All Chapters of Royal Rivalry : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Rowan’s POVSlowly, I was losing my mind.At first, I thought isolation would feel peaceful. I thought it would save me from the queen's wrath and Henry's judging eyes. But after days of being trapped inside my room, the silence became unbearable.Too much silence gives room for thinking and thinking was dangerous for me because every thought somehow led back to Theo.I tried to replace our bad memories with the good ones but it didn't make it any better. My thoughts circling around him was unhealthy for my mental health. But what else could I do? Who else should I think about?I shut my eyes and groaned softly, dragging a hand through my hair as I paced around my room for what felt like the hundredth time that day.The palace was massive, yet somehow it felt smaller as each day passed. I had tried everything to distract myself. I read. I slept. I played games. I watched random shows, even the boring ones. I practice piano until my fingers hurt. But nothing worked.Everything eventu

Rowan’s POVI barely slept.And when I did, it turned into something ugly.I had a nightmare and it had been a while since I had one. In the dream, Theo was standing in complete darkness.This wasn't the kind of darkness that came at night. This one felt alive, like it was breathing heavily. It swallowed everything around him until only his outline remained visible.“Theo,” I called.He didn’t answer, he just stared at me with an expressionless face. “Theo,” I tried again. This time, without a word, he reached for my hand. I grabbed it immediately because I thought he wanted help. But the moment our hands touched, he pulled me hard. The darkness behind him spread like liquid shadows, climbing around his legs while dragging him backward.“Theo!” I shouted as he pulled me. I tried pulling him toward me. I even struggled with both hands but the harder I pulled, the deeper he sank.And suddenly he smiled cruelly, like he knew something I didn’t.“Let go,” he whispered.“No!” I cried a

Rowan's POV The palace library wasn't exactly my favourite place to be in. But with everything going on in my life, the silence and peace was something I needed. Everywhere else in the palace felt unbearable for me. The dining hall was crowded even when it wasn't meal time. The corridors felt monitored by guards and invisible eyes Henry installed on me. Even my own room no longer felt safe with the constant thoughts crawling through my head.The fact that Theo was here was unsettling. And no matter how many times Henry dismissed me, that fact remained unchanged.Theo Bellemare was inside this palace pretending to be someone else. And somehow I was the only person seeing the danger in that.I pushed open the doors of the library and stepped inside. Immediately, the familiar scent of old paper and polished wood surrounded me. It reminded me of my time with Theo in the school library. It reminded me of the ridiculous punishment principal Whitcombe gave Theo and I when we broke the sc

Rowan's POV The moment the butler informed me that Henry wanted to see me, hope filled my heart. For the first time in days, I thought someone had finally believed me. That Theo had slipped and Henry had noticed the resemblance. That he had caught the fake accent or the way Theo avoided eye contact whenever someone mentioned his origin. That he had finally seen what had been obvious to me from the beginning.Billy was Theo. Theo was Billy. And Valecourt had planted him here.I walked toward Henry’s office faster than usual, my heart beating hard against my ribs. I reached the office doors and pushed them open without knocking.Henry looked up from behind his desk and his expression changed the second he saw me.“There you are,” he said flatly.The excitement inside me faltered slightly, but I still held onto it. “You spoke to him?” I asked immediately.Henry leaned back slowly in his chair.“To Billy?”“It’s Theo,” I corrected quickly. “You know that now, right?”Henry stared at me

Theo's POV Night inside the servant quarters felt different from the palace. It was colder, smaller and lonelier. The walls were plain and the silence carried exhaustion and loneliness. Somehow, I preferred it. At least here, nobody expected perfection from me. I could be free to some extent. Or least, I go pretend to be free. But how could I do that when Rowan’s face would not leave my mind? How could I pretend to be free when Rowan kept coming back to make things difficult for me. With the way he looked at me in the stable, I could tell he was still desperately trying to save me. He thought saving me now was as easy as back then. Only if he knew I was in deeper trouble and now, his persistent presence was about to jeopardize my own life. I squeezed my eyes shut briefly before dialing Mr Livingston's number. The line rang only once before the call connected.“Theo Bellemere.”His voice was calm as always, like nothing in the world could ever unsettle him.“My cover almost sli