Chapter 2

Before Simon's gifts arrived, Edward's men delivered boxes of all shapes and sizes, piling up until the whole courtyard was packed.

They also brought an old, yellowed marriage contract. One of the men said, "Mr. Shea asked me to ask you if you'd be willing to resume your past engagement.

"He hasn't married or been with anyone else all these years. He's been waiting for you."

Edward and I did have a sweet time together after our marriage. Back then, he was the dream husband of every noblewoman in Capitavia, charming, brilliant, and good-looking.

When I first learned I was going to marry Edward, I was secretly over the moon. After the wedding, I believed I'd found the perfect, gentle husband.

I hung on his every word, my eyes always full of adoration whenever I looked at him, and I wanted to follow him wherever he went.

Edward would smile and let me do as I pleased. I always thought he liked me that way.

One day, when I brought him some pastries to his study, I accidentally overheard him talking to his servant. "Don't let Charlotte know where I am all the time. It's such a bother."

The servant asked, "Why is it a bother, sir? I think Mrs. Shea really cares about you, always putting you first."

Edward replied, "She's way too naive. My mother didn't let her run the household to save her face and give her a warning.

"She actually thinks it's because my mother feels sorry for her being young and doesn't want her to work too hard. It's irritating.

"She hangs around me every single day, eating up all my reading time, and thinks that's love. It's dumb and annoying.

"Who wants to be glued to her all day? I only married her because her family background was good. My mother's health is bad, and our family needs a proper, respectable lady to keep things in order.

"If I'd known, I would've picked my widowed cousin from my mother's side. She looks way more dignified than her. That's the kind of woman I want running this household."

All the love I poured into him was worthless in his eyes.

I was seventeen then, innocent, carefree, and clueless about what it meant to be patient. As my dad's youngest daughter, I'd been pampered all my life and never learned how to put up with any nonsense.

So, after hearing all that, I barged right into his study and demanded the separation papers. Crying, I said, "Let's split up. Go marry your cousin, and I'll go home."

Edward didn't agree. He looked at me with a frown and said, "The Shea family isn't a place for you to act like a child. Forget you said that, and I'll act like it never happened."

I didn't understand that once I said something, there was no taking it back. What had been done was done, and I never thought about taking it back. Day after day, I kept causing a scene, insisting we break up.

Monica Shea, Edward's mother, thought I wasn't dignified or composed enough, so she ordered a maid to slap me right in front of everyone. She said, "No wonder Edward doesn't like you. You're so unruly. How could you be a Shea family wife?"

When I was slapped and turned my head away, Edward, out of respect for his mother, couldn't openly defy her. He didn't dare shield me, told me to endure it. "Endure it. I'll make it up to you someday."

I couldn't understand why I should endure being treated like this.

The weight of filial duty was suffocating. Since I couldn't lay a hand on Monica, I took it out on Edward instead.

I was so furious that I slapped Edward across the face. "She hit me, so I'll hit her son. Next time she hits me, I'll hit you ten times."

That was the first time I saw disbelief on Edward's usually composed face. He stared at me, as if he didn't recognize me.

I lifted my chin defiantly and shot back, "What, are you gonna hit me back or something?"

Edward didn't hit me back. He was raised never to hit a woman, but he couldn't stand being humiliated like that.

He turned to Monica and said, his voice steady, "Mom, I agree to the divorce."

The afternoon sun was blinding as I stood on the porch, my valuables gathered, ready to leave.

Monica sent someone to stop me and handed me a cup of coffee, calling it farewell coffee.

Monica said, "Drink this, and from now on, you and my son are free to marry whoever you wish. There will be no more connection between you."

I didn't suspect a thing and drank it all. That night at the inn, my stomach twisted in agony, and soon after, I started bleeding, miscarrying before I realized what was happening.

Only then did I learn Monica had slipped me miscarriage medicine. I hadn't known I was pregnant.

Monica had planted spies in my courtyard, watching my monthly cycle and every move I made.

She knew about my pregnancy long before I did, and she wasn't about to let the Shea family's bloodline slip away outside their walls.

Rather than argue with me, she chose to quietly and without anyone noticing, cut off the last thread tying me to the Shea family.

I writhed in agony on the inn floor. Since we were in a strange place and with midnight closing in, my maid had no choice but to sneak back to the Shea Residence, desperately pleading with Edward to save me.

Edward rushed over with the house doctor, only to find blood everywhere and me lying unconscious in the middle of it.

He dropped to his knees, completely lost for the first time in his life, not knowing what to do or how to help.

Just like that, our child was gone.