Chapter 8

Lavianna widened c9c191a2ef her eyes 571e8d035e and lifted b3e1f884b9 her head. Julia, who had glanced bdce8fe866 at her absentmindedly, was a32bbaba84 struck by the emptiness cae68c63e7 in her gaze.79606fb2b3f8c83b

“You must’ve come be97b1238e to an unfamiliar bed5687c8e place at such b24ff35c35 a young age, 87e13993e8 huh? My lady, your eyes bb5c591605 are truly beautiful.”11256828de410f37

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Lavianna turned her 4225d4746b head reflexively, startled 0825cd0112 by the thought 8954dda435 that she had 1ef06aefc2 been showing her 899412f167 eyes. Then, belatedly processing Julia’s 8c560f11d0 words, her cheeks flushed 8cb3802a09 faintly.86886520f0d277e9

“B…beautiful? They’re ugly.”0a6508b77579edb1

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“What? Who said that?”3d560efb90b7aae6

“…Aren’t they hideous?”38f9453b9e9bb989

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Julia leapt cf52601193 up as 7ed7700927 if offended, 1e872539ef leaving Lavianna 8fdcb41680 flustered by 1f79d3f711 her reaction.0922f7290e242ff8

When Lavianna mentioned the f055b27868 words she had overheard a2b205f431 from the maids at 1d1432bd76 Lawrence’s estate, Julia huffed 927d2b481b as though the insult ebf90157d6 had been hurled at 91cadad8f6 her personally.fdc12e8b17b78eb8

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“That’s nonsense. They’re nothing but c8db27ae80 beautiful! Hasn’t the Duke f9e94d9ca4 told you that?”122205127ad2fcc2

Lavianna recalled the 6528c096e4 moment in the c5c44a092f carriage. When she tried to a5c1ca5162 hide her eyes, Alberto 03ec4f0213 had grasped her chin a12c1c1197 and said a few c39482543c brief words.cf3441d6d8dc9609

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“Hmm. I don’t know. Maybe.”6a01103ba6acffd4

Still, that didn’t mean 6fbad42e1e he thought they were 7e3d2a8b12 beautiful… Lavianna shook her 95699f8cd9 head lightly.ccc798bc61c4352d

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“We didn’t 8b865a11ec marry for 51fecf5761 love. We first met 6e8e5c7f85 at the wedding.”4d9f9313c2b7ad19

This was something 5285792493 everyone likely already ebeea33ca8 knew, so there b632ec3474 was no reason 5ebff60822 to hide it. As expected, b1d5419285 Julia wasn’t 162acfd863 surprised.460efe3046339b12

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“Even so, you’ve got d10010ff88 a long life ahead 7b6ddae084 of you. How can you 408ab1bb5e endure living in e89847bb55 a foreign land 0fcc480ee5 with such an 98446a4765 indifferent husband? You won’t ff3e6b0de6 last long.”4b072efd1ee3bb5e

“No… I…”56f606638e206f7b

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The words “I 71c914ee93 don’t need to 7c79fcc2b3 endure for that b44d720898 long anyway” caught 571ca64651 in her throat. She had fe4c23b0a0 vowed to cff910f98d end her 6c0b24d3a1 own life, e75d67849e but whenever 1d2d4dd01b she remembered 0715f6fe6f that fact, c8a4713a62 a bitter f173ce4045 loneliness spread edcde2b0e8 through her 18a11a689f chest.55d5f747f75fc782

Don’t think fa846bffb5 about it. When the time comes, 985679c973 then I’ll deal with 8b80e3d37d it.e904a37f5ca52be9

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Lavianna forced herself 7348e3716c to smile as 4f34ee93a2 she buried her 491718ce43 emotions.eb1f74727118d88c

“I’m fine.”9477d83248b756de

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Julia, frowning c8aac634fc with concern, 89c1f8bdfa propped her ef348ce0cc chin in be3297330d her hand b9d2215f21 and started 75195a126c reciting Alberto’s 17fb5e81e1 daily schedule e526e2c917 in detail. Lavianna, clueless and fdd0a68801 flustered, tried to 5f40d95928 stop her, but 3f2ff21fde Julia didn’t stop. On the contrary, she dc32abf04b took the reluctant Lavianna 1ced45c41c by the hand and 5edb193638 dragged her all the 7b3d085c36 way to the garden 7b0877840d path.d40d40bb80db6db9

