Conquering His Cold Heart

319 Valentine’s Day Special

[A few excerpts from Anastasia’s Secret Diary.]

1st June

Today, I decided to maintain a log of my day-to-day activities here in the castle of Sorvando. I don’t know if I can survive that long in this castle now that I know what kind of a man I have been betrothed to.

So, I will be writing everything that happens to me here so that the people who care about me can find out what kind of life I had here… or not.

I’m not sure if this diary will find its way back to Orsenia. But I hope that if something happens to me then my parents will at least be immediately informed about my death, if not the cause of my death.

I… have a strong feeling that my so-called husband will be the death of me.

I fear him.

Just a while ago, he came to my room and threatened me saying that he would snap me like a twig if he got hungry… that was the gist of it.

And he tried to chase me back to Orsenia. I would have gladly returned to my dear home if it wasn’t for myself.

.....

Yes, I am being a little selfish by being adamant about staying here. But at the same time, foolish. I don’t know if I am doing it right by deciding to stay here. The future will tell eventually.

Ah! I really hope I will be able to meet Tilla soon. We had been separated as soon as we arrived here. . . .

I just remembered what I witnessed after arriving here in this hellish castle.

My hands won’t stop trembling… No… I don’t think I am going to write the evil that I saw. I want to erase it from my head.

Sigh~

Anyway, I was told that I have to attend the ball tonight. I will. I have to, no matter how much I dislike it. I really hope nothing will go wrong.

3rd June

Ah! I had already forgotten about this diary! So silly of me. But… I had my reasons to forget. After all, it’s been a crazy time here. A lot of things happened to me. Bad things… And maybe something good? I don’t know…

Sorry for dropping a blob of ink on you, my dear diary. I got lost in my thoughts for a while. I was just confused about what to write and what not to write.

Okay. After thinking about it again, I thought that I would first mention why I didn’t write continuously.

Sigh! It was terrifying… Tilla endangered her own life to save mine. She pushed me aside and was ready to sacrifice herself at the hands of that vampire.

Yes!

A vampire.

I didn’t write it before thinking I wouldn’t need to. But turns out, this Kingdom is full of vampires.

And mother, you won’t believe it but, even my husband is one of them. That’s why I was terrified to my core.

Father, whatever happens to me, don’t try to seek revenge because… I hate to admit it but, you will be defeated. They are far too strong, beyond our comprehension level. And fast. Nothing can stop them.

Ah! I strayed away from what I was going to write.

Returning back to the main topic… I am fine. Tilla saved me, and… so did the King. I witnessed with my own eyes how he beat that attacker to a pulp. He was furious! And… I felt really safe in his arms.

I know I am contradicting myself. Even I am confused about what to believe and what to feel.

Feel…

I heard from Lord Zenon that he, the King… my husband looked after me the whole time I was unconscious.

Right! I was unconscious after that attack on me and Tilla. I was shocked. Oh, I heard Tilla is doing okay. The wounds on her neck were stitched up. Now, she needs to rest, they say. I hope she will recover soon.

I will go and meet her in a while. Um… he told me that he would take me there.

Oh dear heavens! I don’t know if I can face him. He…

He has suddenly started to treat me tenderly, lovingly if I dare say so. I don’t know what changed his mind about me. Could it have been that attack on me? Maybe he just pitied me seeing how weak I am as compared to him.

But… I can’t help but feel anxious… no… happy? No idea! I guess being treated kindly was a change of pace for me.

It was unexpected, but it wasn’t bad.

Yes. I hate to admit it but it wasn’t bad at all.

He… I don’t know if I should be mentioning it here but… I think I am going to. I don’t think anyone will be reading this diary anyway. So… here it goes.

He came to my chamber earlier to check on me. At first, he was reminding me of our bet. Oh, I haven’t mentioned it before, right? Yes, to avoid being sent back to Orsenia, I placed a bet with him. We have an agreement now.

If I can make him fall in love with me within one year then I will be spared. Else, at the end of one year, I will see my end at his hands.

It’s not a bad deal for me since… you know why.

My point is, at first, he reminded me that I wasn’t allowed to die before a year. He was threatening me that he would kill everyone in Orsenia if I die before that. But, surprisingly, his threat didn’t scare me. Well, not after everything that happened afterward...

I’m shy just thinking about it again.

He… made me feel things I had never felt before. He embraced me and did a lot more things. I feel flustered to even mention it here. My whole body was… excited. I could feel goosebumps running down my body as if they were fireworks lit in celebration.

Ah! I can still feel the tingling sensation all over my body just thinking about it again.

HE KISSED ME ON MY CHEEKS AND NECK.

He was even trying to kiss me on my lips!

How scandalous!

My heart was thumping so loud that I could hear my own heartbeats.

Oh, wait! But since I am his wife, I think he is allowed to do so. It wouldn’t be scandalous.

Still, he was brave to approach me like that after trying to force me back to my home.

Anyway, I have a feeling that I will easily win this bet with him. It seems like he wants to be loved badly. At least that’s how I felt after hearing him out. In that case, I will make him fall head over heels for me.

PS. A note to self, he likes it when I say his name. I am going to address him as ‘Caspian’ from today on. I hope I won’t stutter.