Her eyes, searching the room without knowing what she was looking for, gleamed coldly.
The room that only the Duchesses had used, beautiful and antique furniture, elaborately crafted frames, flower arrangements changed according to the season…
Her rapidly moving gaze soon fixed on one place. It was her own face, reflected in the vanity mirror, looking as ghostly and empty.
Lizzy, with heavy steps, made an effort to walk towards the mirror.
A beautiful face was visible. Hair that had been well-maintained and had become even softer, lips painted with red, and sparkling earrings.
It was the image she had longed for her entire life. However, it was different in several ways from what she had dreamed of in her naive childhood.
Why was her expression, which should have been as bright as the spring sunshine, so lifeless, her eyes, which should have sparkled like stars, so full of jealousy and envy, and her cheeks, which should have been flushed with heart-fluttering joy, marked with blue bruises and scratches?
Lizzy slowly raised her hand and caressed her cheek. As her fingertips touched her face, a stinging pain spread across her skin again.
The person who had bruised her cheek was the Duke of Bedford. The marks from when he had hit her a few days ago were still there.
And the scratch across her cheek had been made earlier that day.
“How dare you try to play me?!”
The one who had shouted this and thrown a teacup at her was none other than her fiancé, Aaron.
It was truly unfair. She had simply gone to visit him to check on his condition. Aaron, out of unwarranted inferiority, had become enraged and started throwing things around him.
She had almost suffered a serious facial injury, but thanks to pulling her face back at the right time, it had ended with just a few drops of blood.
Funnily enough, after about ten minutes, Aaron became docile, as if he had never raged in the first place.
“I’m sorry, Lizzy. I got a little carried away. You know, you’re the only one for me. So, you should be more careful with your words in the future. Think before you speak. Understand?”
It was a statement that was hard to tell whether it was an apology or a lecture.
Lizzy was angry and embarrassed, but she couldn’t show it. If she did, Aaron would change his attitude again and start yelling.
Since the attack at the hotel, Aaron had become extremely sensitive. His emotions fluctuated wildly, making him unpredictable, and he had also become more violent.
In response, the doctor said that it was natural for his personality to change after a major incident, and emphasized that Lizzy should take care of the Crown Prince with even more sincerity.
He said that it was a wife’s proper role to soothe her husband’s feelings and embrace his pain.
‘I have to do that for the rest of my life?’
The beautiful face in the mirror momentarily twisted hideously.
As that image came into view, a refined voice suddenly echoed in her head.
“Do you still think the pain is short and the position is eternal?”
Ariella’s expression as she looked at her wasn’t very happy. Rather, she seemed concerned and worried as she scanned her injured lips and cheeks.
Humiliatingly.
“No.”
The fingers that had been caressing her cheek tightened. Her beautifully manicured nails pricked her skin painfully.
“I am, I am happy.”
Yes, this was enough to be happy. Even if she was being hit, it wasn’t often, and it wasn’t too severe, and anyway, she wouldn’t starve to death or die from the bitter cold.
She wouldn’t even have to enter someone’s household as a second wife, let alone become a mistress, and one day she would reign as the Empress of this empire. How happy was that?
Therefore, her actions of stealing Ariella’s place were definitely the right thing to do.
Lizzy continued to rationalize it that way. As if hypnotizing herself, she repeated the word “happy” more than ten times.
However, her muttering was so faint and blurred that it was quickly drowned out by the loud voice knocking on the door.
Bang, bang-bang!
“Lizzy! I know you’re in there, Lizzy! Come out for a moment, huh?”
This was already the third time this week that David had come to her bedroom.
Even though she hadn’t even opened the door, let alone faced him, she could already smell the strong scent of alcohol.
“Are you really going to do this? Huh?!”
Lizzy stared blankly at the mirror with a face devoid of any emotion. The woman in the ornate attire, clutching her cheek, was clearly her own image, yet it felt foreign and repulsive.
“Come out! Or I might just tell everything!”
At the threat, Lizzy slowly turned around. Then, she walked towards the door that was shaking wildly and flung it open.
“Ugh! No, Lizzy!”
“Haaam… David, what’s going on at this late hour? You startled me while I was sleeping.”
Her face, as she yawned widely, revealing her plump lips, was now adorned with a smile. It was an expression that couldn’t be found on the woman in the mirror.
“Ah, you were sleeping! I thought you were avoiding me…”
“Avoiding you? I’ve just been busy lately, so there haven’t been many opportunities to see each other. Why would I deliberately avoid David?”
“Really? But are you that busy?”
“Yes, you know. I’ve been so busy taking care of Aaron lately.”
At the mention of Aaron, David’s face crumpled.