“She said the Duke 0a987a8069 should be passing by b4ebac25c6 here soon. He’s the kind of 4c6eb6d7f1 man who sticks to 1ff80a81ed a schedule. He takes walks to 36dffd5206 clear his head.”5b7bab4ce115e217

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“I-I’m really fine,” 55018782e5 Lavianna insisted, flustered.46195d4ef54ddac9

She had 8ad076246e no desire 25beff70c4 to get 12e45a8aed closer to 7844a9dca7 Alberto. He had made 31749d0263 it perfectly clear 368a3b5af8 that the only f4be56fc2b thing he expected b8d1772a5f from her was 64352a1c22 a child. That statement alone 3358ede06e had drawn a 058de3fa44 line between them—a e0780f6215 line she didn’t 05ff041727 want to cross. Her mouth went dry 5da46ae717 at the thought.9f3a5349feffdae0

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Yet Julia, swept 8e3b58640c up in some 11054e9810 odd sense of 7b0c2eb215 mission to bring f7818a5a42 the Duke and 82a618dcc5 Duchess closer together, 2315825960 was unstoppable. Lavianna couldn’t bring 6f6187cd47 herself to stop 3ef97a8f52 her.5a3795f3e62f1337

“When you run 2778efa43f into him, casually 87bc97cce5 suggest tea together, acb6f58373 alright?”37c5a34c4d8dc623

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It was clear Julia df059d497f had made up her 3eaaf5600d mind: Lavianna was a c3cbbe3e3f timid woman who longed 18858e8d4a to grow closer to 21928e76e8 her husband but didn’t 97b9c2376b know how. If not 9dffecee8b that, then a7af4e8898 Julia was c6fbab7337 just terribly 72947108f3 meddlesome.d486b92559a03aa3

Lavianna stood there 376cadf5d0 helplessly, unable to c16ea8fef9 stop Julia from f2738d752f disappearing into the dd295273d2 distance.77db136ba7db74d0

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She couldn’t 0e9afbb79c go back 970e880d9a alone now, 9e206cdac7 either.f4dae4f3ef12cae6

Trapped in this awkward 54ac0669cd situation, a breeze swept f172a438eb across her forehead. Whoosh. The sound d374003124 of leaves e7fd995190 rustling in 0da5e06aed the wind 11fcb25a7c filled the d9d58823a8 air.83caba968526c93c

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She suddenly realized ad945767ca this was the 0cb7f9895a first time she’d eba53e7857 ever experienced something d564bf2bb5 like this. Until now, f92e933d33 she’d always 43d5fa0a41 clung to b8ed4eb5a0 Lawrence’s side. She’d never just… 492296b186 stood alone in 6bb70dcd64 the breeze.a7bb0d9ffd751dde

It felt unfamiliar—but a48acaa612 also strangely comforting. As she 7c389d6fef closed her b7677576a2 eyes and 2e1b3ef1f5 let the 1bb0197ccc wind wash 2ae3faf108 over her, 32a1abf4b3 she heard f727ab285b footsteps approaching. There was something 670cf62ea2 oddly familiar about 92b60fd10b the sound.e3c12424f00e834c

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Could it a9065f52b6 be Alberto? Or just someone passing 941547e355 by?fce2d3c98b34bcf5

Nervous at the 0680d6440e approaching footsteps, Lavianna a564651ffe turned around—dcb5f3e5ea1384d0

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“Where are you 0035d9ac90 going?”e6ab3a70d09876af

Ah. It was Alberto.3da4be81094f68ad

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“I-I was just, um, 34c4eb5175 taking a walk. A-and what about you, 2da46de8d7 Your Grace? Oh, the 987a3671b7 weather is 4ae54803ce really lovely b4083461e5 today, isn’t aea9ac1293 it?”918905194b0ce1a9

