The Broken Queen
Prologue
M y King,
I’m going under, and this time there is no one to save me. I’m drowning, screaming for help, but no one hears me. No one sees me. The water is consuming me, filling my lungs making it harder to breathe, and harder to fight. You used to help me escape, but the day is bleeding into night, and the darkness is swallowing me whole.
The crown weighs me down. I put a smile on my face that doesn’t quite reach my eyes, but no one sees behind the lies. A queen with a doomed destiny because you left me to live in a condemned world. We were supposed to go through this together as King and Queen, but you chose another path.
Now, I’m forced to go down a road I don’t want. I’m forced to marry a man I don’t love all because my soulmate wasn’t strong enough to fight. I walk on eggshells when the curtain is closed, so my kingdom won’t see me for who I really am. Weak. My momma raised me to smile even when the light is dim, but the light disappeared the day she was murdered. You remember that day, don’t you? Of course you do . That was the day you told me I would never be alone again. Another lie. The sins of this estate are built on solid ground and impenetrable. Even a tornado couldn’t wipe them away.
Every night I pray you’ll come back for me, but as the day drags on and months turn into years, that hope dwindles. I know I should run far away and never look back, but something is keeping me here. You and I both know what it is. I’m chained to this world, and it will take me down to the darkest pits of hell, but I refuse to sacrifice my daughter because of past mistakes.
You may no longer love me, but I ask, beg of you to come back for her. Because while my heart is shriveled in despair, there is still hope for her. She shines in the darkness and refuses to let anything get her down. Even him. She is strong for me, while I am not strong for her. So please, come get her before it’s too late. Before I’m forced down the aisle to say I do. Because once that day comes, we will no longer belong to you. Instead, we will belong to him.
All my love,
Your Broken Queen