Chapter 63
8 months, 2 weeks, 4 days pregnant.
“Oh, my goodness. What is she wearing?”
“Look at that hair ornament! It’s as dull and dirty as mud!”
“She doesn’t have an ounce of fashion in her bone.”
“Does she not realize how important this party is?”
“To think she would show up like that.”
“Her common roots are showing.”
Snickers.
Liliana blinks owlishly as the words fall over her ears. She turns away from the red flowers she had been admiring in the Valentine main garden and stares around in confusion.
What was happening?
Why was everyone suddenly speaking at the same time?
“Oh, dear. Not that girl again,” A voice states near her.
Liliana stares at the beautiful lady standing next to her. Uh, who was she again? She couldn’t remember. From the way she was dressed, she could guess she must be someone of fairly high standing. Her face was familiar. Ah, that was right. This lady had introduced herself to her father during the dinner party. She is one of the princess consort candidates, Lady Vivian.
She recalls just how pretty her red hair had been, and now, in the gleaming morning sun, it stood out even more, like a blooming rosebud. She was really pretty! No wonder she had been chosen as a candidate. Of course, she wasn’t as pretty as her sister, Livia, but still.
Hazel eyes turn her way, and Liliana flushes, realizing she had been staring.
“Uh, hello,” she says shyly, bowing a bit.
“Hello,” Lady Vivian greets back with a small smile, “You are Miss Liliana, correct?”
Liliana brightens, “Yes! I am.”
“It is nice to meet, you Miss Liliana. I am Lady Vivian,” The older woman says, and offers a gloved hand for her to shake.
She does so with gusto, her smile widening, “I know. I remember! You had introduced yourself to my father during the dinner party.”
Lady Vivian's small smile widens, “I’m glad you remember me.”
“Mmhm!” Liliana bobs her head, “Your hair is such a beautiful color! It was the first thing I noticed.”
Lady Vivian's delicate hands brush along a ruby strand, twirling it with a finger as her gaze lowers, a pleased look in her eyes, “You are too kind.”
“Is she?” A voice says scornfully.
The two women look over. Princess Adanna steps forward with a small entourage of maids and other noblewomen a step behind her. She flicks a golden lock over her shoulder and smirks prettily.
Her crystal blue eyes look at Liliana from top to bottom, “You,” she starts with a loathsome look in her eyes, “If I recall, you are the youngest daughter of Duke Valentine, correct?”
Liliana belatedly falls into a courtesy, her vision filled with stars, “Y-yes, your highness. My name is Lili-”
“I know who you are,” She is cut off.
Hesitantly, she raises her red eyes, unsure, “You do?”
Princess Adanna smiles down at her, looking for all the world like the sun itself as golden roses seem to bloom in the air above her head. Liliana has to reframe from squinting and turning away from the rays of light.
“Of course, I do. I mean, in all honesty, who doesn’t?” Her highness says, her tone airy.
“Oh,” Liliana says in surprise, her mouth falling open a bit.
She was not sure how to respond to apparently being famous enough for the only Princess of Wisteria to know who she was. Maybe it was because she had been by her father’s side during the dinner party? Otherwise, how could some nobody like her be known by her highness?
If anything, this should make her happy, right?
To think she would ever be approached by a princess in real life! And she was just as beautiful as the ones in the storybooks she had read as a child!
Liliana stares with round eyes, completely start struck.
“It is not every day that you get to meet the bastard daughter of Duke Valentine, after all.”
Liliana's smile freezes, her heart drops.
What?
Princess Adanna tilts her chin up to her crystal eyes could stare downward with a condescending coldness.
“How strange it is to see you in broad daylight,” Her highness remarks idly, “For as much as I heard of you, not once have I ever seen you. Honestly, I almost had thought you were just some tall-tale that others talked about out of sheer boredom, but it seems you aren’t just a figment of the imagination.”
The group surrounding her highness twitters like birds. Liliana can feel the slow crawl of heat along her face as she stands there like an idiot, her mind slow to catch up as the image in her head of a kind, benevolent princess shatters.
“Your highness,” Lady Vivian admonishes softly, “Miss Liliana is a daughter of this house and is cherished by Duke Valentine. She deserves as much respect as anyone here.”