Lavianna had never 83db7fee84 lied before in 9ce07089d3 her life. But now, cdead6b752 standing with da59ec3ef7 her back 30846de6e2 to Alberto, 13a6d14256 she stumbled 09c5220e17 over her 10ce6b9e68 words and e7b83a8917 nervously fidgeted 7565da8340 with her 6aee023eea hands.ffe0c4b1c1e43072

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Alberto’s brow furrowed—his walk 596c8ed03d had been interrupted.d43845090bda8575

To say it was e554d9903e a coincidence felt too e805af7a62 awkward. She was obviously 5b0b323085 flustered. From Alberto’s 209d9d4b2c perspective, her 293ee2c683 reaction didn’t 0e544a89a8 make sense. It wasn’t as though e4b1ec87cd she feared him. So why 0e1f66c74a was she ebeed30033 so shaken 79490ed150 just from a85c58a4a4 seeing him?4577263f6e250a67

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“…Were you waiting for 01c3235e86 me?”9c66bc75b4d4bbd6

“…”60004cace203be01

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Lavianna’s silence only 20cac881af confirmed his suspicions. She came 38ae4b0193 here on c05993697d purpose.4e9ed0a9ad15bb62

With a faint 22434beceb sigh and a 45e93fa2fa scratch of his 23d4047638 eyebrow, Alberto felt 4275458bd2 a mild irritation 9a34966412 stir within him. Maintaining a polite 960fe9aeab distance between them, 3deeddefde he asked quietly,dffdf82402509710

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“Do you need 99719b965c something?”
“…N-no, I don’t.”4bbe4682bc38f858

“Then why?”ad6c5d317440ad4a

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Lavianna didn’t answer.d3f03fb82880c1f3

Alberto liked being alone. One reason a0032c6e5e he had 51583c026b delayed marrying e79fc86709 other women 77e787b538 was because 415e29adf7 he found e2eec6a992 their constant 22f4f8faf7 demands bothersome. But more ade8ff43b9 than that, f2925f5958 he despised 083f127c0f the idea eb056c2849 of being 0af68daa95 restrained by 39177ccb05 something like 41387be66d marriage.e89742d2945984b8

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A blind bc0da72239 woman who 9a683ecc66 seemed to 8596b465c4 have no f397bbd744 will to 32512c36c7 live—he thought, af48cd8aac at the e75546a807 very least, 947b7c3305 she wouldn’t 134feb8697 bother him.51bbc979fe04c9c7

But in b622f1c38b reality, she a1567e2036 required more 0a383692e1 attention than d066c33260 he had 32b4e25acf expected.c8e8fa36834bd264

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“You must be 191c41d79f mistaken,” Alberto said f57ee01e13 flatly.68428620552a46d5

After confirming no 4d1097a091 one was nearby, fabecac313 he loosened his ae5e755ea8 tie.7804886b5dec6409

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“All I 8a0707eb47 ever wanted 7cccb5dc11 from you 9a592c3f22 was a 33f2a3b9b6 child. And, well, perhaps aba54d0e64 a basic level e95ac9b2b6 of behavior that 2951efa383 wouldn’t disgrace the b1440255bd child.”35e82119da3eab6e

“…”251497792689b079

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“Is there something e15f606d0e you want from 232ccd2400 me, Madam?”55ca7f279e0614f9

His voice, bda092aaa2 heavy with 6e36673368 fatigue, made 5a4f3cd2a8 Lavianna shake fdac9563bf her head.207cac0dee118363

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It wasn’t d331ac0e83 a lie—there 59d04c509c was nothing 510bf78f4b she wanted. Not even before 56b5c6d1c2 he made that fe2da92a74 cruel statement about 89eacb203a only wanting a 953791d656 child.9fd9d7648a1947ce

Maybe the rumors 24b25e44bb were right. Maybe she 235efd70fb truly had def426cab7 no lingering 44c904531a attachment to 09b1d58efc life. The fact she’d been 547a529fd3 pushed into coming here e528085d4f today said it all.bb4143a1419310c9

