Married to The Ice King: Pampered Princess' Survival Guide-Chapter 185: Curse Princess

Ding!

Ding!

A continuous sound of message notifications made Theo arch his brows slightly. "Your phone?"

Daisy, who was munching on her steak, nodded innocently. "Hmm... probably Aurora... spamming me with pictures."

Theo just sipped on his drink, but his curiosity didn’t fade even when the notifications didn’t stop. After the fifth ding, he put down his glass and gave her a look. "You sure you don’t want to check? It might be something urgent."

Daisy puffed her cheeks slightly, glancing at her phone which was facing down on the table before sighing. "Hmm... fine, fine..." She reached for her phone, unlocking the screen casually but her playful expression shifted the second her eyes met the messages.

Theo noticed her freeze mid-scroll. "What is it?" he asked, his tone calm.

Daisy quickly locked the phone again and forced a smile. "Ah, nothing serious... Aurora’s just being dramatic, as usual."

Theo leaned back, studying her face. "Dramatic how?"

"Hmm... gossip level dramatic," she muttered, stabbing her steak half-heartedly. "Just normal Aurora things."

Theo’s eyes lingered on her a second longer, clearly unconvinced. But he didn’t press further. He simply nodded, took another sip of his drink, and said lightly, "The steak... good?"

"Hmm?" Daisy raised her brows, flicking her eyes up toward Theo before nodding, "Good..."

Theo took a tissue from the table and slightly leaned forward, "Want me to order more?" He wiped the tip of her lips, and pressed a smile.

Daisy blinked at the gesture, her lips curving into a soft smile. "Nope," she said, shaking her head gently. "The steak’s enough."

Theo chuckled, settling back into his seat. "You sure? You’ve barely eaten half."

"I’m sure," Daisy replied with a grin. "If I eat any more, you’ll have to roll me out of here."

Theo laughed softly at that. "Okay... how about dessert? Should I ask them to send it now?"

Daisy quickly shook her head, waving her hand. "Theo... you eat." She pointed at his plate, still untouched despite all his earlier complaints about being starving.

He blinked, following her finger to the perfectly arranged steak that hadn’t been touched once. "Ah..." He scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Right. I did say I was hungry, didn’t I? But it seems like my stomach isn’t cooperating..."

Daisy’s brows knitted in concern. "Why? Does it hurt? Should we go to the hospital?" She was already halfway to standing when Theo reached out and gently urged her back into her seat.

"Hey, hey... no need to panic," he said with a reassuring smile. "It’s nothing serious. Probably just my breakfast refused to go down... or maybe too much coffee in the morning."

Daisy’s frown deepened, arms crossing instinctively. "No. You only drank one cup of coffee, Theo. And breakfast was ages ago... It’s already two in the afternoon."

Theo chuckled softly at her tone, but she didn’t miss the way his hand brushed briefly over his stomach.

"Something’s wrong, isn’t it?" she asked, her voice quieter now as she studied his face carefully. "Are you sure you’re okay?"

He nodded, forcing a small, easy smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. "Positive. Just tired, that’s all. Don’t give me that look, I’m fine."

Daisy didn’t buy it. She leaned forward slightly, her gaze fixed on him. "Theo..."

But before she could say more, her phone buzzed again on the table and another message lit up the screen. Her expression shifted for just a split second before she reached over, trying to turn it face down, but Theo was faster.

"It doesn’t seem okay..." he said, his tone calm but edged with curiosity.

He picked up her phone and, before she could protest, unlocked it effortlessly by holding it up to her face. "What did Aurora say?" he asked, eyes scanning the newest message that had just come in.

Daisy froze, her fork still hovering midair as she watched him read—her earlier calm now replaced by a nervous flicker in her eyes.

"What is this? A college group?" Theo frowned, scrolling through the chat filled with screenshots. "So, they called you princess—"

"Cursed princess," Daisy cut in with a sigh, putting her fork down. "Give me back the phone, Theo. Why did you read them? I was trying my best to ignore it..."

Her tone softened at the end, almost pleading, but there was also a quiet frustration, like she’d already grown used to pretending the words didn’t sting.

