Chapter 803: Seeing Through Her Lies
Raphael looked at Rowena firmly. He refused to budge even though she clearly said she didn"t want to be with him with his current appearance.
"You are only saying that to push me away, Rowena," Raphael said stubbornly. "I know how you think, wifey. You"re not the type to judge a person by their appearance. You can"t fool me."
"Ha!" Rowena laughed as her eyes stung but she blinked back her tears.
Why couldn"t Raphael just leave her so he didn"t have to suffer? Why must he act so stubborn?
Rowena still tried to argue. "Have you seen yourself in the mirror, Raphael? Have you taken a good look at yourself? How dare you asking me to accept you with the way you look now! I would rather die than—" 1
"Rowena, stop lying!" Raphael"s voice was gentle but his words were uttered in a domineering way.
Rowena recognized that this was the tone he used when he didn"t want an argument. He didn"t take her bulls.h.i.+t. The man added, "I know what you"re trying to do. I am telling you, I"m not going anywhere."
She pursed her lips and looked away. "I am not lying."
"Really?" Raphael raised a brow. "Try look at me in the eye and repeat what you said just now."
She bit her lip. She couldn"t do it.
He knew her so well now that he could easily see through her lies.
"I..." Rowena was at a loss for words.
"Rowena, this is a good opportunity for us to be together. If you can accept me, I don"t mind being like this at all." Raphael touched her arm. "I don"t care how other people see me as long as you can still love me."
He added dotingly, "Your opinion is the only thing that matters. So, please don"t feel bad about how this would affect my life with other people. I couldn"t care less about whether or not they will like how I look. I only need you to accept me."
Rowena choked back the nasty words down her throat. She knew how to be vicious and ruthless but when it came to Raphael"s steadfast words and how he refused to budge, she couldn"t say them at all.
"I… ugh... You"re being very stupid." Rowena softly spoke and looked away. "Why won"t you want to be back to your normal self? You don"t have to go through this for my sake…"
"I don"t mind it at all, because I love you and if it means that you can be free, then this form doesn"t bother me at all."
Rowena bit down on her lip until she tasted blood.
"Rowena, please be more careful with yourself." Raphael slowly and cautiously approached his wife. He healed her with a wave of his hands.
It was at that moment that the tears that Rowena was holding back, started to stream down her cheeks.
How could there be such a good man like Raphael? He was so sincere and cared about her despite her pus.h.i.+ng him away.
"You…" Rowena looked at her husband tearfully. In her vision, she still saw him as nothing more but a hideous monster, but his heart still remained like gold. Finally, she fell to her knees and broke down into tears.
"Foolish man. Why can"t you be selfish for once?" she muttered helplessly.
"I am being selfish." Raphael bent down and held out his hand. "I know that I am hideous and atrocious in your eyes but I"m still asking you to be with me, Rowena. Will you please remain as my wife despite being married to a monster?"
"Of course!" Rowena wept as she clutched his hand. "I love you. I"m so sorry for saying those awful words about you. They"re not true at all." 1
Raphael pulled her into a hug.
***
Raphael took his wife back to his home and quickly ordered their servants to prepare them a feast. Despite Rowena seeing him as a hideous and scary monster, she held on to his hand all this time and it made him incredibly happy.
"Ah, we"re back here at last…" Rowena whispered. "I didn"t think I"d be able to return here after I was thrown in that prison."
"I never had any doubt whatsoever that you would be able to return home, wifey," Raphael said solemnly. "I am sure that you must be famished or want to rest in the chambers."
"Well, I am hungry but I think you"re right, being chained up and tied didn"t really even let me lie down on a bed." Rowena"s expression became a bit more somber.
"I still can"t accept that they treated you like some animal." Raphael clenched his fists when he remembered how Rowena was treated in prison earlier that day.
Rowena was familiar with Raphael"s scary nature at times. He was normally kind and gentle, but she knew that if anyone laid a finger on her, they needed to be scared for their lives. Immortal or not, as the Seventh Prince, he would make their lives a living h.e.l.l.
"Raphael, those people were only doing their jobs as guards," Rowena said. "I don"t have any hard feelings."
When he raised an eyebrow at her statement, Rowena quickly added, "Well, I did, but only because I was still locked up. Now that I am free, I don"t want to keep remembering the incident. It will only leave a sour taste in my mouth. I am fine now."
"They could have still treated you better," Raphael muttered darkly. "You are not just anyone. You are my wife."
"It can"t be helped that I did steal the magic dust and immortality potion underneath their noses." Rowena made a bad decision by looking up at his face and she froze uncertainly.
At first, it had been the demonic horns, then the change of his beautiful eyes into another shade, and then his appearance twisted more and more and Rowena"s heart pounded involuntarily.
A sickening fear made its way to her gut and she didn"t dare look at their hands clasped together. When she did though, all she could see was an inhuman hand joined with hers and Rowena immediately closed her eyes.
Why was he starting to look more frightening? It pained her to look at him this way.