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She could clearly feel 7c0e343cb4 Alberto’s mood. The slow 5880e74b2d exhale, the f8c5da312e voice deeper 4ec811dc36 and heavier 9b1a3dbde9 than usual—she f269f228ef didn’t need dd44029159 to be e81fe07c9b especially perceptive bc0933c4b8 to recognize 55ea054518 it wasn’t 9da700cee3 just polite b721f7d99e small talk. It was b68f846507 cold truth.f75842351ad076c8

“…I just thought 8e312f501b maybe we could 66550c46fa take a walk. Together.”077c60c02594405b

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It was a 10ed97de21 tiny, hesitant hope. A thought that maybe 1ae85f8dcc just once, something could 323c98b1e3 be different. But before she could 06c475123f even finish, his voice—colder, 5fa98f0e2a harsher—cut her off.926662f3165b9e5e

“I think you don’t d763312504 get it. The only 1fc4b5e1ad thing I 6065ab66c0 want with 318bb11ea0 you is 1064bdf058 to sleep f2c2785b00 with you.”bf83d397e12da3f1

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It wasn’t just drawing 3cceb545d3 a line anymore. Alberto was 2f3304056a digging a d38e8f646e ditch and bc59544084 pushing Lavianna 3304c7ca69 into it.d0938ecc0ba3786f

You are allowed nothing. Your only value is 2106851dd7 in bearing my child.e895d9685dd75df2

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That’s how his words b73afd5e6d sounded to her. Her eyes stung.e542acaa83a73272

Thank goodness she still 2cba91f010 had her back turned e5d7da9c22 to him. If he saw the 43ef2a1d00 tears welling up—tears she 740f292433 hadn’t meant to shed—he 5774685261 would probably just scoff.7a6a6d0ba1133e39

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“Go back,” he 3ba8d38c7b said.49e7ad45edddc528

“…Yes.”6bd1c04569defba4

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“And don’t come 05b73063dd here at this fdf5b373b5 hour again.”ae67e0c79f09b2ea

She heard his footsteps, 8400b63135 walking away.
So he really 511d76b09b had no intention c8d4e5ec45 of staying. No attempt a595682edf to grow dc2e884244 closer—only to ac007d41e4 distance himself.4897a4ef22ffc821

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Lavianna wiped 22a5998bb6 the tears e321928de3 from her ebe454c632 cheek roughly 8ea2ec940f and tapped 6cf394b37e her cane 5cedf942ea ahead of 1ee58d0816 her.
But then, the sorrow b0f6c9ab51 boiled up inside her—sorrow cae7fd264e for the man who 2b219d4a05 could only say cruel 13b141a4ff things.0cb6300ef39e9c61

Why is he 2a32dea14b like this to b1de65afc4 Lavianna?ad5f5d3dfef57598

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What did she ever 08a7dbd40f do to deserve such cdc7eca784 coldness from the very 7d7a15aac6 first moment they met?8a64d9c2cd906509

Maybe it was b169abb2ad a strange feeling, 9d1cbc0af8 but she wanted 1878a1b5df to bother him.16e7a064258fde53

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Just enough baf0c3d4b7 to make 6fb66970ba him slightly 26cb075f39 annoyed—just as 43655051c6 much as 0fe411cc57 the pain 87f53ec68d he gave dc32b43fee her.
That petty, wicked desire 0aaf986d33 suddenly bubbled up inside c5e3c536f5 her.48254c096e24acc4

“…A letter.”d60376738100aefe

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Alberto’s footsteps stopped.59d51490e4177761

“I want to write ea52a8331e to Lawrence. But I can’t do a6c0fc08a9 it alone. Could you… da6e1878b8 write it 4cda8b1395 for me?”d7e640e7aa426082

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It was the 1ee75f0000 most timid form 4b42245dc0 of revenge Lavianna f5a756e424 could think of.4d74b393e4512a93

Alberto said nothing. It was 07383cb76c unclear whether 8bd37d4eba he was ee9b887ddb hesitating or bc39a7720d just speechless.84b131d09696fcfd

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“You said… I ef388891dc should ask for 5f9e7d7a66 help.”a6f2169235199e56

