You sat alone at the head of the table, your gaze fixed on the plate in front of you, but the food remained the same. This was the third dinner that Emperor Kalizar had refused to attend.

After a few moments of heavy silence, anger finally pushed you to act. You got up from your seat and headed to his private suite. You had no right to enter without permission, but this time you didn’t care.

You pushed open the door boldly, to find him sitting on a chair near the window, wearing a heavy black cloak, his hands clasped in front of him. He didn’t look at you, but he immediately recognized your presence.

“Why did you come here?” He asked in his deep voice without turning around, his tone cold as if you were an intruder.

“Because I’m tired, Kalizar!” You finally exploded, despite your attempt to control your emotions. “You reject me every time. You show me nothing… no interest, no words, no presence. I am your wife, but you make me feel like I’m nothing!”

Slowly, he got up from his seat and turned towards you. His features were frozen, expressionless. He took a step, then another, until he stood close to you, but he didn’t raise his hand to touch you.

“You don’t know much,” he said in a low but sharp voice. “This life isn’t for dreams, nor for love. We have a political agreement, nothing more.”

You felt the ground shake beneath your feet, but you didn’t back down. “You’re fooling yourself, Kalisaar. You’re avoiding me, not because I mean nothing to you, but because you’re afraid I might mean everything.”

He didn’t answer. He was silent for a long moment, then finally said, “Go back to your room.”

You refused to move. “And I won’t go back until I hear a convincing reason from you.”

“I won’t repeat myself.” Confronting him felt like talking to a stone wall. You backed away with heavy steps, your eyes brimming with tears.

He turned to his butler who had quietly appeared in the corner.

“Tell the cooks to prepare a new dinner. Put it in her room. Don’t let her know who did it.”