His Hidden Crown The Prince She Threw AwayChapter 1

I hid my identity and lived as an ordinary husband with Lola Black.

The day I learned she was pregnant, she said it without warning: "I'm marrying the heir to the Northguard Stephens Estate in three days."

"I'm actually the legitimate daughter of the Grand Chancellor's household. He and I are a proper match. The betrothal gifts have already been delivered to my family's estate, and... he and I have already consummated our relationship."

When she saw me frozen in place, she added, "I'll set you up with a residence. You'll never want for anything."

I stared at her in disbelief. "So I'm to be a kept man, hidden away for the rest of my life. Is that it?"

Lola turned her face away. "He's a kind and respectable husband. As long as you don't cause a scene in front of him, I can give you everything except the title."

A sharp sting hit the bridge of my nose. I never imagined I meant so little to her.

"What if I told you... that I could match your status?"

——

Lola froze for a moment. A long silence passed before she spoke.

"Alaric Abbott, I know it was wrong of me to hide my identity and marry someone else. But the world doesn't run on 'what ifs.' In all of the capital, the only man who matches my standing is the heir to the Northguard Stephens Estate."

"We've been husband and wife at the foot of this mountain for three years. I know exactly who you are."

But she had hidden her identity. How could she be so sure I hadn't done the same?

I looked around. The cabin we had built with our own hands. The fields we had tilled together. I refused to believe any of this was real.

"Lola, you're carrying my child. Can't we just go back to the way things were? Please don't marry him."

My gaze locked onto the woman in front of me. If she would just say yes, I was willing to forgive everything.

But all she did was press her lips together and say, quietly, "He and I have already been intimate. I have to take responsibility for that."

My eyes burned red. My body wouldn't stop shaking. "And what about me? Don't you owe me that same responsibility? What about our child?"

Lola reached out and wiped the tears from my cheek. Her eyes were full of ache.

"Alaric, I'm only getting married. I'm not abandoning you."