Chapter 210: I’ll Never Leave You!

“If that’s the case, then… you could’ve just told me.” He clenched his jaw, trying so hard to hold back the selfish part of him that wanted to beg her to stay. “If you really want to leave me, I … I won’t stop you.”

He took a deep breath. “I’ll find a safe place for you to hide. Somewhere no one can hurt you. I’ll give you enough money to live however you want—no, screw that, take all my money. You can take everything I have.”

Primrose was too stunned to speak.

If she really took everything Edmund had, she could probably build her own castle, hire people to become her personal soldiers and maids.

She would be so rich that she could eat, sleep, and play around every day without ever worrying about money or trying to impress anyone.

But the moment she heard Edmund’s inner thoughts, all those happy fantasies suddenly crumbled to pieces.

[I don’t want her to go.]

[I really, really don’t want her to go.]

[But if I try to keep her beside me … what if one day, she really does kill herself because of me?]

Forget about lazing around every day, she would just end up bored and lonely if she didn’t live with her husband!

“WHO SAID I WANT TO LEAVE YOU?!” Primrose suddenly screamed as loud as she could, as if she was terrified that he wouldn’t hear her if she spoke too softly. “I DON’T want to leave you, alright?!”

She cupped his face with both hands, forcing him to look into her eyes. “I will never leave you,” she said. “Even if you throw me out of this palace, I’ll come crawling back to you.”

Her hands were trembling, but her voice remained firm. “I’ll chain our hands together if I have to, so don’t you ever dare ask me to leave you again.”

Edmund’s eyes flickered at her words. After a long pause, he finally asked, “Then why … why did you jump into the lake?”

“Because you walked away from me!” Her voice cracked, pouring out all her panic and frustration. “And I couldn’t catch up to you!”

She gave his chest a light shove, then continued, “I panicked. I was terrified that if I let you walk away tonight … our marriage would end up in the garbage.”

Their marriage in the first timeline had fallen apart because of many terrible misunderstandings. That was why Primrose didn’t want to let even the smallest one grow between them now.

She knew if she ignored that small crack for a long time, it could grow wide enough to break everything.

“It won’t!” Edmund caught her hands, stopping her from hitting her chest. “Our marriage won’t end up in the garbage!”

“Then why did you run so far away from me?!” Primrose snapped, tears burning in her eyes. “You said you saw me jump into the lake, but why … why didn’t you come sooner?!”

“Because I thought the soldiers would save you!” Edmund shouted back, voice full of guilt. “But they just stood there, frozen like a bunch of stupid dogs!”

“Then why didn’t you jump in yourself right away?!” she cried. “Was it because … you don’t love me anymore?!”

“I LOVE YOU!” Edmund’s thunderous voice echoed through the night, making Primrose flinch in surprise.

He took a deep breath, then continued in a softer tone, “I love you … I truly do. But I was scared that seeing my face would only make you want to die even more.”

Primrose’s eyes widened. “No,” she whispered. He tried to look away, but she gently turned his head back toward her.

“Oh, Edmund …” her voice trembled. “If anything, seeing your face makes me want to live even more.”

Both of them took a long, deep breath and finally stopped yelling at each other.

Primrose’s fingers traced the outline of his cheek, which was still cold from the lake. “I love you,” she said softly. “Just as deeply as you love me.”

“Then why?” he asked. “Why did you jump into the lake?”

Primrose looked away, biting her lower lip. “Didn’t I already tell you?” she murmured. “You wouldn’t stop. I kept calling out to you, but you kept walking away. So …”

She hesitated, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment and regret. “… I jumped to get your attention.”

Edmund stared at her in confusion. “You … you jumped into a lake,” he said slowly, as if saying it again would somehow make it make more sense. “You nearly drowned. Just to get my attention?”

Primrose winced. “I know! I know it was stupid!”

“Stupid?” he echoed, his voice rising. “Primrose, you could’ve died!”

“I know!” she snapped, her voice cracking. “But what else was I supposed to do? I didn’t want our marriage to fall apart just because of one misunderstanding!”

Edmund’s expression darkened. “What misunderstanding? Isn’t it obvious I’m too cruel for you?” He looked away. “You even showed it … in your expression.”

“What? No!” Primrose creased her forehead. “Oh, damn it, it’s not like that!”

She climbed onto his lap, then brought his face closer to hers. “Look at me. Look at me, Edmund! I acted like that because I was surprised, not because I think you’re a monster!”

Her voice softened as she gently caressed his cheek. “Do you know the first thing I thought when I found out you killed someone when you were only four years old?”

Edmund tensed, his lips pressing into a thin line, as if he were bracing for judgment.

“I thought …” She gave him a tender smile filled with sorrow. “If only I had met you back then.”

He blinked, confused. “What?”

“If only I had met you at that time,” she repeated, her voice gentle like a lullaby, “I would’ve invited you over to my house. I would’ve shared my favorite dolls with you. I would’ve asked you to play pretend in my little wooden dollhouse.”

“I would’ve taught you how to braid hair and name our toy children. Maybe we’d laugh together. Maybe … you wouldn’t have felt so alone.”

Edmund slowly shook his head. His eyelids lowered, revealing a kind of sadness he had never shown so openly before. “Do you even know who I killed back then?” he asked quietly.

Primrose replied softly, “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does,” he said softly. “It matters because … I didn’t just kill anyone.”

He paused, then looked her in the eye with unbearable pain. “I killed my parents.”

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