All Chapters of Royal Rivalry : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Rowan’s povThe first thing I felt when I woke up was pain. My ribs were aching, my head was pounding, my knuckles were throbbing like they had their own heartbeat. For a few seconds, I didn’t even open my eyes. I just lay there, breathing, trying to understand if this was real or just another controlled environment of valecourt. Slowly, I opened my eyes and the smell of antiseptic hit me. It was as if opening my eyes also opened my other senses. I blinked as my vision adjusted. Then I turned my head to confirm if I was really in a hospital room.The realization didn’t hit me all at once. It came in piece by piece. First, the white wall. Then, the clinical smell, the beeping sounds of machines, the hospital robe on my body and the narrow bed I was lying on. And the best of them all was the fact that I could lift my hands and legs. I wasn't tied to anything. And for the first time, I was relieved about it. It felt like freedom and not permission. I sat up without thinking and th

Theo’s POV After a successful escape, I was supposed to feel relieved, right? But when I woke up, the first thing I felt wasn’t relief, it was confusion.The kind of confusion that would settle heavily in the chest before the mind could even catch up with it. The ceiling above me was unfamiliar and for a moment, I just stared at it, trying to piece together where I was, how I got here, and why my body felt like it had been dragged through hell.Slowly, everything came back to me and I inhaled slowly when it dawned on me that I was in the hospital room alone. Where was Rowan?I sat up too fast and I regretted it immediately.Pain exploded through my body, even my head throbbed more, but I ignored the pain. I forced myself to sit upright. “Rowan?” I called out, my voice hoarse. I swung my legs off the bed, nearly collapsing as dizziness hit me.“Why did they separate us again?” I mumbled as I pushed myself towards the door. My body protested as the pain became worse but I ignored

Rowan’s povI refused to eat.At first, it was a deliberate act of defiance. It was my only way of holding on to control when everything else had slipped away from me. But after a while, it stopped being intentional. Hunger came and went like a distant thought I could not quite grasp. My body should have been screaming for food, for strength, for recovery. Instead, there was nothing. I just felt hollow. They brought trays with varieties of food. Each one placed artfully on the table beside my bed, as if the presentation could persuade me. But I didn't touch them. “Your Highness… Please, you must eat something…”Even a little…” the butler pleaded, but I didn’t respond.I just lay there, staring at the ceiling of my room. My room? The irony almost made me laugh.The comfort was everything I thought I had missed. I couldn't believe I had imagined coming back here so many times when Hillsborough felt like a prison. I couldn't believe I had thought this place would feel like freedom.

Rowan’s POV I had stopped expecting anything to change because the change had already happened, and it was clearly against me. After Henry left, I forced the food down my throat. What was supposed to be delicious tasted like regret and bitterness. And those were the things on my mind until the phone rang.The sound startled me because it wasn’t supposed to ring. I wasn't expecting anyone to call me, not even through the telephone. Telephone? It was probably someone in this house. Maybe the butler or the queen’s office or Henry. He might want to add something he forgot to say to me. So instead of answering, I stared at it until it stopped. When I thought I had escaped, it rang again.I crossed the room, picking it up before I could think otherwise. “Hello?” My voice came out rough. There was a pause at the other end. “Rowan.”Everything inside me froze the moment I heard his voice. It was Theo.I couldn't speak because I was too shocked, and at the same time, relieved and sca

Rowan’s POV I didn’t know why I took the glass. Maybe it was the way he said "trust me." Maybe it was the way he looked at me, like he had already decided how the night would go. Or maybe I was just tired of trying to convince him… Tired of fighting… Tired of thinking… Tired of being the only one holding on to something that felt like it was already slipping away.So I drank.The liquid burned slightly as it went down. I wasn’t used to alcohol yet, and my body reacted immediately, spreading heat through my chest.Theo watched me like he was trying to measure something… something I didn't know. “Good,” he said softly.I lowered the glass, my fingers tightening slightly around it.“That’s enough.”“No,” he said immediately. “It’s not.”“You know I don’t drink like that,” I said with a frown. “Tonight is an exception,” he said casually. “Exception from what exactly?” I spat quietly. Theo didn’t answer immediately. He just… stepped closer.“Rowan,” he said, his voice quieter now, a