The Cursed Prince

Mars held the piece of paper with a bleeding heart. He really really missed Emmelyn. The pain that he was experiencing now was so much worse than the first time and he didn't know how he could continue living without her in his life.

Nobody else in this world mattered to him after his mother and Emmelyn passed away. He would probably only live for Harlow, their daughter. But, with this much pain in his heart, would he even be able to be a good parent for Harlow?

??

Wouldn't he ruin his daughter's life if he ended up just being a failure of a father? He failed as a husband, what would make him qualify as a good father to Harlow?

Maybe it would be better if Harlow lived with the Greenans. She would be raised in a good family. Harlow would experience how it was like to have a mother figure and a loving father in Lily and Athos.

Mars had been locking himself up in his chamber. If Lily didn't take Harlow to be with her family, maybe by now Harlow would already be neglected by her own father. The thought made Mars feel ashamed of himself.

He was grateful that Lily and Athos were in the capital and could take over some stuff from his hands while he was grieving. However, he actually slowly started thinking about letting go of Harlow to live with them.

Athos could become the king regent until Harlow became an adult and rule the kingdom. Perhaps, she might even marry one of the Greenan boys to secure the throne and the Greenan's loyalty. Mars trusted Athos and Lily to love and raise Harlow like their own child.

Gewen and Edgar would be around her too. Harlow still had so much in store for her, as long as she was surrounded by good people who would love and care for her.

As for Mars... his heart died the moment Emmelyn died. He was eaten by guilt and sadness. He didn't see a purpose to stay living.

What for?

Harlow was actually better off without him.

Mars closed his eyes and wiped the tears that had been dripping profusely with his sleeve. His right hand was still holding the paper or letter while he wiped his wet eyes. He furrowed his brows when he caught a very faint smell of lemon from the paper.

The king opened his eyes and looked at the paper with piqued curiosity. Other people might not see or feel anything special with the paper, but Mars had very strong senses.

He could see in the dark and his sense of smell was much better than regular people. That's why his nose could smell the lemon from the paper even though it was barely there.

How could this paper have a lemon scent on it? Did someone accidentally spill lemon juice? But if the paper was spoiled, it would have been tossed away. However, not only was this paper not tossed away but it also was kept between the pages of a book.

It was as if someone took great care to make sure the paper was stored nicely inside the book. Was this true? Or was this just a coincidence?

Ahh.. Mars thought he might be overthinking. He took the paper closer to his nose and smelled it again. The lemon scent became more obvious.

As he had the paper in front of his face, his eyes caught sight of the two words again. DEAR HUSBAND.

Was this Emmelyn's doing?

His heart skipped a beat.

Did Emmelyn leave him a secret letter? This made sense. She was locked up in Grey Tower without her freedom and she was always observed by the guards. If she did write a letter for Mars, they might have confiscated it from her.

It was possible that she had to hide her letter so other people wouldn't find it and destroy it. Emmelyn was really smart. She might actually know how to make a secret letter.

Mars looked at the paper with a pounding heart. He didn't want to give himself hope. If he was wrong and the paper turned out to be just a regular paper, he would feel more disappointed.

He looked at the small fireplace in the center of the chamber. It was not turned on because the temperature was quite high in summer. But seeing the fireplace, Mars's mind wandered. He was thinking of a special technic to write a secret letter using lemon juice.

Did Emmelyn know this too? Did she really write that letter?

Mars quickly decided that he had got nothing to lose. He took the letter and looked for a candle in the cabinet. When he got one, Mars lighted up the candle and he held the blank paper on top of it, to warm it up.

He waited anxiously.

Would there be a secret letter on this paper?

Slowly, word by word came out as the paper was warmed over the candle. Mars held his breath when he realized his assumption was correct.

This was really a letter!

Oh... his wife was such an amazing woman that she even knew how to leave behind a secret letter like this. His tears dripped down harder, that he had to quickly wipe them so they wouldn't fell on the paper and ruin the letter.

"Gosh, Emmelyn..." he muttered to himself. His once gloomy face started beaming with happiness.

He meticulously covered every inch of that paper to make sure he didn't miss any single word and at the same time didn't burn the paper.

Once the paper was ready, he went to sit on the sofa and started reading carefully.

.

>>>>>>>>

ANNOUNCEMENT ON PAPERBACK COPIES:

Dear readers, I just found out that Web allows us, authors to print paperback copies of our books - in small quantity, to be used as giveaways.

As long as we don't sell the books and we don't put advanced chapters, it's okay to have the paperback. So, I am thinking of doing it for "The Cursed Prince".

I checked the list of fans of "The Cursed Prince" and found that so many of you have spent more than 10k coins since the book was first published in October 2020 (screenshot attached).

I am humbled and grateful to receive so much support and encouragement from you. It truly makes me happy to keep writing and share my stories.

I found out that the two top fans have actually spent over 15k coins to date. That's a big amount of money...

To: dear Lovvelay, who, as of today, Aug 6, has spent 17,555 coins, and the lovely Maria Gonzalez who has spent 15,412 coins... Thank you for liking this book so much to spend that kind of money on Mars and Emmelyn.

You kept purchasing the highest tier privilege and showering this book with gifts so many times that I feel shy to keep liking the gifts or saying thank you because I would just keep repeating myself, but please know that I am always feeling thankful.

I will give you both the paperback copy as soon as they are ready in October 2021.

Not just Lovvelay and Maria, but 48 other readers will get the paperback too!

I plan to print 50 copies. Each copy will consist of two books with around 550 pages each and it covers chapter-1 until chapter-203 (where Mars and Emmelyn got married).

Initially, I wanted to give the paperback by holding a giveaway, but I am too busy to do it so I will just give it to the top supporters who have spent 15k coins and above. I think it's fair since you have spent so much money on this book.

Most of you now are at 13k coins and I believe by next month, with another round of privilege, you will be spending over 15k coins or around $300.

That's a crazy amount of money for a book (even though it's a long book) and I want to show my gratitude by giving you at least the paperback version that you can see and touch.

So, I will print 50 copies and they will be available to the top supporters who have been supporting this book.

Shipping is not included though.. I am not rich that I can send 100 books to 50 people. So, if you want the books, you will have to pay for the shipping from Bali.

As soon as you reach 15k coins and you want the paperback, feel free to send an email to my personal email: [email protected] to enter the list. Just give me your Web username and your address so we can arrange the shipping.

The books will be ready on The Cursed Prince's anniversary, October 12, 2021. Editing the book in a paperback format will take some time, and I don't want to do a less than perfect job on it since the books will be printed.

I can always edit chapters in Web, but once they are printed on paper it will be embarrassing to see the mistakes. So, I will be more careful with it. The book is already edited once by an editor, but I have yet to implement her edits because I have been uber busy.

Okay, now that I already announce the paperback, I will also throw polling here for the book cover.

Do you want the paperback in hardcover or softcover?

I don't mind paying slightly more to print hardcover books for you, but please know that hardcover will mean the book will become heavier and thus more expensive to ship. Let me know what you prefer.

Comment here if you want it in hardcover

Comment here if you want it in softcover