“Does she?” Princess Adanna questions, cutting a sharp look to Lady Vivian, “From what I can tell, she, amongst everyone here, is a complete outsider.” A golden trim fan points to someone over Liliana’s shoulder, “Even that baron girl has more right to be here than she does.”
Her highness suddenly steps forward, a cruel, angry look in her eyes, “I do not know why you suddenly decided to step into society, but you should know your place. A bastard should not attend such an esteemed event as if they belong.”
She steps closer still, a cruel smirk on her lips, “As your princess, I only wish the best of all my people, but even I cannot turn a blind eye to this. Since you have likely been sheltered, I have decided to let this affront go, but I do suggest you leave. At least have the dignity to properly debut into society before you think you can attend such gatherings as if they are open to the common populace.”
Liliana stares down at her shoes, her ears burning as she is laughed at.
“Honestly, she may be a cherished daughter, but she is still a bastard,” A voice sneers.
“Her highness is right. To think Duke Valentine would insult the princess this way,” Another jeer.
“She hasn’t debuted yet? And she dared to think she could join us? How arrogant,” A head shakes as someone throws a mocking glare her way.
“Her highness even took it upon herself to give the bastard a warning. How gracious of her!” Another simper.
Somewhere in all of this, Lady Vivian has stepped away from her side and now stands beside her highness, silent, leaving Liliana to stand alone.
“Be off now, girl,” Princess Adanna covers her pleased smile with her splayed-out fan, “I suggest you join your sister in the shadows she has retreated to, possibly learn the proper way to curtsy, while you're at it? And be a dear and do give Lady Livia my regard. I have not been given the opportunity to properly thank her for regaling me about her time away. Truly, it had been oh so insightful,” The princess sneers.
Suddenly, Liliana did not feel the shame souring her belly, the humiliated flush to her skin retreats as her hands release her dress and clench tightly at her side. Her body begins to tremble, but it was not from sadness or mortification.
Anger.
It was an emotion she rarely felt and she was almost startled by the wave that crashed into her and dragged her out into a simmering sea.
“The two Valentine sisters are so rude,” A voice says snidely.
“Are you surprised? They have been kept away from proper company for so long they have forgotten how to conduct themselves. Honestly, the nerve of them both,” A voice hisses.
“It’s their upbringing. When you have a woman pretending to be a mother as they do...” Snickers.
“It’s no wonder Lady Livia ended up sullied with a bastard child,” Another leers, “This whole farse of an engagement is just to keep up appearances when everyone knows she is ruined beyond repair.”
“What is going on-” A voice starts to say. Amelia steps forward with a determined look in her eyes. Around them, the tea party in the garden has come to a complete standstill with all eyes on the scene playing out.
“Shut up!” Liliana snaps instantly upon hearing the insult, startling everyone. She pays little mind to the quiet gasps or the stares aimed at her.
Her head lifts with blazing eyes. She directs her glare to the woman who had spoken and the woman flinches, her smirk falling as she gasps and takes a step back.
“How dare you-” Princess Adanna begins, her face twisted in an affronted scowl to mask her surprise. Not a second ago, the girl had been beaten into silent submission, head bowed and eye lowered, but now she stares at them all with such fire in her eyes.
“No,” Liliana says, her face flush with anger, “How dare you. Livia has done nothing to deserve you insulting her! I do not care what you say about me, but you do not speak about my sister that way! Especially you. Princess or no, it was your family that made the mistake! It was your family that mistakenly cast Livia out when she had been innocent all along! Because of you, she had to-” Liliana's voice wobbles, stops, her eyes watering.
Angrily, she wipes at the tears, but the motion only has them cascading down her face faster.
Liliana sniffles, shaking her head as her gaze lowers, her shoulders trembling.
“How could you say such a thing?” She asks them and hates how weak it comes out.
She swallows, lifts up her eyes, and ignores the woman, Amelia who steps close to her with a raised hand, as if she wanted to comfort her.
“You know what happened,” Liliana says accusingly, her eyes only on Princess Adanna, “You know what your brothers have done and yet, you still choose to say cruel words.” She shakes her head again, her face disbelieving.
“Why?” Liliana wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know the reason, but she couldn’t help but ask all the same.
Because it didn’t make sense to her.
