The Emperor's Obsession

Chapter Twenty-One || Tell Me Pretty Lies

The Great Palace, Xiang Empire, 1479
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Good God.
She was addicting.
So god damn addicting.
And he wanted more. No, he needed more. He couldn't get enough of her. He was starting to feel things he'd never felt before. The warmth spreading throughout his body, the fuzzy feeling in his stomach, his heart beating so fast he was almost sure she could hear it. Even when she tried to push him away multiple times, her yells and protests muffled by his lips, it didn't work. It was all useless. It was as though the rest of the world fell away, and at that moment, he could care less about everything else. He couldn't stop.
Even when she started cursing him to hell and back, he couldn't stop.
Even when she started crying, he couldn't stop.
Instead, he pushed her against the cold wall and tilted his head, deepening the kiss. To say he was enjoying this would be an understatement. He was so glad he wasn't drunk right now. Because if he was, he wouldn't be able to remember all of this in the morning. And he wanted to remember it. Every single second of it. Emperor Hyeon pulled away, leaving them both panting.
She gritted her teeth.
Then slapped him across the face.
It caught him off guard.
"Get out." She snarled, tears continuously rolling down her cheeks. "Get out, you lying bastard. Get out and never come here again!" She cried, pained sobs starting to for, in her throat. "Leave you monster! That's what you are. That's what you will ever be. A monster. A cruel, heartless monster that doesn't deserve to be loved!!" She screamed at him, placing her hands on his chest and shoving him away. She was so furious that she didn't think before speaking. Words just kept coming, and she couldn't stop them. Or rather, just didn't care enough to stop them.
She wanted to hurt him.
She wanted to hurt him like he'd hurt her.
The emperor slowly turned his face to meet her gaze. His dark eyes were wide, thousands of different emotions swimming in them. His lips were parted slightly.
The look on his face broke her heart.
"You don't deserve to be loved.."
Hurt.
"You don't deserve to be loved.."
Broken.
"Cruel.. heartless.. monster.."
Damaged.
A huge wave of regret washed over Lihua. At that moment, she felt guilty. So guilty. Her heart ached. A tiny voice screamed at her to go and hug him. To apologize for the horrible things she'd said. But she couldn't move. She opened her mouth slightly to say something, but no words came out. I hurt him.. just the way I wanted to.. but why do I feel so terrible?
The silence was killing her, so she spoke, "I.. I'll go call someone to escort you back to your ch-chamber.." She started to walk away.

He suddenly grabbed her wrists and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms so tightly around her she couldn't breathe. "Don't leave. Don't leave me behind.." He said, his voice breaking. She stayed quiet, unable to say anything. "Don't leave me like everyone else.. don't push me away.."
She felt something wet land on her head.
Was he.. crying?
"Your Majesty.. let go.." She mumbled hesitantly, trying to move away.
"Lie to me," he whispered, "tell me that you love me." He pulled away slightly, still holding her. "I don't care if it's fake. Say that you love me. Say it a thousand times."
Lihua only stared at him, her eyes wide in shock.  "W-What..?"
The emperor leaned in, wanting to kiss her. She moved her face away, "no! Stop!" She placed her hands on his chest, shoving him away.
Hyeon took a few steps backwards and stumbled a little, almost falling to the marble floor.
He was trembling.
"Y-Your.. Majesty.." Lihua said weakly.
He didn't answer.
"Your Majesty, I—"
The emperor slowly turned away from her, and walked out of the chamber without a word.
She could've sworn she saw a tear escape his right eye.
But then again, it could've been her imagination.
A few moments after he left, Eun Soo rushed inside and closed the door behind her so no one would spy on them. She found Lihua on the floor, hugging her knees close to her chin and crying her heart out. "My lady?" She said softly, "what's wrong? The maids woke me up and said they heard screaming and yelling. So I came to check on you. What's the matter? What did the emperor do?"
"E-Eun S-Soo.." She stuttered, sobbing. She wrapped her arms around the older woman's neck, hugging her as she wept. "I'm a horrible, horrible person.. I deserve to suffer.."
"What are you talking about, my lady? You're a nice girl. Why are you saying that?" The court lady said, hesitantly hugging her back.
"No, y-you don't understand.. I've done something I regret.. I-I didn't mean to.. I was just so angry and.." The guilt she felt was already eating her up. Consuming her completely. Her heart ached so much with sadness.
"Shh, it's alright, my lady.." Eun Soo whispered soothingly, rubbing her back. "Whatever you did, we can talk about it in the morning. But for now, wash your face and get some sleep, okay?"
The court lady looked at Lihua and found that she'd already fallen asleep. She sighed and called a maid, telling her to bring some water and a clean cloth. After the things were brought, Eun Soo dipped the cloth in the cold water and gently wiped Lihua's face, which had gotten sticky because of the drying tears.
After cleaning her face, the older woman, with the help of maids, placed Lihua on the soft bed and pulled the satin blanket over the sleeping girl.
What on earth happened between her and the emperor?
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