A Decade Of Performed Love

Synopsis

On the night I married Crown Prince, Julian Ashford, he lifted my veil in front of everyone and shoved a divorce paper in my face. I clutched the hem of my wedding dress, my voice shaking as I asked, "Your Highness, what is this?" Muted snickers drifted in from outside the door—his advisors, watching. "His Highness has done all this for Ms. Whitmore," one of them whispered. Julian turned and led someone out. It was Lila Whitmore, my cousin, dressed in a simple white gown but wearing my mother's white sapphire pin. She lowered her eyes, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Bethany, please don't be angry with His Highness. It's my fault—my health..." Julian put his arm around her shoulders, his voice gentle in a way I'd never heard before. He said, "I promised you, the crown princess' place would always be yours. Do you believe me now?" Lila looked up, a smile spreading across her pale face, but there was a flash of smug satisfaction in her eyes. I tried to speak, but three men suddenly stepped in front of me, blocking my way. My eldest brother, Leonard Sutton, Lord of the North, placed a firm hand on my shoulder, still wearing his battle armor. He said, "Lila suffers from a weak heart. Only His Highness can ease her suffering. Step aside." My second brother, Ethan Sutton, the renowned healer, put away his medical case, his eyes frosty. "She only has three years left. You have a lifetime. Don't be selfish about a title," he said. My third brother, Edward Sutton, the prime minister, quietly handed me a pen and ink, his voice steady. "Just sign it. His Highness has given his word. If you let her have this, he will keep you as his mistress," he said. Together, they pushed me toward the table, watching as I pressed my thumbprint onto the divorce agreement. That was when the voice returned—the one gone for ten years—clear inside my mind. The system asked, "Host, life-extension mission complete. Exit world?" I watched the candle wax drip like tears. A laugh almost escaped me. This 15-year of performed love was finally about to close its curtain.