Chapter 1

On the night before our wedding, my fiancé suddenly announced he wanted to marry my concubine-born sister instead.

The entire capital mocked me, saying I wasn't as good as her.

The very next day, the Prince Regent, Aiden Hart, arrived at my door with a royal edict, asking me to marry him.

And so, I married him. From then on, I managed the household, assisted him, raised our children, and worked hard to become a wife worthy of him.

However, things changed one night.

I was going to thank the king for granting our marriage and overheard him scolding Aiden in frustration.

The king said, "You are the Prince Regent. If you want to marry Colette Nelson, it's easy. Yet you gave up so much for her, even marrying the sister she despised, all so she could be happy. Was it worth it?"

Aiden took a sip of wine and smiled bitterly. "Power cannot make Colette love me, but it can clear every obstacle from the road to her happiness. I did it willingly."

That was when I realized the vow he gave me, "till death do us part", was a lie.

Everything he did was for my sister.

Since that was the case, then I would give them what they wanted.

*****

I fled the king's quarters in distress.

My maid, waiting outside, saw my tear-streaked face and asked with concern, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"

I shook my head, so overwhelmed I couldn't get a single word out.

The sound of music filled the air as Aiden and the king strolled toward the hall.

Afraid they'd spot me, I quickly grabbed my maid's hand and ducked behind a rock.

"Aiden, Edith sees you as her whole world. She loves you with all her heart. If she ever finds out the truth, will you regret it?" the king asked.

Aiden shook his head, his voice unwavering. "Edith won't find out, and I won't regret it."

The early autumn breeze, usually so pleasant, now chilled me to the bone.

I stumbled back, meeting my maid's knowing and sympathetic gaze.

So, everyone knew about it.

I gripped the rock tightly, lowering my voice. "Not a word about today. Keep this to yourself."

My maid nodded quickly, steadying me as we walked toward the royal garden.

The royal garden was bursting with blooms, the air filled with the fragrance of blossoms.

I sat in the pavilion, staring blankly as petals floated down around me.

Memories flickered through my mind like a movie reel.

Back then, right before my wedding, my fiancé, James Wright suddenly dropped to his knees in front of my father, pouring out his feelings and begging to marry Colette.

He was even willing to give up being the heir to his family title and become a live-in son-in-law to my family.

His devotion for Colette turned me into a joke.

Rumors spread like wildfire in the capital. Everyone started whispering that I must be secretly sick. Otherwise, I wouldn't be dumped right before the wedding.

I was devastated, and more than once, I thought about suicide.

But the very next day, the Prince Regent Aiden Hart arrived at my door with a royal decree and betrothal gifts, claiming he'd been in love with me for ages.

I clung to him like a lifeline, agreeing to marry him on the spot.

But now, looking back, what I thought was my salvation was nothing but a joke to everyone else.

Just then, Aiden appeared in front of me.

When he saw me, the tension in his brow eased, and he gently wrapped my hand in his warm palm.

"Why are you sitting out here all alone?" he asked. "It's early autumn, so it's not too cold yet. But you're frail. Be careful not to catch a chill."

I blinked, holding back my tears.

"The flowers in the royal garden are beautiful. I didn't realize how long I'd been sitting here watching them," I said quietly.

Aiden scooped me up gently, his voice tender. "Let's call it a night, okay? It's getting late. We should head back home. We can come back to the palace and see the flowers another day."

I gave a gentle nod and quietly followed him back to the Prince Regent's estate.

But when we got to the bedroom, Aiden said he had something to take care of and headed straight for his study.

I lay in bed, tossing and turning.

Everything that happened today kept replaying in my mind, and I couldn't fall asleep.

After wrestling with my thoughts for what felt like ages, I finally made up my mind to go to the study and talk things through with Aiden.

When I reached Aiden's quarters, I found the whole courtyard shrouded in darkness. Even the lanterns at the entrance were unlit.

The footman was nodding off at his post, so I tiptoed into the study with Ivana Campbell, my personal maid.

I lit up a lamp in the study.

As I looked around at the paintings crowding every corner of the room, a bitter, suffocating pain filled my chest.

Every single painting was of Colette.

It started from her innocent childhood to her graceful young womanhood, capturing every stage of her youth.

I picked up one at random. Each painting was carefully annotated with the date and location, and Aiden had personally inscribed a poem on it.

His love for Colette was obvious on all of them.

Holding back the ache in my heart, I made my way toward the inner rooms.

On a table sat a gorgeous, intricately crafted hairpiece.

The flawless pearls adorning it were part of the tribute to the king.

I'd told Aiden more than once how much I adored those pearls, but every time, he only gave me pearls with flaws.

Aiden once held me close with a sigh. "This year's tribute pearls are in short supply, and all the flawless ones went straight to the queen.

"I could only get these imperfect ones. Just make do with them for now, alright?"

My hand trembled as I gently touched the pearls on the hairpiece. There were ninety-nine in total, each one flawless and perfectly round, and the one in the center was exceptionally large.