Chapter 3
Noelle's eyes lit up with a hint of joy, but worry quickly took over.
"Sandra, what should we do? If Addisyn ends up dying here in our house, and Isaac blames us..." Noelle said anxiously.
"Why worry?" Sandra waved her hand like it was nothing. "Everyone gets sick sooner or later. She's always been frail. Who else is there to blame?
"And honestly, if she dies, Valentino can finally marry you without any obstacles."
Noelle lowered her head shyly at those words.
She pouted, "Sandra, you're teasing me again."
Over the next few days, Addisyn's "illness" got worse and worse. She started rambling nonsense, completely out of it.
Rayne was at her bedside every day, crying nonstop, and the whole place felt heavy and hopeless.
The Kennedy family didn't bother with her at all, just sent over some cold leftovers each day and ignored her.
Everyone was just waiting for her to die.
But what they didn't realize was that everything was going exactly as Addisyn had planned.
She wasn't really sick. She'd just taken some herbs to fake a fever.
Meanwhile, Rayne used her daily chore of dumping slop to sneak a letter, written in blood and wrapped in a rag, out to the designated drop-off spot outside the estate.
She was betting that Isaac's spies in Novaris City would find the desperate message in time.
Day by day, Addisyn was getting weaker and weaker.
She wasn't pretending anymore. She could barely hold on.
The herbs were wrecking her, and with nothing to eat and barely anything to wear, her body was at its limit.
Rayne was frantic, pacing back and forth like a cat on a hot tin roof.
"Your Highness, why hasn't anyone from the palace come yet? If you keep going like this, you're really going to collapse!" Rayne cried out.
Addisyn leaned against the headboard, her lips cracked and her face pale.
"Just a little longer..." Addisyn whispered.
That was all she could say to comfort herself and Rayne.
If Isaac didn't show up soon, she really might die here for real.
Just as she was about to lose all hope, a sudden commotion broke out outside.
"What's going on out there?" Rayne blurted out.
Rayne rushed out to see what was happening.
Moments later, Rayne came tumbling back in, her face lit up with pure joy.
"Your Highness! It's Prince Isaac! Prince Isaac is here!" Rayne cried out.
Addisyn's eyes flew open, and a sudden brilliance burst forth in her once-dull gaze.
'Brother!' Addisyn thought. 'He really came!'
Isaac's arrival turned the Kennedy estate upside down.
Sandra and Valentino led everyone to kneel at the front gate to welcome him.
"Greetings, Your Highness!" they all shouted together.
Isaac, dressed in his crown prince's ceremonial robes, walked straight in without even glancing at them, his face as cold as stone.
"Where's my sister?" Isaac asked.
His voice was low, but it carried a chilling authority that made everyone freeze.
Sandra's heart skipped a beat, and she hurried after him.
"Your Highness, Addisyn... she's just caught a cold and is resting in her room," Sandra stammered.
"Resting?" Isaac sneered, halting and turning to face her. "Explain yourself. I've heard my sister is living worse than a servant under your roof."
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Sandra's forehead.
"Your Highness, whatever gave you such an idea? These are nothing but rumors! We have always shown the princess the greatest respect, never neglecting her for a moment," Sandra stammered.
"Is that so?" Isaac's gaze swept over Valentino, who looked just as uneasy. "General Kennedy, is that what you believe as well?"
Valentino forced himself to step forward and bowed. "Your Highness, my wife and I are deeply in love. There's no truth to those filthy rumors."
"Deeply in love?" Isaac scoffed, as if he'd just heard the funniest joke ever. "Let me ask you, why, after three months of marriage, have you never once set foot in her room?
"Why does a princess have to do her own laundry and cooking, and if she slips up even a little, she gets beaten or scolded by you?"
His barrage of questions hit the Kennedy family like a ton of bricks.
Sandra and Valentino's faces went ghostly pale in an instant.
They never imagined Isaac would know all the dirty laundry in their estate.
"Your Highness... there must be some misunderstanding..." Sandra stammered, still trying to wriggle out of trouble.
"Misunderstanding?" Isaac's gaze grew icy, cutting right through her excuses. "I'll see for myself. Lead the way, to the side courtyard!"
He barked out those last two words with absolute finality, leaving no room for anyone to argue.
The hearts of everyone in the Kennedy family hit rock bottom.
The thing they'd feared most had finally happened.
The procession marched toward the side courtyard, their presence heavy and intimidating.
When Isaac caught sight of the battered gate and the wild, overgrown yard beyond, his expression grew so stormy it felt like the air itself might crackle with rage.
The guards from Eryndor Palace behind him gripped their sword hilts, ready to draw at a moment's notice, their murderous intent practically tangible.
When Isaac pushed open the door, the air reeked of mold and bitter medicine, so strong it nearly knocked him back.