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He was in love with Moonflower.  It was obvious.  No wonder he hadn’t minded marrying Mari.  He couldn’t have the woman he really wanted, so what did it matter whom he married?

Mari felt herself withdrawing from him.  She had to protect her heart.  She’d already started falling in love with him.  She had to cut that off right now.  Before she was devastated.  

He had fallen silent.  She finished applying the lotion to his back.  Her fingers slid over those smooth muscles.  Her heart felt a pang.  

How was she to protect herself from him?  He was so beautiful.  His beauty alone would have drawn most women to him.  But his fearlessness, his heroism, had won her heart yesterday.  She had to stop thinking about it!  

She wanted him.  She had him.  But not really.  Clearly, Moonflower had his heart.

She stood up and began to walk towards her table to put the cream away.  But his voice stilled her.

“Don’t you want me to put any on your back?” 

She gasped inwardly.  She trembled at the thought of removing her shirt in front of him.  This strange man.  This beautiful stranger.  Whose heart belonged to another.

“No, that’s all right.  I’m fine,” she murmured.  “I’m going to let you rest.  I promised Moonflower I would help her move her things into the king’s chambers today.”

It was a lie, but Tae wouldn’t have any way of knowing it.

He frowned.  “Moonflower is moving in with the king?”

She nodded.  “They married yesterday.”

“What?!!” He nearly flew off the bed.  Then he grimaced as pain rocketed through him.

“You were right.  They were kidnapped.  And forced to marry.  Strange stuff, indeed.  I can’t figure out why some enemy would think the king would be weakened by marrying such a strong woman,” she mused.

Taehyung just stared at her.  

Moonflower was married.  To the king.  Tae sighed.  She was lost to him now.  Twice over.  For, in some odd twist of fate, they had both been forced to marry on the same day.  Just not each other.

“Tae, can I bring you some breakfast?”

He blinked.  Then his stomach rumbled.  “Guess it has been more than a day and a half since I’ve eaten.”  

He nodded his head.  Then he winced.  He had to stop bobbing his head up and down.  It hurt.

“Yes.  I’ll take some food.”

She smiled at him, but this time it didn’t reach her eyes.  Why not?  He felt like she’d just withdrawn from him.  But he had no idea why.

“I’ll have a servant bring you something then.  Any requests?”

“Something light.  My stomach feels a tad queasy still.  You’re not going to come visit me yourself?”  He quirked a dark eyebrow at her.

“I did promise the queen…”

That ebony eyebrow bounced up again.  “Ah, yes.  The queen.  We definitely don’t want you to disappoint the queen.  It would be bad if we fell out of favor with the king and queen.”  

It felt so odd to refer to Yoongi, his boyhood friend, as the king.  And to Moonflower, his boyhood crush, as the queen.  Life was strange.  And rather disappointing.

For just a moment, a pained expression lit her eyes.  Then she spoke.

“I hope you can sleep.  I’ll have your breakfast sent right up.”

Then she was gone.  He wouldn’t see her again that day.