Rajah Gokad Netu was a man of immense strength and unyielding power.
With hundreds of wives and concubines, he prided himself on treating them all with equal affection, a balance that spoke to his charisma and authority.
He was a master of timing, knowing exactly when to bestow lavish gifts and when to administer stern punishments, always matching the gravity of the occasion.
Woe to anyone who earned his disappointment, for Rajah was not a man to let offenses slide.
He harbored a long memory and a fierce resolve, ensuring that those who crossed him learned, often painfully, that he was not one to forgive or forget easily.
And this very truth made Althea panic.
The emotions swirling inside her were a tangled mess, and she wasn't sure how to untangle them.
She opened her mouth again, but the words refused to come. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, as if to gather herself, but the weight of the past pressed down on her.
If she had tried to speak like this before, if she had dared to expose such weakness, the consequences would have been disastrous.
In the past, such a mistake or disrespect would have led to a harsh slap, or worse—something so torturous, so soul-crushing, that the mere memory of it made her tremble with fear.
Even among his wives and concubines, the Rajah was unyieldingly harsh—often the harshest of all. There was one infamous instance where a concubine of his betrayed him by sleeping with another man.
The Rajah's fury was swift and merciless. He decreed her punishment to be death by a thousand cocks—a fate as cruel as it was grotesque.
It was an ugly, humiliating death, spoken of in hushed tones and serving as a grim reminder of the Rajah's unforgiving nature.
Althea's hands shook as the terrifying recollection of that past life surged through her mind, sending a cold shiver down her spine.
Ross noticed the way her body tensed, the way her eyes glazed over with distant memories. His expression softened, and he stepped closer to her, his voice low and comforting, as if trying to soothe the pain he knew she was reliving.
"It's okay, Yumi. This isn't the past. You have a new life now. And I… I'm not the same as I was before either. As you know, just like you are now Althea Quinn, I too have inherited the life experiences and values of Ross Oakley. We've both changed in our own ways," he reassured her, his tone gentle but firm.
There was no trace of the bitterness or anger that might have been there in another time. Only warmth and understanding.
"I just thought that you still loved me," he continued, his words reaching her, though his voice held a faint sorrow, as though he was trying to come to terms with something that hurt him too.
"After all, you were the one who sought me out, who woke me from the fog of our past life. You awakened my memories of everything we once shared." His eyes met hers then, intense and filled with an unspoken longing.
"Time and distance can change so many things, Yumi. And maybe love—love sometimes fails the test. It's hard to know for certain."
There was a long pause, the weight of his words settling heavily between them. Ross's face softened, a quiet sadness replacing the strength he had shown earlier.
With a deep, almost imperceptible sigh, he took a step forward and embraced Althea once more. Slowly, carefully, he leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, his hands lingering on her shoulders for a moment longer.
His touch was tender, almost as if he were trying to reassure her, yet there was a sense of finality to it—like he was letting go of something precious, something he knew he could never reclaim.
Althea remained silent, her eyes wide as she looked at him, unable to find the words to speak. The ache in her chest deepened as Ross turned away, his back now facing her.
The distance between them began to grow with every step he took, and with each step, her heart seemed to break just a little more.
She wanted to call out to him, to stop him, to explain everything she hadn't said, but the words felt stuck, lodged in her throat like a stone.
Her hands trembled at her sides, and for a moment, she felt utterly helpless, as though the room had closed in around her.
Every muscle in her body screamed at her to do something—anything—to make him turn back, to make him stay.
But the truth hung in the air, unspoken but palpable: Ross was walking away, and no matter how much she wanted to stop him, she didn't know if she could.
Her chest tightened, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she stood frozen in place, watching his silhouette grow smaller with every step he took.
The distance between them, both physical and emotional, stretched farther than she ever thought possible.
It was as if something had shattered between them, something irreparable, and she was left standing in the wreckage, unable to reach him.
Her mind raced, replaying the moments they had shared, the love they had once known.
But now, that love felt fragile, as if it were slipping through her fingers like sand, and she was powerless to hold on to it.
The overwhelming sorrow threatened to consume her, and yet, she couldn't find the strength to move. She couldn't bring herself to call his name, to beg him to stay. Read new chapters at empire
In the silence that followed, Althea felt the weight of everything pressing down on her—her past, her life with Robin in the present, and the complex, tangled relationship she had with two men from different times.
It all seemed to close in on her, the burden growing heavier with each passing second.
In the end, Althea knew she had to make a choice.
And she had to make it fast, before Ross stepped out the door and, perhaps, out of her life forever.