She could not comprehend it at all.
Why?
Why?
WHY!?
It wasn’t fair.
“Miss Liliana,” warm hands gently rest on her shoulders, causing her to flinch and turn a tearful gaze onto the young woman standing next to her.
Amelia smiles sadly, “Maybe it is best that we just leave,” Her blue eyes look around, her smile turning nervous, “I mean, it will be for the best.”
“Someone like you would say that,” A voice hisses.
They lookup. Liliana glares rekindles while Amelia's shoulders hunch up, defensive but cowed.
Princess Adanna's face was red as anger dripped from every unseen pour, she even trembles, faintly, as the garden falls into a dead silence.
“I suppose you two gravitating to each other makes sense. Like two clumps of mud gathering on the streets when it rains,” The princess face twist into an ugly sneer, “But it seems like you, along with this wretched girl, forgets to whom you speak too.”
Princess Adanna's hands fall to her chest, indicating herself as her voice rises in volume, “I am a princess! You cannot speak to me in such a way! I can have you both thrown in jail for the insult alone!”
“Your highness,” Lady Vivian dares to speak up, her face strained.
She is ignored. Princess Adanna points to Liliana and Amelia, “Apologies, for your insolent behavior this instant. I might even think about forgiving you. Or else, I will be forced to punish you in a severe manner.”
“Your highness, please,” Amelia says, stepping forward with raised hands.
“You,” Princess Adanna's eyes turn into an eruption of lava, “You do not get to speak.”
“But...” Amelia trails off, her expression wavering.
“I will not apologies,” Liliana declares, wiping at her face to properly glare.
More gasps, this time followed by low murmurs.
Liliana only raises her chin further in the face of Princess Adanna's glower.
“You have insulted me enough,” her highness says, reaching out and plucking something off a passing servant tray. She ignores the servant's look of alarm and throws the item, steaming tea in all, at the two women before her.
Amelia recoils away on instinct, somehow ending up almost behind Liliana the instant hot liquid splashes onto them. A second after, she grunts as a teapot punches her in the stomach before it bounces away and onto the ground, shattering on impact and spraying sharp porcelain in every direction.
Liliana has little time to register the burns and sharp pain.
“Miss Amelia!”
“What the hell is going on here!?”
“What exactly do you think you are doing, Adanna!”
Suddenly, she is surrounded.
No.
It was more like Amelia is.
A broad shoulder bumps into Liliana, causing her to stumble away and fall. She looks up in surprise at the men who seem to have appeared from nowhere as they surround Amelia like human shields. Between worrying over her and glaring at the perpetrator, Princess Adanna, they knew how to multitask well.
It was a startling sight. So much so, Liliana temporarily forgot about her own pain as she stared at the scene before her. One that she had thought she could only read in fictional novels.
It was almost amazing.
Of these young men, Liliana only recognized Prince Orin and Prince Kolton. There were at least three or four she did not know at all.
A hand suddenly appears in her line of sight.
Stupidly, Liliana just blinks at it.
“Are you alright?” A masculine voice asks gently above her, “Can you stand?”
Liliana reaches toward it numbly. She is helped to her feet, or at least, she would have been if the moment she tried to stand didn’t cause her to wince and nearly collapse from the sharp pain.
Startled, she looks down to see blood.
Huh.
It seems a small piece of porcelain somehow managed to lodge itself through her dress and into her calf.
How did she not notice that?
“Crap, your bleeding,” A quiet voice hisses.
Liliana lifts her eyes and meets wintery blue.
Oh. His eyes were really pretty.
“I can help with that.”
Liliana turns in the direction of the words and yup. There was another pretty one. Where the young man helping her stand was like a cool breeze in a silent storm of ice, this one was likened to a rippling pond in the middle of spring.
He also seemed a bit older.
Mature.
“Instructor Fin,” A pastel blue head bobs in greeting.
“President Leighton, how is she?” Fin, an instructor, apparently asks as he moves closer.
“Bleeding,” Leighton, a president, states blandly.
Fin just chuckles, “Right. Of course.”
Then he turns a gentle smile at Liliana, causing her to pinken. She looks away, but that only has her gaze landing on wintery blue, Leightons, so she looks down, back at her bleeding wound.
