Chapter 387
The Queen stared at Pamela, her face etched with shock, as if she couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
‘Wasn’t this woman always so docile and easy to manipulate? How could she have changed into someone completely different?’ she thought.
‘How dare she defy me and boldly declare she won’t share her husband with other women. How could she be so bold?’ she wondered.
“How dare you?” In a fit of rage, the Queen swept the cup off the table, sending it flying toward Pamela, who stood just two meters away.
The flung cup struck Pamela directly, and scalding coffee splashed all over her head and face.
The burning coffee drenched her, but she clenched her teeth and endured the pain in complete silence. Yet, her skin flushed visibly red almost instantly.
“It seems you’ve grown tired of being Mrs. Miller,” the Queen sneered. “If you don’t want the position, there are countless others who would kill for the privilege.”
The coldness in her eyes could freeze a person solid. She was warning Pamela to know her place and not overstep her bounds.
But Pamela seemed to have made up her mind. Slowly shaking her head, she said firmly to the Queen, “I’ve been strong-willed since childhood. If Your Majesty insists on taking concubines for Fermin, then just have me divorced.”
The Queen gasped, utterly at a loss for how to handle Pamela.
‘If I could have simply divorced her, would I have waited until now?’ she thought bitterly. ‘Setting aside Pamela’s influential family, the mere fact that she saved Fermin’s life means I can’t touch her.’
‘But if Fermin doesn’t take a concubine, there’ll be no heir. No heir–how could he ever contend for the Crown Prince’s position?’ the Queen wondered.
The Queen was aghast and furious, wishing she could kill Pamela on the spot. She simply couldn’t fathom why this woman was so damn pig-headed.
‘Everyone expects me to yield,’ Pamela thought bitterly, ‘yet no one seems to care about my plight.’
‘I have no son of my own to secure my position. If I were to raise a child born to a concubine, who can guarantee that the child would truly treat me with genuine affection in the future? Haven’t there been enough bitter lessons already?’
‘Call me narrow-minded or jealous if you will. But I won’t yield so easily on the matter of the concubine. Even if I agree, I must secure favorable terms first. Without them, I’d rather divorce Fermin and leave the manor,’ she wondered.
The Queen’s head pounded with fury. Clutching her forehead, she jabbed a trembling finger right at Pamela’s face and snarled, “Get out.”
Pamela performed the ceremonial bow before quietly withdrawing from the chamber.
The warm sunlight enveloped her, but despite its gentle embrace, tears welled up and silently streamed down Pamela’s face.
‘It’s not that I object to Fermin taking a concubine,’ Pamela thought bitterly; ‘but the way Fermin and the Queen have handled this is utterly humiliating.’
‘They could have spoken to me honestly beforehand, but instead, they stabbed me in the back and still expect me to be grateful. If others want to swallow this kind of humiliation, let them. I refuse.”
Pamela had barely caught her breath after leaving the palace when someone from the Beren Manor arrived.
“Your Highness, your mom has come to see you,” the maid whispered timidly.
Exhaustion flickered in Pamela’s eyes. ‘What else could bring Mother here at this hour?’ she thought wearily. ‘Nothing but to persuade me to yield.’
“Just tell them I’m unwell and won’t be seeing anyone,” Pamela refused flatly. When the Queen’s own pressure failed, she actually sent Pamela’s family to try to persuade her.
The maid looked troubled, but before she could speak, an aged voice boomed from outside. “You’ve truly grown audacious, refusing even your mother? Very well, I shall come in and see you myself.”
As Evelyn Beren, bearing an Imperial Mandate and the title of Prime Minister’s wife, her authority was unquestionable. With such credentials, no one would dare block her way.
Pamela had no choice but to rise and greet her mother. Her tone was flat, almost indifferent, as she said, “Mother, I suppose you’ve come just to talk me into giving in, haven’t you?”
Her heart was filled with profound desolation. ‘All they care about is their own gain–not a single one of them gives a damn about how I feel,’ Pamela thought bitterly.
