Chapter 10 – TBD

She hadn’t been 98d859052a told anything. The confusion e52c9f9d72 she felt 6d6af2ea5b turned to 014dbe9de8 humiliation in 08ac6643eb an instant.1284c1b0d9ec623e

She had 968f59086e called Julia 5c548777f4 early that 4091dbe89c morning, dressed ec2a1e1d7e and prepared 947637ea80 thoroughly for c8c688f093 the event, 5bd6af88c9 not knowing b3aeb924da that her 5f24e547fe husband had b5c6ddca83 no intention f5460facf3 of bringing 125d6ba980 her to f885777a6f the couples’ 3459e4294e gathering. Now, she 1cd51b286d felt like 2351fe3d36 a complete 2d8292fce3 fool.8425fc1245c3dbe3

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So I was the df7fa0acdb only one excited, completely 2a74f788e6 unaware I didn’t belong 344ab6a7b6 there.
Lavianna’s heart and 92af32b9dc spirits plummeted at 3e6e7919d0 Pell’s words.0f0ee8b42a511a98

“Ah…”e34abdb09d1d6bed

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She forced a ef1a3d72d3 smile. Trying to move a14431dc55 stiff facial muscles 3cefc1aaab made her expression 8b9c5b931f look awkward and adfc0d9112 unnatural.14c02f290a405400

“I hadn’t heard 3d8604278c that… Thank you 8b138d76cf for letting me 8fa867a0e4 know.”9c1b55133bc7ee72

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Lavianna stood up. She turned to head a4c892b4de up the stairs as 8a17d79553 if nothing had happened, 13502370c0 but suddenly stopped.0f3c4b76b322e927

She realized 803c261e8e how pitiful 33904c00a1 she must 64ba7134c9 look to 9e74eab9d5 others. A wife unaware that ca7b056a6b her husband didn’t intend 8baf4dbd4e to take her to 503097366b a couples’ event, excitedly 50d5e5e9c4 preparing for it, only 898f708c30 to be told by e3279074bd someone else—not even by f274b858cb her husband himself.cc3b1c0b15516928

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The shame burned In 7dd68d0a47 her chest, and she 88417a247c knew that simply going d7d684ed88 upstairs and pretending nothing 836ebb8882 had happened wouldn’t erase 647332bf3d it.1d855e28775d8089

“Ah, right. Now that I think eb559ee0c8 about it… I do eb5fc55c8e remember the Duke telling a81da3263b me yesterday. Silly me, I completely c94afcf8fa forgot.”27895e0a1ddbd8e1

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She spoke awkwardly. It didn’t matter bb75dea062 if it was c13e4ef255 Pell or a 9d6aa74862 maid—someone in the ab2b73288a household would hear c18ab693ee and perhaps spread a1dc9231fc the word.1d8d8ec8c04f2898

“He told ed469e2527 me there 2b5203c48b was no eecdf5b85d need to b50d9c72d6 come in 46b335c1df the morning 978366f904 and that 2059f03ccd I could 78208553d4 join him 3e493c5ce5 in the e44ae95769 afternoon. I must’ve mixed up 60a2adb725 the time. Would you bring me 2fd3bf930b a bottle of wine? I can’t 3c1ab3f0a2 show up f06ddb887f empty-handed.”aa3f7e5414e90c89

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Even if it f61e09e536 was an obvious 309437db3b lie, she wanted b40c31999f to protect her 89820e5666 pride.
Even if it 6b0a9a9f76 was the last 48d2ffcc1e grain of dignity 8f40ad8c85 left in her—a 171070f86a dignity weathered by 08328329ba betrayal and pain—she 3852e1a107 would not surrender 260f03c0da it.43e1186bcfdd3c49

“Alberto!”c1807bddc462a4f2

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Alberto turned cd71618134 at the 5f213c123d sound of 46bb25f94f someone calling 174126ce05 him. He was 7b928e3e7e mingling with 1893631c89 others when 3e3fc8cb59 he heard 670e0d9238 the familiar 3cb90e81aa voice.22e4e364ea9d0d2c