“Um,” Liliana mumble, suddenly feeling way out of her element. It was one thing to see such beauty in the passing distance, but it was another thing entirely to have it shoved so upfront without warning! At least give her a few seconds to prepare her heart, dang it!
“I can treat you,” Fin says and kneels down.
Liliana blinks rapidly, staring at his long blond hair, only just noticing that his ear was actually pointy! Wow, did that mean he was an elf? Like, an actual elf!?
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
“Um,” Her eyes flicker nervously away and then back, “How?”
“With magic,” Leighton replies, his gaze directed on the arguing group a few feet away from them with a frown.
“Magic?” Liliana says in astonishment, staring down with sparkles in her eyes.
“I’ll need to pull this out, Miss Liliana,” Instructor Fin tells her gently, gesturing to the broken porcelain in her leg, “Hold tightly to Mr. Leighton's hand, alright? I will try to make this quick.”
Leighton turns back to her, squeezing her hand, “It’s alright,” he tells her, “How are your arms and hands? Is there anywhere else that hurts?”
Liliana looks down at her arms covered by fabric, noting the red tea soaking into it, staining it. She wiggles her fingers a bit and shrugs. It had hurt before, but now...the pain was nearly gone entirely.
“It’s fine,” She says, “It’s just my leg.”
Leighton gives her a skeptical look. She just smiles brightly in reply and shrugs again. Faintly, she feels Fin remove the shard from her leg, but even that pain was quickly dulling.
“Huh,” Fin says.
Liliana looks down curiously, “What is it? Is the wound, okay?” Then she gets distracted by his magic.
It was gold and glowed very prettily.
“It seems it was a much smaller cut than I thought,” Fin says, dropping his hands away once the cut closes up completely under his ministrations. He slowly rises and smiles, “Anything else hurts?”
Liliana shakes her head, her mood bouncing back, “Nope! I am fine. Thank you for healing me.” She stands on her own weight and releases Leighton's hands, “Thank you as well, Mr. Leighton!”
“You are welcome,” Leighton says.
“It’s no trouble at all,” Fin says.
Liliana beams at them and then bends down to inspect her leg closely. Wow! It was like she never got hurt. Amazing! Healers are amazing!
“Are you sure you are alright?”
She turns back to the two men before her, blinking slowly, “Um...yes?”
Leighton suddenly reaches out; Liliana follows the movement of his hand as if it was happening in slow motion and yet she still jumps a bit when a finger is stroked over her cheek. When the hand pulls away, a single tear rest on his finger.
Liliana blinks once, then blushes.
Oh. Right.
That.
Her blush soon dies down and she frowns.
That.
“Fin, what are you doing? Miss Amelia needs you to heal her,” Prince Kolton calls out, throwing a glare in their direction. Then he does a double-take as if he just now noticed Liliana.
“It’s fine! I only got burnt a little bit. Miss Liliana was hurt worse,” Amelia says, her face pink as she waves her hands around frantically.
“It is not fine, Miss Amelia,” Prince Orin says with a thunderous look, “Adanna should have never hurt you.”
“His highness is right,” A dark-haired man agrees with irritated orange eyes, “She took it too far this time.”
The princess in question was gone. Along with Lady Vivian and the noble girls that had been hanging around her. Liliana's frown shrinks into a flatline. When did that happen? Dang, it.
“What is wrong with that girl?” One of the males of the group surrounding Amelia's voice tsks.
“To think a princess of this kingdom would conduct herself in such a way,” Another one says, and drags a hand through his brown and blond hair, revealing metal on his ears.
Liliana tunes them all out, her head looking around. She spots a tail end of teal go around a corner, and darts off in the direction with a look of determination.
She wouldn’t let the princess get away. Not without getting to the bottom of all this!
----------------------------------------
8 months, 3 weeks, 1 day pregnant.
“Just how long do you intend to step in the way of Livia's duties?” Lynette hisses out angrily the moment she steps foot into her husband's office.
“Hello to you too, wife,” Luvien states without glancing up. He stamps a paper, flips through a stack, reads slowly, and then stamps another.
“Luvien!” Lynette snaps after a minute of being ignored. She stalks forward to slam her hands down on his desk, “Did you not hear what I just said?”
