upload on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th to catch up with the supposed number of released chapters that I would have had out if not for the break.