Chapter 3

A strange choking sound rose from his throat, as if something were jammed inside his chest.

He struggled to sit up and pointed at the children with a shaking hand. "They...

"They..."

Before he could finish, he choked and blood burst from his mouth.

A mouthful of fresh blood splattered across the bright embroidered blanket.

Everyone's eyes went red at the sight. His head rolled to one side, and he passed out again on the spot.

The room fell deathly silent once more. I stood there, taking in Lily's paper-white face, Emily's vacant stare, and my husband bleeding from the shock of his own humiliation.

All the grievance, bitterness, and pain I had endured for four years gathered together at that moment and became one cold smile at the corner of my lips.

Charles fell back into a coma, worse than before. Dr. Thompson said rage had nearly finished him on the spot, and in a single night Graham family collapsed into complete disaster.

Richard had a broken leg. Charles was ruined. Overnight, the family felt as if their entire world had collapsed. Emily could not bear the double blow and took to bed in tears and prayer.

Lily and her three boys became the most awkward presence in the estate. Once they had been the family's glory and future hope. Now they were walking shame and a scandal waiting to explode.

Even the servants looked at them differently now. The old flattery was gone, replaced by contempt and prying suspicion.

Lily locked herself and the children inside her rooms and would not step outside. I heard she smashed three sets of dishes a day.

With the center of power suddenly hollowed out, I, Margaret, the ignored lawful wife who had nearly been cast aside, became the only person still standing who could actually take charge.

I did not cry, and I did not panic. Once the first shock passed, I calmed myself and moved quickly.

The first thing I did was seal off the news. In the name of the Lady of Graham family, I ordered every servant to keep silent or pay with their life.

Then I paid Dr. Thompson a visit. I said very little, only setting before him a box of pearls and a royal pardon once signed for my father by the late King.

He was a smart man. He accepted the pearls but pushed the royal pardon back.

Dr. Thompson bowed deeply. "This never leaves this room. You have my word."

I nodded and returned the bow. "Thank you, Dr. Thompson."

After settling those matters, I sat alone in my courtyard for three full days. I thought of my late mother, of my father and brother at the frontier, and of this dead marriage that had trapped me for four empty years.

I also thought of Charles, the husband who had become the biggest joke of all. I felt no pity for him, only contempt.

He had humiliated me again and again for the sake of those bastard children, never realizing he was the one living under the greatest humiliation of all.

On the fourth day, I stepped out of my courtyard. Hazel draped a dark purple cloak over me.

I looked at my reflection, my face calm and my eyes cold.