“I heard you,” Luvien responds, lowly. How could he not? She was practically screaming.
“You must end this nonsense,” Lynette demands instantly, “Livia cannot remain on the outskirts a day longer. There are certain traditions and ways we must adhere to if we wish to continue to properly host the Fall Courtship. Call her back. Have that girl, Vivian,” She spits out the name, “removed from Livia’s room.”
“And have our daughter reside next to the Princess Adanna?” Luvien asks coldly, finally looking up.
Lynette scoffs, “Our,” she mutters, “What nonsense.”
Louder, she says, “Then have that spoiled girl moved along with her friend.”
Her rose-pink eyes sharpen, “And on that note, what exactly do you intend to do with that girl? She had dared to insult us not once, but twice. I say princess or no, a one day confinement for her actions as punishment is too little. To think that spoiled thing had the nerve to continuously demand an apology when she was so clearly in the wrong! His highness, as always is too lenient on his children!”
“Livia will not be moved again,” He states baldly. He crosses his fingers together and resting them on top of the half-finished parchment on his desk, “I have already ordered that the north wing be properly prepared for the delivery.”
“Deli-” Lynette stops and stares at him as if he had grown two heads. Then her lips curls, “What utter madness,” She hisses, “How dare you do such a thing without speaking to me first! Such matters aren’t for you to decide.”
“I would have been more than willing to let you take care of such things but it seems as of late other matters that have been occupying your attention. I felt it was best to leave you, your mother, and your sister alone,” Luvien eyes his wife before him coolly, “Especially as you had seen to orchestrate all of this without telling me until the last minute.”
Lynette smiles meanly, leaning forward, “Apologies husband, it seems I have been neglecting my duties. But, then again, I would have happily informed you of my plans. If only you had deigned to reply to any of my letters in the past, maybe then I would not have thought you have been of little interest.”
“It seems a mutual misunderstanding has taken place,” Luvien states flatly, his voice cold.
“Indeed, it has,” Lynette says icily, her smile widening.
They stare at each other, daring the other to look away first.
Silence.
Lynette rolls her eyes upwards and removes her hands from the desk so she could straighten and cross them under her ample breast and huffs.
“Well, now that is out of the way,” She starts, ignoring Luvien's faint look of triumph, “We must discuss the upcoming event of the Fall Courtship. Or, more importantly, the lack of events.”
Luvien removes the papers he had been working on, setting them to the side to resume at a later time, and gives his wife his full attention.
“The events have been organized by you and your mother,” He wonders why he must point out the obvious, his face devoid of emotion, “From what I can tell, all pre-plan has been executed with needlepoint perfection. The only incident we have had has already been taken care of.”
Lynette was already shaking her head, a scowl on her face, “It seems you are forgetting someone of great importance once more, husband.”
Luvien raises a dark eyebrow.
Lynette's mouth draws back further, “Our daughter!?” She snaps.
“You know, the third and finale crown princess candidate?” She continues on when her husband only stares back at her.
“I had turned a blind eye when she had been excused for the dinner party, but as the day's passed, she continued to remain absent from all the events! She did not show up for the picnic, the ball, or the tea party! Our guest has begun to ask certain questions that I cannot answer! How foolish do you think they are? Did you think they wouldn’t notice one of the three candidates missing?” Lynette throws up her hands and glares.
Luvien remains silent. There was no point in talking when his wife got like this. It was best to wait and let her spout off until she was done.
Sure enough, Lynette continues on.
“The preliminary events are over and done with,” Lynette states stalking forward again, “All introductions have been made and the crown princess candidates have made themselves known. All of them except for Livia. With that out of the way, the Fall Courtship can begin in earnest.”
Lynette slams her hands on the desk once more, “Only, that is not the case because tradition dictates that all candidates must first complete the three mandatory outings under supervision with the crown prince before the Fall Courtship can commence.”
Rose eye turn into slits, “Husband, I know you are aware of the details, but, if your memory has to turn into fog at your age, I am more than happy to go in fetch the copy of the charter so you can see the rules with your own eyes.”
Luvien reframes from lowering himself and rolling his eyes like an unruly adolescent, but it is a near thing.
“I am aware of traditions of Wisteria, wife,” He states.