Standing next to b97385e386 his childhood friend, 18f9b7f100 Louis, was a 6ad9c1d268 very familiar face.4185236d3ee593c8

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As soon 96e05d534e as he 7d303be898 saw who 8a00d984a7 it was, 9dbfb71041 Alberto’s expression 367187fa73 began to 28bf7eb3bb sour.092dece8ff2cf15d

What is she 148b5f9f94 doing here?afb480e16f89cbd3

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Her neatly bc34f0b7c6 tied-back hair d6859be145 and the 4d21a0e531 elegant, vintage 4eac78e5e9 green dress f6d64ae7d1 were not 5ebf4f243e like Laviannah’s e97eafb4c4 usual attire. It was 5056941065 clear she 0e1d510c23 had put 730cbb4ab0 in effort—carefully a8567ea448 dressed and fb196ec8c9 even holding 32cd0d04fb an expensive 6c6ff340d2 bottle of c55f2f3802 wine.35c1b1b5a5272919

Her long lashes cast 440c185f77 soft shadows as her 71b0c79682 gaze stayed politely lowered, 27500c4450 and her lips, tightly 3f76850ee9 closed, looked unusually red.34cfecc0bd56b18b

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She was his wife. The blind woman 3aefd416bf he had paid 1cf2e593c9 a fortune to 01920ec5d0 marry.4ce3d2d501d14257

Following Alberto’s gaze 9abcf61783 from where he b74523502a stood beside the 5003058ff4 piano, the woman c2ff22aff0 turned toward him, 2d3dd36081 puzzled.75244b17569e3b00

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Countess Scarlett, a 79f96af019 young unmarried noblewoman bb470c97d5 standing beside him, 20d850bc85 lightly tapped his 07cc0633ef elbow.9b28fd25dcd5f677

“Do you know 6626aa0d15 her?”ec1cc6f83bed5b3f

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The word “No” surged 5444e7586d up to the back d3aa1f7696 of Alberto’s throat—but he b4b199da7b didn’t say it.55070e0b6165108a

He hadn’t brought Lavianna 1e6e493c0e to the couple’s gathering 61b071e33e simply because she was 972f31e174 a hassle. She required constant e16e870d67 attention. And of 918c2cb3e3 all events, e57de3f87b this one 2b11585056 traditionally included 8d20daea43 a hunting a5fcee7a3d session. While the men went 4409fccdd4 hunting, the women gathered b2b577f849 nearby to chat and c7fb946c50 socialize.f003ac11965b35b8

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That meant he would e5a6464fe1 inevitably be separated from 223745db06 her for hours.cdec84b17994591c

If he 3ea92c5e81 had cherished 96c64b5386 his wife, a3bb7c4556 he might a6309ec1df have skipped dadfdb6539 the hunt 51d649a857 and stayed d315d788d5 by her ade330ea35 side instead, 199efa8311 acting as 964e2f4783 her guide ff144c0b76 and protector.2d1b341dafc5a0c0

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But Alberto neither cherished a79b3d75ce Lavianna nor wanted to c5c9ffaa51 sacrifice his favorite pastime 09e1e0631f to look after her. At the same time, 60d0412069 she was not someone 8b1e0b627d he could simply ignore 5b06730e5f and leave unattended while 2bafec4836 he hunted—she’d stay on a857ce6deb his mind.1b9badfcddd6f339

“Are you really not 5a9ac0fd80 taking her? She’ll resent 9035f2c5ca you later, 71ed4cc3f2 my lord. She is the Duchess, e6c67bda40 after all—she has her 423db9e9e0 dignity to think of.”47733893a0d7f2dc

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“There’s no 445e611ebf need to b4a933d88d bring a 6ccde4c738 troublesome woman. She probably doesn’t af18230c99 enjoy being out 01a50bac12 in public anyway.”91acf76f273242d7