“Hmph. And why shouldn’t I be persuading you?” Evelyn scowled, shooting Pamela a fierce glare. “Your health is failing, and His Highness has spared your dignity by not taking concubines all this time.
“But now, with the succession struggle looming, without an heir, there are no bargaining chips. As Princess Consort, you think only of your own selfish whims instead of considering the Prince’s future. Is this the magnanimity expected of a Princess Consort?”
Evelyn paused as she took in her daughter’s haggard appearance, her tone softening. “It’s not that I’m not on your side, but you’ve really gone too far this time. They’re just a few concubines–surely you can keep them in line?”
Pamela gave a bitter smile as tears streamed down her face. “Mother, if Fermin had just discussed this with me first, I might have agreed. But instead, they slandered me, calling me barren, and then forced two concubines into our manor. Could you accept such humiliation?”
Evelyn stiffened slightly–the Queen hadn’t mentioned these details to her.
‘But what’s the point in dwelling on such matters?’ she thought. ‘The Queen’s word is law–who would dare defy her decree? Pamela is a fool to challenge the Queen–like banging an egg against a rock, she’ll only end up hurting herself.’
“It’s a fact that your health is compromised; that’s not slander,” her mother advised gently. “There’s no need to be so stubborn–your struggle is useless.
“If you yield gracefully, Fermin will cherish you more and feel more remorse toward you. That way, your days ahead will be much easier.”
Evelyn simply couldn’t understand why her daughter was so stubbornly inflexible. She kept deliberately cornering herself with no way out.
Evelyn had hoped her lengthy persuasion would finally get through to Pamela.
To her dismay, Pamela shook her head with unyielding resolve. “I cannot accept this, Mother,” she declared. “If my life depends on Fermin’s meager scraps of mercy, I’d rather take Lucky and leave Fermin Manor altogether.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Evelyn trembled with fury, her voice laced with both anger and concern as she implored, “If you keep being this stubborn, you’re only setting yourself up for a lifetime of hardship.”
‘Mother, I’ve taken your counsel to heart. I could agree to anything else you ask–but not this. On this, I simply cannot give in,” she said.
Evelyn was so furious she couldn’t say another word. She snapped, “You’re digging your own grave. Do you really think you have more than one life to defy the royal family?”
If the King and the Queen were truly ruthless, they could make Pamela disappear in countless ways without a trace.
There was no way they’d let Pamela hold leverage over them and threaten them.
Evelyn felt profoundly uneasy. Remembering that Pamela responded better to gentleness than force, she softened her tone and pleaded, “Pamela, please, don’t be so headstrong, okay? I’m begging you as your mother.”
If Pamela were to incur the Queen’s wrath, the entire Beren Manor would inevitably face repercussions.
For the sake of the whole Beren family and her sons, Evelyn had no choice but to plead with Pamela to yield.
Pamela stared at her mother, her face a mask of profound disbelief. “Mother,” she cried out, “I’m your daughter too. Why don’t you ever consider my feelings?”
Evelyn retorted, “Would I be here trying to persuade you if I didn’t have your best interests at heart?”
Pamela said bitterly, “If you truly cared about me, even if you just tried to win something for your daughter in front of the Queen, I could accept that."
“But you come here with nothing but words, expecting me to give in–is that really persuasion? No, you’re just using your status to pressure me."
Pamela was overwhelmed with disappointment. ‘Back then, for the sake of the Beren family, I had no choice but to break off my engagement with my childhood sweetheart and marry Fermin,’ she thought bitterly.
‘All these years, I’ve endured being called ungrateful,’ she reflected. ‘Everyone said I was heartless, that I climbed into Fermin Manor for wealth and status.
‘But how could they know? Being Princess Consort was never what I wanted. All I ever wished for was simply to build a life with the man I loved. But in the end, it was always me who had to swallow every humiliation. It was always I who sacrificed everything. And now, for the sake of the throne, it’s still me who must give up more.”
Not once had anyone ever bothered to ask what she wanted or how she truly felt. All she ever wanted was just a little respect.
‘If only Fermin had come to me first, spoken to me properly, and treated me with dignity–would I really have refused to yield?’ she wondered.