Lynette means smile was back, “Well, that is good to hear husband. Then there was no reason for me to visit you at all it seems,” She straightens and pats off her dress as if it was dirty.
“Inform your guards and the royal ones that I am allowed to see my daughter. I have already had dresses made for the event, but it has been some time since I last saw her. Lord forbid that she had gotten bigger in that short amount, but you know Livia. Always so defiant even in the smallest things,” she says placidly and simpers.
“I am also aware,” Luvien continues lowly, as Lynette begins to turn away, “That Livia, under no circumstances, will ever become the Crown Princess of Wisteria.”
The duchess stills. Slowly, she turns back to him, her expression going from surprise to anger, and settling on thunderous.
“What nonsense are you spouting now?” Lynette asks coldly, her rose-pink eyes frigid.
Luvien flat-line of a mouth lift. In a rare instance, he smirks, almost in bemusement.
“Truly, it is almost amazing,” He says calmly, “To think you genuinely thought that your schemes would actually bear fruit astounds me.”
“My-” Lynette cuts of the words forcefully, “Dear,” she tries again, gentling her voice, “All I have done is acted in the best interest of this family.”
Luvien leans back into his chair, his gaze unreadable even as his mouth becomes mocking, “Have you now?”
“Of course, I have!” Lynette snaps back angrily, “From the moment I married you, it is all I have ever sought!”
“And for the sake of this household, my legacy, it was in all of our best interest to throw our newly returned and pregnant daughter to the very man who ruined her beyond repair?” Luvien asks solemnly.
Lynette's mouth opens, her face overcome by righteous anger, but as his look, she closes it once more.
A pause.
“He is the crown prince,” She says, eventually, “And he is still young. He made a mistake-”
Lynette flinches when Luvien slams his fist on the desks, startling her. She stares at him in shock because he has never been one to show his emotion so outwardly much less react in such a way. She falls silent once more.
“A mistake?” His snarls lowly, “You think his actions can be summoned up as easily as a mistake?” He shakes his head, a dark chuckle falling out of his mouth as he massages his temples.
“Why did I expect more from you?” He asks, clearly disappointed.
“Even after all this time, you still act like a child. You make rash, split seconds decisions that never take into account the future or the long-term consequences it would have.”
“Dear,” Lynette's voice is weak.
“No,” Luvien lips curl, “You have spoken enough. Now it is time you listened.”
Lynette's rose eyes were shallowly meek. She remained silent. For now.
“Livia will never be chosen,” Luvien states bluntly, “She has been soiled and impregnated with a bastard. Regardless of how it has happened, the fact of the matter is that it did. No amount of empathy can change this. The people do not want her. The Silvan’s do not want her. At the very least, not as their future queen.” He looks up, “Do you understand this?”
Lynette does not.
Luvien can see it as clear as day even as she nodded as if she did.
Or more accurately, she refused to let go of her lofty dreams of royal prestige, and therefore refused to give up hope that Livia could one day be married into the royal family of Wisteria.
Fine.
So, be it.
He had always known that she would be of no assistance to him in regards to this. That is why he had no qualms putting things in the works while keeping her completely in the dark.
It was better this way.
He did not need her greed getting in the way of his plans for Livia.
Unlike his wife, Luvien was not quick to throw all of his gold into one basket. He did not take risks he could not win. He always took a step back, took a moment to actually think, and then he planned his next course of action. During the two months he had been away, he did exactly that and he has finally come to a decision.
It was just a minor inconvenience that his plans were in direct conflict with his wife's.
“But even so, Livia is still a crown princess candidate,” Lynette says almost meekly, her eyes lowered “It would not do to insult the Royal House of Silvan by neglecting this fact, husband. You cannot keep her locked away until Crown Prince Rodale makes his decision.”
Her eyes lift, a feline smile on her lips, “If you are so confident about our daughter’s supposed fate, then it should be trouble at all to let her resume her duties. Regardless of the outcome, the esteemed Valentine House would be seen as a laughing stock if we continue to act so cowardly.”
It was endlessly aggravating that Luvien could not dismiss her point.
She was right.
However...
“Are you so eager to have Livia released into the public eye again?” Luvien asks silky, “Or have you forgotten the last time our daughter had encountered the princes? No matter how much time pass it will not remove the scar on your reputation, wife.”