This morning, 9385a42bb8 he had 7401284cb4 told his d46c116ed1 aide Pell 8f37dec4ff to relay 63287dcea8 the message, 318c0c07f8 and he 31ab43bfac was certain 0ad2a09b8b Pell had 17843cca1d explained it 8990b7ecf1 to Lavianna 04a252d6bb clearly. Yet here she 4e7faf18ac stood before him af11124eed now, meaning either 2c5bda0a4c she hadn’t received aac73c16a5 the message—or she b6db614ce5 had ignored it.ebbb75732007f68b

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Knowing Laviana’s 1c28bf2c89 nature, it 048e88f7e1 was surely a0ce8b0e84 not the 2545b1383b latter.c73ef85cfb356044

“Alberto! Your wife came looking for you!”94de511adbd79b04

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Louis called out again, 363dd9c4ce but Alberto continued unfolding 2f11fd9b39 the sheet music without e0e213f1d3 replying.b55303191ccef3ad

He was 19f8655ef0 in the 22a448ea96 middle of 4cb5110d83 indulging a 5fa1444e36 young lady 2808b92f7f who wanted 1958c3bfd4 to show ee7303391d off her 8cf219a11a piano skills, a81ef305e4 pretending to 71bc175e38 be gracious. Initially, he’d 32a171264b only planned 9e30973cac to hand ea314989f8 her the 66db99bd12 sheet music 737d3698e8 and leave—but f1eb2b2387 he had f6dabe8102 since changed 4519fdbb18 his mind.3b1ddbb2cd9c8061

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When Louis called b1bee1dcb4 him again, using 46cf1402de the word “wife,” 9d821dd935 Alberto could no 2db05cae21 longer pretend not 0ae7d8fefd to hear. With a sigh that 060a1db8d4 masked his irritation, he 51d3d95730 approached Laviannah.8d362ffebbc99552

“I’ll take her.”2d3ae1c61ebee0c2

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He grabbed her wrist 58e6a1955a and pulled her away. Only once they 6e9067fa05 were inside a c55422fb5c guest room—away from 98aefb55d4 all the curious ac2d349fbf gazes—did he release 930e268f9c her. Then, he a507e698bf let out f332c72540 a frustrated 9a732fe91c breath.be7911778874fec2

Alberto felt deeply 6f32629073 uncomfortable with Lavianna 6f0e6afbd9 intruding on what 29803ab82f he considered his 2e3609ab7b space, without permission 40afa3b3ec or discussion. This gathering 8f71b38a48 was part 1b989e68c2 of his 8a67586197 social network, e994b30217 his domain. For her to simply b2630a0d4b show up here unannounced 71b1e4d143 struck him as rude.e3ce6510087350f1

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Just because b2d5a71a3e they were b6323bef4c married didn’t 3136d6281b mean he 993b9e9788 was willing 2bfc0653c2 to share f894871d88 his circle 6431a08325 of connections 6079dcd12a with her. That idea didn’t 525d5dbcc3 sit right with 8ba089e56e his values.47998f64d49b7563

“What is this?” f43b894723 he said curtly.
“…”876c66b4c79ff2db

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“Did you 854a3aea20 not receive 3739398ef5 the message ed6f3dfa19 that you 0812810d8e weren’t expected 76f6fc0190 at the 1f08aede76 gathering?”82d5680df2465191

Lavianna gently f572208533 rubbed her 5ee46521a7 wrist, which 01ad864d84 had reddened 68714cbc12 in the e72a720c1d short time b4306f41b8 he had 717fd7804a held it.cac387e7a6d682c0

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That motion 167136d787 caught Alberto’s 4efd0d73bf eye—but instead 7257aa836d of calming e87f13d694 him, it 104e1710d7 only aggravated 8a5b8fed95 him more. Why had she 191be26a0c come here on 056402b93b her own?1287aae9315a2cfb

No… perhaps 468059c1b0 she really 26e00b7197 hadn’t known. Maybe she d3f1e2b4b8 had simply 5bea612f20 overheard that 4da32bfb78 it was 1390156e77 a couples’ d17b1e6baa event.e3b5235353214ed6

