(Eva's POV)
"Eyan…" my voice trembled, the words barely escaping my lips. "Are you… Kyel?"
He smiled faintly, the warmth I once knew gone from his eyes. "Looks like you found out," he said, his tone light, almost mocking. "Finally. Now I don't have to play this tedious game anymore."
My heart thudded painfully. "What are you saying?"
He stepped closer, his shadow falling over me. "That's right," he whispered, his voice low and sharp. "I am Kyel… Princess."
The word cut through me like a blade. My breath hitched. "No… no, you're lying. You're not my Kyel."
He leaned closer, his eyes cruel. "Then how do I know about the mole just below your right shoulder blade? The one only your husband would ever see?"
I froze. He was telling the truth.
My lips trembled. "Why… why did you lie to me, Eyan?"
"Your Majesty," he snapped suddenly.
I blinked. "W-what?"
"You are not allowed to call me by name," he said coldly. "Call me what I am. Your Majesty."
Tears burned my eyes. "Kyel… please, tell me why. If there's a reason—"
"No," he interrupted. "There was no reason."
My heart twisted painfully. "What?"
"I lied because I wanted to," he said flatly. "I had no reason. And I owe you no explanation."
I stared at him in disbelief. "But I'm your wife—"
He laughed bitterly. "No. You're not my wife. You're just a woman I shared my bed with."
My tears finally fell. "You said you loved me…"
His voice turned to ice. "It was all a lie. I—Eyan Lucien Therald—never loved you. Not once."
The world spun around me.
He turned away, pulled open a drawer, and thrust a parchment toward me. "Sign this."
My fingers shook as I took it. "What… is this?"
"Divorce papers," he said coldly. "I've already signed. All that's left is your signature."
"Divorce…" I whispered, my voice breaking.
"Once you sign, we're done," he said. "You'll leave Velmoria and never return."
Tears blurred my vision. "What about… our child?"
I stepped closer, my voice shaking. "Don't tell me you don't care about our child, too."
He turned. "No. I don't."
My heart stopped. "You… don't care?"
"You were the one who wanted a child. I never did. But I gave you one. Isn't that enough?"
I shook my head, sobbing. "Please, stop… please."
"Now sign the papers," he said coldly. "Take the child with you and get out of Velmoria. Never show me that face again."
"No. I won't."
His voice thundered through the room. "Guards!"
The door burst open.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Take her out of this room," he ordered without looking at me. "Throw her out of the palace—and make sure she never steps foot inside again."
I screamed, struggling against the guards' grip. "Eyan! Please—listen to me! Don't do this!"
But he didn't turn around. Not once.
As the doors slammed shut behind me, I looked at him one last time—
and the love I always saw in his eyes… was no longer there.
----