,INNOCENT LOVE

"Tell me everything!" Arthur's voice booms, unrelenting and charged with fury. "And don't even think about lying or skirting the truth! If you do, I'll make you regret every breath you take. You'll suffer, day by day, feeling the agony you've caused, and when you can no longer bear it, I'll ensure there's no escape! Speak!"

Catherina trembles violently, her knees threatening to give way under the force of his wrath.

Her throat feels constricted, and her mind races, but no words come. She knows there's nothing she can say to absolve herself in the eyes of everyone present.

"Are you waiting for someone to give you permission?!" Arthur's voice slices through the heavy silence.

"I… I didn't ki—" Catherina begins, but Arthur cuts her off with a sharp, menacing glare.

"Is that where the story starts? Jona, does it begin there?" Arthur's tone is dangerously calm, an ominous contrast to his earlier shouting.

Jona, pale and shaking, whispers, "No." He looks down, guilt weighing on him like a leaden shroud. His voice falters as he speaks again. "It doesn't start there."

"Then speak up, woman!" the former queen demands, her voice trembling with a mix of grief and impatience.

Catherina stammers, her voice barely audible. "Prince Jona… he wanted to be king… so he… he made me… made me make a deal with him… to help him claim the throne. That's all."

"That is all?! What do you mean that is all? What do you mean I forced you?! Oh heavens , how can a person be this evil?! Even now you are trying to put everything on me! Incase you are forgetting, no one, absolutely no one trusts you in this palace!" Jona yells trying to get to Catherina because he feels like just tearing her apart.

"That is the point! You know that no one trust me, that's why you are taking that as an advan..." Catherina says buy Jona yells at her cutting her.

"Enough!" Jona shouts, cutting her off. His voice quivers, the weight of grief and anger making his words uneven. "I was in my room that night, furious—furious because Father had said things that made me feel small, unworthy.

She came to me, claiming she wanted to help me make Father see me as more than just Arthur's shadow. I won't lie—I've always wanted to be king. And when Arthur started to falter, I thought maybe… maybe there was a chance for me. But I never wanted to force him out of the position!"

He pauses, his breathing ragged, his words choked by emotion. "She made me believe there was no other way. She said she'd been secretly looking for Madin—she wanted to… to kill him for good because she thought if Madin were gone, Arthur would crumble. She said Arthur wouldn't be able to rule effectively without him, and that would leave the throne open for me."

Jona's voice cracks as he looks toward Arthur, his guilt spilling out. "Last night, I told her it wouldn't matter, even if Madin were gone. Father would still stand by you, Arthur. I told her Father would never trust me enough to take your place. And she… she said not to worry about Father. She told me she would 'deal with him.' I didn't think she meant… this. I didn't know she would kill father."

Jona drops to his knees, his hands trembling. "I'm so sorry. Arthur, I failed you. Mother, I failed all of you. And Father… I…" His voice trails off as he breaks down completely, his sobs echoing in the suffocating silence of the room.

Arthur's control snaps. His breathing becomes ragged, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turn white. He doesn't look up as he gives the order.

"Take her to the dungeons," he says, his voice cold and deadly. "Get her out of my sight. You've crossed the line, Catherina. You dared to harm the king—my father! The man who ruled this kingdom with wisdom and kindness!" Arthur's voice rises into a roar as the guards drag Catherina away.

Arthur punches the wall, his fury finding no outlet. He groans, his shoulders shaking with suppressed rage.

"You were never worthy of this family," he spits, his voice shaking with bitterness. "I regret ever trusting you. My children deserve better than someone like you—a person devoid of integrity and compassion! You didn't care for them; you didn't even bother to learn their names. You spent all your time plotting, scheming, trying to kill the two men who matter most to me!"

He pauses, his voice breaking with pain. "You will live to regret every single one of your actions. I'll make sure of it. You will die day by day, until you wish to kill yourself, but I will not let you. I want life to cease out of you by itself!"

The room falls silent, the weight of grief and loss suffocating everyone. Arthur sinks to the floor, his head in his hands. Tears spill freely as the reality of his father's death crashes over him.

"Arthur…" Jona whispers, his voice barely audible. He struggles to form words, guilt and sorrow evident in his trembling frame. "I… I never wanted this to happen. I never meant for it to go this far. I'm so sorry…"

Arthur doesn't respond. His shoulders shake as silent sobs overtake him, the pain too raw to speak. Around him, his family weeps as the enormity of their loss sets in.