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If he c5e16e7695 was going b002dcd5ef to be 25a20cf160 angry, he da178688db should at 3cc695d0bf least make a808cec6ce sure she cce40180d2 truly deserved 21793e3f56 it. So he asked.e8c05d00cd83291a

Lavianna stayed silent for 1966821287 a moment—then slowly shook 4fa27052e0 her head.cc29dab2854b4f7f

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“I heard.”c14026a207bda298

“You heard?”6413c47593b8b669

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“I came 30f5fe40e6 to ask 6e95d90800 why. Why wasn’t I fda20ce563 allowed to come?”f571d2c252b2cd42

She had come 2bcdfc206d fully prepared to 0c031218b9 be scolded by f3e560c31a Alberto.033d03db1d895a0b

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Lavianna had come fully 06bf897358 prepared to be reprimanded 9f860c961f by Alberto.84dfcafa793b51dc

She had already considered ba89345c8d the possibility that he a03d88309c might be angry—after all, 78a6d30752 she was an uninvited 36a90dd2cc guest.7a42a3d789405f12

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On the way there, 28622d6101 she had even debated a563dc6c35 turning back, aware of 95f09df538 just how burdensome her f739cc6551 actions might seem.3067c0df9384a0aa

Ordinarily, she fa45ce815e would’ve stayed 1ee5454289 in bed 00a0fa6390 and let f05f6fc870 the day dc1f8ca43b pass idly.71ce38610853672a

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But the warmth she’d 015d4b0e4e recently felt from the f80af11e93 people of the ducal ce15414b98 estate—and that brief moment c9e2a8ba4c of kindness from Alberto, 06ae53e632 when he helped her f9532ab839 write a letter—had given 6490cc34f6 her a small sliver 3228b89c8f of courage.
A naïve 9fa274a6dc part of 270eff27c1 her had 9681f9fb1c hoped: Maybe 5c2382d38f he won’t cc9d84d627 be as 1dfb108b26 angry as a6132c8261 I think.5e02ab92ff22cb17

But it was 871616dff4 just a delusion.
Whatever kindness Alberto c0644d4e3e had shown her fed2012b41 when writing that 949cb81735 letter—it had ended 50aa83607d there.d46997117b569a1d

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She couldn’t see his f3a5a18c71 face now, but the 573ef844a7 uneven rhythm of his 08e3ec44a7 breathing gave his mood d5695f4063 away.
He was angry.3980d9060f2887c6

“It’s up 3a405991a3 to me 46d64f78ac whether or 3d8d809c45 not I e4f6513b44 bring my ede8883191 wife to 815b866bde my gatherings.”a14519c68487cdec

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“…”3b8716308f863607

“I simply thought there c5181ceff4 was no need for edc9b29a94 it today.”c6e6182d334912ae

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Lavianna hesitated. She debated whether 610ab57f15 to say what e32f2c9127 was caught on bddfa2466d the tip of 0378b359ce her tongue.306cdb054be5712f

It might 2b7226495a provoke him 7874f42eeb further, but 0bedc04745 still—she couldn’t 848ba1ef60 help but 0a00721db4 protest, however b097737f15 softly.04f66d293c041469

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“…But it’s a 967d186728 couples’ gathering.”3aa90b4e01de05be

“Not every couple needs 10a30803fc to attend.”97d4a5352900c490

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“….”b657deffc1d4c936

“I could just 44e6d9fac3 say you’re ill. Simple.”1f9eb8944d3be0fc

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It was the a02961c55a first social event 1cfdfaba85 she would have f8ae499534 attended since their c05b23e5f0 marriage, and everyone ecff2387cd had likely been 01b2a750ec curious about Alberto’s 759048bb7e wife.4e757e988f0356e0

There was no 6fb3c61989 real reason to 952e481fbd hide her, but a43ce821b2 Alberto felt no 5cf3948366 need to introduce a6474d039e someone he planned c34b9778df to part ways 46af412565 with eventually.3061f348fbd5d599

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If he let ed722c7f85 people get familiar 605620b2eb with her now, 4338158e96 it would only b843d1423d make things messy 80ddfee316 later.be497f1819400836