"Why?" Theo asked quietly, ignoring her request and continuing to scroll, his brows furrowing deeper with every message he read.

"Because..." Daisy’s voice wavered before she forced a small laugh. "Most of the people who got involved with me ended up having horrible things happen in their lives. For example..." Her eyes flicked up to him. "You."

Theo’s head snapped up, his gaze sharp. "What kind of nonsense is that?"

"Nonsense, right?" She smiled weakly, though her eyes told another story. "But would they care? All they see is Daisy... the so-called princess who throws away her father’s money like it’s nothing was actually a cursed person, who always ends up hurting the people who try to get close to her."

Her voice grew quieter as she added, almost to herself, "And honestly... I don’t even know when it started. It’s like one day, the whole world just decided that I was the problem."

Theo set the phone down gently, his gaze never leaving her face. "People talk because they’ve got nothing better to do," he said quietly. "But that doesn’t make what they say true."

Daisy gave a small, humorless laugh. "You don’t get it, Theo. They don’t need it to be true. They just need it to sound entertaining." She picked up her glass, swirling the drink absently before taking a slow sip. "And the more I ignore it, the more creative they get."

Theo leaned back, his expression calm but his jaw tightening. "Then maybe it’s time they learn what happens when they mess with you."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Theo..."

He smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. "Don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything reckless." He leaned forward again, resting his elbows on the table. "But whoever thinks spreading this kind of crap is funny—they’ll regret it."

Daisy stared at him for a long moment before sighing. "You don’t have to fight everyone for me."

"I’m not," he said softly. "Just making sure the world remembers you’re not someone they can trample on."

He frowned, scrolling through her phone again before forwarding the screenshots to his own. "I really don’t get it," he muttered under his breath. "Our wedding was announced to the media, wasn’t it? You’d think that would’ve been enough to shut them up." His eyes flicked up, sharp and unreadable. "Seems they missed the memo. This so-called cursed princess has a prince who doesn’t take kindly to curses."

Daisy let out a small laugh, though it came out more nervous than amused. "That’s supposed to be a joke, right?"

Theo leaned back, his smirk returning, dangerously calm. "Half joke, half warning."

Her smile faded a little. "Theo..."

He reached across the table, brushing his thumb over her hand. "Relax. I’ll handle it quietly," he said, his voice lower now, more serious. "No confrontations, no scenes. Just... corrections."

Daisy tilted her head, wary. "Corrections?"

He gave her a faint, disarming smile. "Let’s just say by tomorrow, no one will dare call you cursed again."

Theo tapped on his phone and, without another word, forwarded all the screenshots to Alex. A few seconds later, he lifted his gaze toward where Alex was standing discreetly near the entrance.

Their eyes met for only a moment, but it was enough. Alex’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he immediately glanced down to check the message. When he looked back up, Theo gave a slight nod, calm, composed, but carrying an unmistakable edge of command.

Alex gave a short nod before quietly stepping away, already pulling out his phone to make a call.

"Finish the food," Theo said calmly, his expression returning to that composed mask as if nothing had just happened. He lifted his hand slightly, catching the waiter’s attention. "Serve the dessert," he added smoothly when the waiter approached their table.

The waiter nodded politely and hurried off, leaving Daisy watching Theo with a mix of disbelief and faint amusement.

"You really can switch moods in two seconds," she muttered, half impressed, half exasperated.

Theo smirked, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at her. "That’s called efficiency, my dear cursed princess."

"Ouch! That’s kind of rude!" Daisy frowned hard. "Bring back my Theo — this Theo is a rude ass!" she huffed, crossing her arms dramatically.

Theo chuckled, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. "Oh? You liked the polite one better?"

"Yes!" she shot back, glaring half-heartedly.

Theo leaned back slightly, his smile looked intimidating. "Something I learned about twenty-nine-year-old Theo... he looks cold, but he’s actually soft-hearted inside. He’s gone soft over the years... forgetting that nineteen-year-old Theo didn’t even blink when someone touched what was important to him."