Lady Hawtrey tugged Madelynn toward the great doors, her grip a vise around her arm. Madelynn shifted, planted her feet, and pulled back trying to escape, but to no avail. She was whisked from the party, through the courtyard, and toward the carriages.

“Mother!” Madelynn shouted as they approached their carriage. “This is mad, let me go!”

“Mad?” Her mother’s face was red and sweaty with rage. “Wait until your father hears about what you’ve done- then you’ll know mad.”

She swung the carriage door open and pushed Madelynn roughly inside. She stumbled, but caught herself on the bench. “You’re being ridiculous!”

“Do you know what you’ve done?” her mother spat. Her voice was low and venomous, her hands trembling at her sides as though barely containing the urge to strike. “Leaving General Aldrich at the table like that, then reappearing with Whitlock? Where is your shame?”

“I’ve done nothing wrong!” Madelynn shouted back. Her mother shoved her back until the backs of her knees knocked against the bench, forcing her into a sitting position. “You knew I didn’t want to be here, much less with Casimir. He’s horrible, Mother. You should’ve heard the things Callum told me.”

“Of course he told you things- he thinks there’s a chance for him to win you over.” She scowled as she knocked on the side wall, signalling to the coachman. “I thought you understood!”

“The only thing I understand is that you see me as nothing more than a pawn in your efforts to boost the Hawtrey name. It’s disgusting, if you ask me.” Madelynn shook her head in disgust. She knew her mother would be enraged. Madelynn couldn’t even bring a good excuse for her actions- she shouldn’t have needed one. “I did what I did because I wanted to. Callum understands me in a way you’ll never be able to.”

“Oh I’m sure he understands you very well.”

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” Madelynn raised her eyebrows, waiting for a response as her mother pursed her lips, as if trying to keep all her thoughts from rushing out at once.

“You’ve humiliated this family. General Aldrich was kind enough to invite you to this incredibly prestigious event- he gave you a chance no one else would have after your behavior at your debutante ball, and you repay him by acting like a little- a little-”

Madelynn’s face went flat as she clenched her jaw. “A little what,” she prodded through clenched teeth. “Say it.”

“A whore, Madelynn. You are acting like a whore.”

Madelynn bit her lip, holding back a biting laugh. “That’s rich!” she exploded, a noxious smile decorating her features. “And this is coming from the woman who was pregnant, not once- but twice- before marriage? And not even to someone as accomplished as a General. To a grunt- a no one.” Madelynn buried her fists in her dress as her mother stared, open mouthed, at her. “Maybe we’re more alike than you thought, Mother. At least I walked away from tonight with my integrity.”

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over them as her mother just stared at her, tears brimming in her eyes. Madelynn felt the tinge of guilt building in her belly, but she ignored it, forcing it away. She wouldn’t allow herself to feel guilty about her words, not after what her mother had put her through. Not after what Casimir was going to do to Callum. It was all her mother’s fault. If she hadn’t been forced to come to this banquet, none of this would have happened.

Madelynn closed her eyes, letting her thoughts drift to Callum for just a moment. What was Casimir going to do to him? Would he beat him? Berate him as her mother was doing to her? She was sure she hadn’t imagined the cruelty behind Casimir’s smile. If Callum was scared enough of him to warn her the way he did- she didn’t want to think about it- couldn’t let herself think about it. Callum was strong, he had to be. It wasn’t as if Casimir would… kill him, right?

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“Whenever we get home-” Her mother started. Her voice, no longer heated, was a cold, cutting monotone. It felt worse than the shouting—a final judgment passed, unshakable-“you will go to your room. You will not leave your room until you are summoned by your father or me, is that understood?”

Madelynn rolled her eyes dramatically. “Or what? It’s not like you can tarnish my reputation any more than I already have. Can’t you see that I’m done with this- done with all of this?” She held her arms out, motioning to everything around them. “Why can’t you just leave me be?”

“Your father and I are going to reach out to General Aldrich and see if he’ll have anything to do with you after tonight, or if you’ve burned that bridge, as well.” Her mother shifted in her seat, straightening her shoulders. “If not, we’ll send you to live with your Aunt Thalia on the farm in Pit.”

“In Pit?” Madelynn grimaced at the idea. Pit was a filthy little town in the far South of Malyr. It was known for its cornfields and sitting puddles of human filth in the streets. Madelynn could smell it already, remembering back to her days she’d spent visiting as a young girl. “I’ll just run away.”

“At this point,” her mother deadpanned, sounding completely defeated. “I’m not sure I’d try to stop you.”

Madelynn clenched her jaw, turning to the window. The silence left an unspoken tension hanging over them. She watched her mother’s reflection in the window, the streetlights highlighting her set jaw and watery eyes. Madelynn replayed her words over and over. Humiliated this family… Little whore… Burned that bridge… The farm in Pit.

It was all just too much. She’d put so much trust in Callum. She’d acted rashly. Was he truly worth ruining her life for? This man- this stranger- was he really worth it? What if he wasn’t being truthful, or what if he couldn’t follow through with keeping her safe? If he couldn’t, what was left for Madelynn?

She’d burned the only suiter who showed interest in her, and probably ruined any relationship she could have had with her mother. Likely her father as well.

If her mother was right and Callum was just treating her as a fling- a way to relax after a long campaign- she was ruined. Even if he was being truthful, she was ruined. Everything was ruined.

Everything was ruined.

The carriage rolled to a stop outside the Hawtrey estate. The darkness in the windows felt personal, as if even the house had given up on Madelynn.

The carriage door flew open and her mother exited first, her back straight, her movements sharp and deliberate. She didn’t even spare Madelynn a glance as she strode quickly toward the entrance.

Madelynn hesitated, gripping the bench, before she climbed down onto the dirt path. The tension followed her, like a chain around her neck, as she started toward the prison she’d once called home.

Her mother pushed the villa’s doors open and stepped inside wordlessly. She left the doors open for Madelynn, and she followed suit, closing the doors softly behind her.

You will go to your room. You will not leave your room until you are summoned by your father or me…

The words had felt like a challenge, but now they felt like a death sentence. Her parents were going to force her to marry Casimir just because she’d wanted to spend an evening defying them. All she’d wanted to do was be herself, why was that so hard for them to understand?

As Madelynn ascended the stairs toward her room, all she hoped for was that Elise was waiting for her. She needed someone to cry on.

She pushed open the door to her room and felt the tension inside her boil over. The lights were off in here, as well. Elise was already off-duty for the night. Of course, she could ring her in, but that would be cruel.

A sob wracked her body as she flipped the lights on. Her room was just as it had been before she left- beauty products left littering the vanity, her debutante gown still splayed out on the ground, her bed unmade. This was her home, her safe space, and suddenly it felt foreign. How was her room the same when so much had changed?

She sat on the edge of her bed, her trembling fingers brushing over the lace trim of her dress. It was beautiful, meticulously crafted—like her life had been, once. Now it all felt like a lie. Her chest ached as she let the tears well up, a storm she could no longer contain.

She gripped the neck of the dress and pulled. She pulled until it ripped, and she pulled it from her body and discarded it on the floor. She stood and stepped out of the skirt. Now, she stood as naked as she felt. Her breath hitched as she looked down at the ruined fabric. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to shield against the weight of it all—the shame, the fear, the overwhelming feeling of being utterly alone.

This was all so pathetic. If she’d just had more self control, this wouldn’t have happened. If she’d just listened to her mother, this never would have happened. If she’d just-

She couldn’t handle it anymore. She collapsed onto the bed and let the sobs escape her like demons from an execution.

She cried, sobbed, and screamed herself into a restless sleep consumed by dreams of escape.