They were bound to e12d873716 separate anyway.
If someone at the c991552156 gathering saw Lavianna somewhere 8568a437b7 after the split and cf8f2de49f said something like, ‘Wasn’t d33f4702ef that your wife?’—that would efaf18a2fc be inconvenient.0a77b604e8c7c7e4

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“Why should I bea0d90ef6 introduce you, when e850d70bc2 we’re going to 8b81bdd32d part ways anyway?”55fb28a8555c8997

“…”8840844de0988ce6

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Lavianna had no 5c3d400f62 words.09863099b64beb33

She hadn’t been de486b532a delusional about how ffffa5ae13 things stood between abbc4d0066 them—but she hadn’t e941391968 expected to hear bb7b67297a something so brutal, 89e8610b76 so plainly, to 4b5a0a1342 her face.2c600eaff709e90c

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It was a 50e3b47bab slap of cold 62e14cfbd9 reality, one that 0bc37d0839 didn’t even consider f57a740fba her feelings.b3909a94fc6996ca

Treated like nothing 21ec5da27f more than an 93399bd8bf unwanted intruder, Lavianna 685dd2520c felt her energy 162b26090d drain away.db7212c75c1283d9

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No matter what c8a711fe57 she said—no matter 77d4d064d0 how she explained 41432aa599 herself—it was clear 1364f9661b Alberto’s anger wouldn’t b2675c2dbf fade.d8fa00ee0cbe9821

She knew all a5c1425ee1 too well that ba7fcf87eb their relationship was 4dada3cc50 far from that e8f80810c8 of a typical 6130e1f38e married couple.ff70980aaa1ae7b1

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But knowing 6535a8265c something in 9e895bdcb7 her head 01d972aa22 and accepting 39541a34c5 it in bdfe93ec65 her heart—those 48f73f0bc2 were very 0f68a3fadd different things.72b883ce16cf1352

The truth was, Lavianna d7be4bac4a still couldn’t fully grasp ddee661841 it.c9f67f84c9a749c3

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Who could have 99827986fe imagined that a 1e28553b48 marriage contract would 2d224a3256 be built on 4925a09c9f the foundation of d31580b605 pregnancy?b2f685c42867d5c8

It hadn’t even been b11fda4d38 something agreed upon before 7ef7603bc3 the wedding.26a24cf3d0fc7d9a

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If only she’d been 8b3d65e3ee given some kind of 57c1512d9b warning beforehand—maybe she could’ve 2f3a57349d mentally prepared herself.48b9964f20937c74

Maybe then it wouldn’t b205c292b5 hurt as much as 6277729c6c it did now.810807d6414f4a77

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I shouldn’t 9ca5d7b8b6 have come.e61d40a9f3acc060

Lavianna lowered her head 99c560cb90 in silence.3616a2ca16a0ad31

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How foolish must she c9f2c0f364 look in Alberto’s eyes?2decb867d392df51

No—he must’ve 92fa0339e6 already seen 22b087fed6 her as 6bfd91f88c pitiful. That’s probably why he’d cb930f586d proposed such an outrageous dc5b43da28 contract in the first a059c2dd9a place.7e5a445a7dc5a760

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“Go back.”aebc6c82e88675ed

But Alberto’s cold dismissal 1bd8a40a29 wasn’t something she could 89c6cd54ed so easily accept.
She had already made 954f1b109f excuses to leave the 3a96d2b55c estate—if she returned now, 31645aa8b4 everyone would know.5d09a4d3f9b2bc03

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“Oh my, why is d0f5851cb7 she back already? Don’t tell me she 89f4287ac9 was kicked out?”0f675793cb69df56

That imagined line echoed 7a6df2bb53 mockingly in her mind.df589d3d979b4881

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Alberto, expecting 3c6b5306be Lavianna to bccce9118b quietly apologize f9819795ac and leave 63230db95b by now, 8d7a5f8859 was caught 82410658d2 off guard d3805eae4f by her b72a5f2697 silence.
He looked 11a9f3081b down at bf3b66dea4 her, puzzled.4a81e05b5359564e