Lynette triumph looks collapses, but she still tries to hold her head up high, “It was is a risk I am willing to take.”
“And is Livia being seen in the state that she currently is also something you can endure?” Luvien questions blandly, “Surely you have not forgotten how close she is to give birth to a bastard. The Fall Courtship will only aggravate her delicate state. Would it not best to sit and wait until after?”
“No,” Lynette says instantly, “The princes are here now. The Fall Courtship is under my direct control. This opportunity will not come again.”
Luvien narrows his eyes. He did not miss the plural term.
Greed was truly blinding.
“As for Livia passed outbursts,” Lynette smiles prettily, like a predatory that was sure it would eat well for the day, and says, “Well, I won’t be foolish enough to make the same mistake twice. Especially if I am granted my full rights over my daughter now that my dear husband has returned.”
Luvien stares at her for a long minute, his face emotionless.
Then he sighs and leans back into his chair, “Fine. So be it.” He states, echoing his previous thoughts.
“Wonderful!” Lynette claps her hands, her eyes bright, “I will see to it personally that Livia is prepared to entertain his highness. I think the first meeting should take place out in the garden! A dinner! Yes, that would make a lovely setting-”
“The meetings are to be no longer than one hour,” Luvien states.
Lynette's eyebrow twitches in irritation, “Fine. I can work with that. I’ll just have to cut out the appetizers-”
“I will be the one to supervise them,” The duke cuts in again, he stare unblinking.
“What?” Lynette snaps, her smile dropping.
“And as stated on the parental documents, you are to not go anywhere near Livia unless I give you permission to do so. You are also to abstain from being alone with her at all times.”
“Husband!” Lynette protest angrily, “Livia is my daughter! I do not know why you have a sudden interest in her, but do not forget I was the one who raised her while you were gone!” She says, her voice rising into a near shout.
“The last I recall, beating obedience into child did not constitute to raising them,” Luvien states coldly, not mincing his words.
Lynette flinches as if she had been physically slapped.
“You will have what you came in here to demand, wife,” The duke promises, “But you will only get what you want under my terms. If this displeases you,” An elegant shoulder is shrugged, “Then it is of no consequences to me.” He waves his hands to the door, “You are dismissed.”
“Luvien...”
A dark gaze lifts up in silent warning.
His patience was thinning.
Lynette closes her mouth and nods jerkily, “As you wish, dear.”
She turns and leaves the room without another word.
----------------------------------------
8 months, 3 weeks, 6 days pregnant.
“Breath in,” Beth commands gently.
Livia fills her lungs.
“Alright, good. Now, breath out,” Beth coax.
Livia releases the air in her lungs.
“Yes, exactly like that, alright, in...”
Livia fills her lungs once more.
“And out. Good. You are doing great Lady Livia! In....out. In...”
“Is this really necessary?” Amaya asks, observing them from her upside-down position on the bed, “It seems ridiculous out of all the things to practice in preparation for labor that breathing is one of them.”
Livia huffs out the next breath, her concentration is broken.
“Well, if you are so bored, Miss Amaya, you can come hold Lady Livia's hand,” Beth says in annoyance.
Amaya rolls to her stomach and props up her chin, “I doubt hand holding is helpful either.”
“More like hand crushing,” Livia snickers and then groans a bit, her eyebrow crinkling up as she grips her belly.
“False labor?” Beth asks instantly, alert.
Livia nods and sighs, “Yeah, it’s already starting to fade.”
“Alright, I don’t think I need to say this again, but if pressure lasts longer or returns with frequency, you know you are to tell me immediately, right?” Beth says with sharp hazel eyes.
Livia just flaps her hand, “Yes, I’ll make sure you are the first to know,” Her nose wrinkles a bit, “Trust me, I have no intentions of going about this in the wrong way. I know just how easily things can go wrong if you aren’t careful.”
“I thought you said this was your first child, ever,” Amaya says, her brows wrinkling, “How do you know it could go wrong? Aren’t you a first-time mother?”
“Shows,” Livia says, eyes wide, “Lots and lots of shows.”
“Oh, the ones on the TeeVee?” Amaya says, drawing out the letters awkwardly.