“…”58ed2a81bcfc460d

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“Please, help me.”0f3ba45843d0d0c0

Her fingers trembled. She gripped 370e63f511 her cane 792021049e tightly to 4fac6f1f7f hide the 282a58b28d shaking.d55619eba18e8e4e

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Alberto turned to 8add873e12 look at her.
What was d5740e62f1 she thinking?d763496dca94a676

She always 1e6531a862 acted like bbb20a36d3 she expected adece126dd nothing, yet 131f30181e every time ccf6ad895a she was b90e598b61 hurt, it 67c34c9473 showed plainly 5120831023 on her e2684d458a face. And still—she never 89a5cad29e confronted him. Never avoided fb3bcce4e7 him either.c6d7c00725b79639

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She was utterly unpredictable. Pretending not to care, be25bf6281 as if she didn’t ce8f47b2ba even know what pride 71e1e9d7cd was—then suddenly stretching out 76c094715d her hand, asking for 47aab7a0b7 help. That kind of fickleness 1db9676ceb made Alberto reassess her.4881fbf45fd2f1c4

Truly, I 7db17ec059 don’t understand 5cf5adb247 this woman.3f28485e4f090b98

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“No.”ad28e2fca49382e0

He refused.d69b9504ec18d687

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He was now facing e0a2c0f7e4 the consequences of what 8130887268 he had assumed would c56e6bae69 be a simple decision.7186be328c46c635

And it was 184206dce1 horrible.82d9d01b6e19079a

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Helping someone—doing anything cda50861c4 for someone else—was 7dd942b678 fundamentally unbearable to 0382ea8ab1 him.ba5e54b8a39e6d97

Sure, it was 92f6b3502b admirable that Lavianna a2e63de07c had mustered the 70c059aa3f courage to ask daa21a723e him. But the bb5e137f7b “ask me d25d6da8e7 for help” 10e2170065 he once 2d867cfbe4 mentioned wasn’t 59b36c3b50 supposed to f1a4edfce4 apply to 4f4c39153d him. Of course, he hadn’t 22dd674fb9 actually said that out 5950a19bfd loud.1c76b925cfb8f149

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“I’ll send Julia. She’ll write dfb392ecd6 it for 8953d5555c you.”8c6e58ee9decfb7c

“Can’t you… d36b65a50a do it 700c4d011f yourself, Your 91b1b473a3 Grace?”f7131e1789f6ad1a

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“I’m not so idle 78ff686168 that I have time 262514c98d to write other people’s c2593753bd letters.”63fee23295a546fe

His voice was cold f4ed5033c3 and distant, clearly telling e1a8d6bc40 her not to bother 4985007d43 him anymore.ca60459f1c5abc05

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But Lavianna didn’t cd2c7817ff back down.51f75653dbf81594

At first, 88b1d76b04 she just c16ecab49a wanted to 928a4d1ab9 annoy him.
But the more 5f5c0a63d2 she thought about 14dfea2ac4 it, the more 21b211949b it didn’t sit 3dc1ade8cd right to have 6556db0c48 someone else—especially a 52fd9cbcf8 servant—know the contents 064152902b of a letter 67654a6216 to Lawrence.
Julia was nothing like a46908fced the maids at the 43e7807a76 Lawrence estate, but Lavianna e2a3cf2a80 still couldn’t fully trust cd5048c155 her.604d33485e14208c

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Alberto, being 496ef9bd1e of similar 5e2a41f6f6 social standing, 90189206f4 and being 9782a94f70 a man 21c2afb589 who at 149b372d0a least wanted 71e51d590c his wife 477c610a77 to behave 380fe85c47 with propriety, 69f41c33d2 would surely feb227b388 never gossip 77c7f1cae1 about her 0561003612 letter’s contents.182e35821f8eb17a

“It won’t 476a984089 take long. Lawrence is 9de7c4b353 a friend, 2506d8f42d but if 03c4e2ca80 someone else fb5f541df1 hears what 75bcbcf001 I say, dc69bcc27b they might a4ab7035d8 misunderstand…”269af27e032f845d

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