Chapter 2

"Fine. Just fine!" Derick barked, and his laugh was laced with rage. "Ann, we're leaving."

He sneered at me, "I shall wait and see just how this unfilial girl intends to manage these funeral rites without my hand to guide her."

With a wave of his hand, his sycophants began to tear down the funeral arrangements, smashing decorations.

They completely trashed the hall.

My brothers made a move toward my mother's coffin, but the presence of the royal guards stopped them. They backed away, defeated.

Derick stormed out with Ann, not even glancing back, leaving Graham Manor in a state of utter chaos.

The household staff, led by a manager who clearly believed Derick would eventually return to power, simply stood by and watched the spectacle.

No one was permitted to help me.

After the royal guards departed, I was left to clean up the ruined hall alone.

Just then, my fiancé, William Foster, stormed in.

He grabbed my wrist, his eyes burning with fury, as he shouted, "Ann is in tears! She won't say why, but I know it was you. You bullied her!

"You're coming with me to apologize. You will tell her you are willingly giving the title of Lady to her."

Slowly, I pulled my hand from his grasp.

I gazed at the man who had grown up at my side.

Realizing I was refusing, William warned as his face hardened, "If you don't come with me, our engagement is over."

He scoffed, "After I'm done with you, who in this city would dare marry you? Who would risk making an enemy of the powerful Foster family?"

I stared at his arrogant face, a wave of nausea washing over me.

Any love I once had for him was long dead, replaced by pure disgust.

I pulled the marriage contract from my dress, tore it into pieces, and threw them at his feet. "You don't have to end our engagement. I'm ending it. Right now," I retorted.

He let out a cold laugh, arguing, "You're breaking it off? Are you really prepared for that?

"Without me, who will marry you? Beg Ann for her pardon on your hands and knees, and perhaps I will still allow you to share my bed as a lesser wife."

Whether he called it a consort or a lesser wife, it was beneath me.

I was a titled Lady of this Kingdom, and I would never humiliate myself by serving as a subordinate to a girl of such lowly birth.

Just then, a sharp voice cut through the tension. "Ms. Graham is a woman of beauty and intelligence. A thousand men in this city would line up for her hand. Why on earth would she ever stoop to being your lesser wife?"

I turned. It was Edward Astor, the King's third son.

He fixed William with a look of pure contempt and barked, "General Linton died for this kingdom.

"My father, the King, was concerned her daughter would be mistreated, so he asked me to keep an eye on things. I never imagined I would find someone attempting to humiliate her in her own home.

"Will you leave on your own? Or shall I have you thrown out?"

William shot me a hateful glare, but he didn't dare challenge Edward. He left in a storm of fury.

Edward had brought his own steward and servants. Their hands were moving with practiced grace to restore order.

And the funeral preparations were back underway within the hour.

The servants moved among the grieving crowds offering spiced ale and refreshments.

Edward then pulled a jewelry box and a thick stack of banknotes from his coat, saying, "If you need more money, just ask me. Don't sell your mother's things.

"These were hers. Every piece you sell is a piece of her you can never get back."

Derick had taken all the money when he left, forcing me to pawn my mother's jewelry just to afford a proper funeral.

At the sight of my stolen belongings returned, I caught the gentleness in Edward's words. The iron walls I had built around my heart finally gave way, and I wept for everything I had lost.

Tears streamed down my face, soaking the collar of my mourning dress. Edward raised his hand as if to comfort me, but he hesitated and let it fall back to his side.

With the manor finally in order, I went to the cemetery to check the progress of the tomb.

There, I found Derick, my brothers, and Ann standing over an unmarked grave.

William stood beside Ann.

When Ann saw me, she shrank into William's arms, trembling. "Charlotte, today is the anniversary of my mother's death. Father and my brothers were just worried I would be sad, so they came to pay their respects with me."

She glanced at William, pleading, "William is here for the same reason. Please, don't be angry with them."

William laughed coldly, pulling Ann closer. "Ann, what are you afraid of? Tell her the truth. I'm here to ask for your hand in marriage. I came today to inform your late mother of my intentions."

My eldest brother, Chase Graham, however, assumed I had come to beg.

He sneered at me, "So, you've finally come crawling back?

"It's too late. This time, we don't just want the title. We want the entire legacy our mother left for you. Give it all to Ann, and then we might consider forgiving you."

My second brother, Jayson Graham, agreed, "That's right. Otherwise, we won't perform the funeral rites. She will be a laughingstock in the capital, even in death."

Shocked, I gaped at them, my mind reeling.

They would refuse to honor their own mother, but they would stand here and mourn a concubine.

And they would use my mother's memory to threaten me into surrendering her legacy to Ann.

I nodded and sneered, "Fine. But let me tell you this. Mother's funeral is in three days. If you want to be branded as unfilial sons and be impeached by the court, then by all means, stay away."