“Mmhm,” Livia hums as she arches her back, trying to relieve the pain. It doesn’t work. She sighs tiredly and straightens, “Beth, I think I mastered the breathing at this point,” She looks down at her spread out legs on the floor, “And the position.”
Amaya perks up, “Time to do something else?”
As if on cue, there is a knock at the door.
All three women turn their heads while Noctis's hair raises on his back and he lets out a hiss. They pay it no mind. For some reason, the kit hated the sound of knuckles on wood.
“What?” Livia calls out as she grabs Beth's hand shamelessly. She lets the older woman pull her up on her feet, swaying a bit as her sense of gravity adjusted.
“There is a message from Duke Valentine...um, your father?” Brenda calls from outside the door.
Livia sighs, already irritated.
Was it not enough that her father has basically put her in a fixer-upper prison under practically 24/7 supervision?
Was it not enough that her father has banned her from seeing Liliana, and vice versa?
No.
Apparently not!
What was worse was the fact that while she had been stuck in the north wing, that bitch Adanna threw a fucking teapot at her baby sister! And what could Livia do in retaliation? Fucking nothing!
The moment she got out...
No. Better stop. Getting angry and becoming stressed was not good for the baby. High blood pressure and all that.
“Come in,” She grumbles and heads straight for her bed. She used up all the energy had to give for the day on the pre-labor practices.
Brenda peeks her head in, gets a foot into the room, and is instantly stopped by Amaya who hands her hand extended out for the letter with a placid smile.
“I’ll make sure to give this to Lady Livia,” Amaya adds, already backing the maid out, and promptly closes the door on her face. Then she turns around and practically chunks the piece of paper across the room at Livia.
Surprisingly, it gets pretty far before plummeting. All three woman watches its slow descent.
“Honestly, Amaya, you could have just walked,” Beth admonishes, reaching down to pluck up the letter from the edge of the bed.
“It almost made it,” Livia and Amaya say at the same time, blinking in unison.
Beth shivers. Sometimes, she thought those two were eerily in sync and share the same wave pattern. She hands the letter to Livia, who instantly opens it with the edge of her long nails.
“What does it say?” Amaya asks from her place now on the floor, laying spread eagle and staring up at the ceiling with a blank look.
Beth just stares at her.
Why?
Livia suddenly flings the letter away from her with a loud groan, “Fucking fuck! The fuck? What fucking sense does that make! If you were going to make me fucking attend the fucking Fall Courtship from the fucking beginning why even send me all the way out here!?” She explodes.
Beth blinks rapidly, her eyes round.
“Stupid piece of shit! Damn him!” Livia continues to yell. She grabs the letter up again and rips it into tiny pieces, venting out some of her anger.
“So, I guess that’s happening now,” Amaya says blandly, lifting her head up and pointing.
“Fucking prick!” Livia hisses in reply and throws the shredded remains of the letter into the air. It floats back gently on the bed, into her hair, and on the top of her pregnant stomach.
Beth sighs. She would have to clean that up. No. Better idea. She would make Amaya clean it. It would give the young woman something to do.
There is another knock on the door, hesitant.
“WHAT?” Livia roars.
“Um...Uh-”
“Better spit it out before Lady Livia burns a hole through your head through the freaking door,” Amaya says helpfully, still on the floor.
A small ‘eep’ is heard, and then, “A delivery. From Duchess Valentine...your mother?” It was Brenda again. Poor things. It seems she was the go-to person when the other servants had to interact with the increasingly easily irritable heiress.
“It better not be a fucking dress,” Livia snarls, glaring at her bedroom door.
“You know it is,” Amaya says, on her stomach and kicking her legs, clearly entertained.
“Is it?” Beth asks, a sigh ready to gust out of her throat.
“Uh...yes?” Brenda asks, still through the door as no one in the room has bothered to move to open it or granted her access.
“Burn it,” Livia says immediately.
“I-What?” Brenda squeaks.
“Burn it,” Amaya repeats, louder, always one to help those in need.
Beth sighs, heavily.
“What is getting burnt?” Sen asks, crawling through the window as if it was perfectly normal to enter a second-floor room that way.
“A dress, apparently,” Beth replies readily, not even blinking at his sudden appearance.
“Ok,” Sen says and nods as if the was a perfectly acceptable reply.