Chapter 2
The comments exploded.
[Ugh, this supporting girl is so shameless!]
[She's really trying it with the male lead?? He belongs to the heroine! If she disrespects him, she won't even get a grave.]
[LMAO she has no idea he's destined to rule the world.]
[If she hadn't thrown herself at him, the leads would've been together ages ago.]
[At least he can use her to practice so he'll be better for the heroine later.]
[Don't worry, fam. The villainess won't be smug for long. Just wait till the heroine gets jealous. He'll destroy this villainess to win her back.]
[Go male lead! Serve her right. Can't wait for him to chase the heroine.]
I jerked back, pulling my hand free.
Edward looked up, confusion in his eyes.
I stopped him just as his fingers touched the first button.
Seeing that innocent, affectionate look, I sighed and waved him away. "Never mind. Just go."
*****
Out of everyone in the Marquess Estate, I was Eliza Bradshaw, the one nobody cared about.
Because of my humble birth, my father, John Bradshaw, forgot I existed, his wife, Bella, despised me, my sisters bullied me, and even the servants ordered me around like I was nothing.
I heard my mother used to be an embroiderer at the workshop. One day, while delivering new clothes to Bella, John set his sights on my mother. He didn't care that she was already engaged. He forced her into the estate as his concubine.
She struggled, resisted, and even tried to end her own life to prove her resolve.
But up against such power, all her efforts were like fighting a losing battle. In the end, she could only accept her fate.
Fortunately for my mother, John was the type who always lost interest fast. With a whole harem of mistresses in the estate, the moment she got pregnant with me, he just tossed her aside and forgot she existed.
She thought life would just keep going like that, until she died in childbirth, bleeding out while bringing me into the world.
She was wrapped up in a straw mat and buried with barely any ceremony on some nameless, lonely mountain.
From the moment I was born, I was tossed into a side house.
It was an old nanny in the estate who couldn't bear to see me suffer. She nursed me back to life, spoon-feeding me goat milk bit by bit.
I was raised among the servants, always treated as less than family, and constantly bullied and insulted by my siblings.
I was timid and meek, always keeping my head down and obeying everyone, never showing any temper of my own.
Eventually, everyone lost interest in picking on me and just left me alone.
When I was ten, I saved Bella's daughter Charlotte after she accidentally fell into the water, and that caught Bella's attention.
Bella gave me a perfunctory compliment for being kind and allowed me to move into the rundown little courtyard my mother once lived in. It was remote and shabby, but I was still happy.
After that, I did everything I could to cater to Bella and flatter Charlotte, hoping to win their favor. Sometimes, I'd get hand-me-downs, clothes, and jewelry Charlotte didn't care for.
With those things, I started to finally look the part of a Marquess Estate lady.
The nanny always said I was prettier than my own mother.
But in this treacherous Marquess Estate, beauty was more of a curse than a blessing.
Sure enough, about six months ago, Bella started showering my room with pricey jewelry and hairpins.
Charlotte saw how stunned I was and just laughed, bursting my bubble without mercy.
She sneered, "Bet you've never seen this much fancy stuff before, huh? All of it's from Duke Harrington.
"He lost his wife ages ago, and now that he's over fifty, he wants you as his new wife."
She flashed a smug smile, her eyes dripping with scorn and ridicule.
She went on, "You should be grateful Duke Harrington even noticed you. Otherwise, with your background, you'd be lucky to end up with a servant."
I said nothing.
After all, what was so wrong with being with a servant?
*****
The day I met Edward, the sun was out, and it was one of those perfect spring days.
Charlotte felt like going for a ride, so I just followed along, there to be ordered around as usual.
But when we got near the stables, we ran into the two biggest troublemakers in the estate, busy punishing a stable boy.
The boy was half-kneeling on the ground, his back torn open by the whip, but he kept his spine straight as a board, like nothing could break him, no matter how much it hurt.
No groveling, no sucking up, none of that usual servant stuff.
He kept his gaze down, silent and stubborn as a mountain.
I thought to myself, 'He's kind of impressive.'
That night, I brought some healing salve and went to find Edward.
He was in a cramped, shadowy room, shirtless, with his wounds only roughly cleaned.
When I swaggered in, he didn't even flinch. His eyes, deep and cold as a winter lake, just watched me, a hint of curiosity flickering within.
"Miss Bradshaw, what brings you here?" Edward asked.
I grinned, flashing my sharp little canines. "Just here to patch you up."
Edward didn't put up a fight. He just watched me, like he was trying to figure out what my game was.
A hint of mint lingered in the air as I carefully cleaned his wounds and wrapped them up.
Sometimes my fingers brushed against his feverish skin, but neither of us said a thing. It was like we had some silent understanding.