Chapter 13 "Still quiet as ever , " she hummed . " You know , I used to envy you . Papa loved you more . You were always the favorite . The obedient one . The perfect one . But look at you now . So humiliated you can't even cry properly . Do you still wear your wedding ring like a good little puppet ? Or did they take that too ? " kept my head down until we reached the steps . She didn't stop . "At least you're consistent , " she said . " You left this place to chase some grand idea of love . You defied Papa , spit on our name , gave everything to a man who never even saw you . And what did you get ? A dead child , a cheating husband , and your name dragged through the mud . " I froze for half a breath at that . She tilted her head . " Don't flinch , Therese . You lost your son a few days ago . Crying won't bring him back . " " You don't get to talk about him ," I said softly . Fleur blinked , surprised I spoke at all . She smiled again . " Still so gentle . So boring . I don't know how you plan to survive here . " ** Lunch was worse . Father sat at the head of the table , staring at his food like it offended him . Fleur was sipping wine like she was at a gala . She didn't stop talking . She went on about parties , boys , her upcoming trip to Europe , and how her professors said she had " a mind like wildfire . " I didn't say a word . I just cut my food into pieces and forced them down . Fleur smirked as she picked at her salad . " You know , Therese used to be so proud , " she said . " Remember , Papa ? When she screamed at you in the drawing room because she wanted to marry Torren ? Said love was more important than family legacy . Said she didn't care about our name . I think she even cried . " I kept eating . " She was so noble , " Fleur sighed dramatically . " Now look at her . Hiding in her room all day like a ghost . I heard you cried in the bath last night . I'm sure the maids did too . " " Enough , Fleur , " Father said sharply . " That mouth of yours will cost you one day . " She looked at him and rolled her eyes . He turned to me . " You will marry Ephraim Lambert next week , " he said , not a request but a decision . " The Chapter 12 3/3 36.4 % alliance is still on the table . " X Fleur nearly choked on her wine . She wiped her mouth and laughed out loud . " You're joking , " she said . " Thank God . I don't want that comatose prince anyway . Let Therese have him . Comatose as ever , forgotten by his own family . Nobody even visits him anymore . " I looked up slowly . " Comatose ? What are you talking about ? I spoke to him a few days ago . He's awake . " " Yeah , " she shrugged . " He just woke up two days ago . Or maybe three . I don't keep track of dead things that rise . I prefer his cousin anyway . Same age as me . Less ghostly . " She stood up and grabbed her wineglass . " Well , " she said , " I'm off to pack . My flight's tomorrow . University won't wait for spoiled rich girls like me . " She leaned over to kiss Father on the cheek , then walked out without another glance at me . ** Later that evening , Father called me into his office . I sat in the same chair I used to sit in as a child when he'd lecture me about posture and piano scales . The bookshelves behind him were taller than me , and the curtains were drawn against the dusk . "Now that your divorce has been finalized . It's time for your wedding with Ephraim to be announced next week . " " Can I grieve for a few weeks father ? " I asked . He folded his hands on the desk . " Grieving is for the weak . If you want to have the Calderon back , act like one . You , Therese - you're used to monsters . You've lived with one for years . " " He's dangerous ? " I asked quietly . " Not dangerous the way Torren was , " Father said . " But unstable . Ephraim's mind may not be whole . He was asleep too long . He remembers very little . A lot to catch up . But there's … something dark in him now . Like a storm waiting to collapse . " I didn't speak . I just stared at the fireplace even though it wasn't lit. " You married a monster once ," Father said . " Maybe now , you'll learn to tame one . I didn't answer . I couldn't . Instead , I looked out the window at the old Calderon gardens . The roses were overgrown . The statues were covered in moss . A kingdom that forgot it once had beauty . Maybe the only way to bury a past like mine is to tie myself to a man who's already been Chapter 12 . 213 38.4 % 22:08 Sun , Aug 10 half - dead . At least then , neither of us will expect sunlight . 49 % X That night I was summoned to the Lambert estate , my hands wouldn't stop trembling inside my coat . Not from fear . Just … cold . Or maybe it was the silence that lived in that house , the kind that followed a family that stopped hoping a long time ago . It was strange walking through those halls again . The last time I was here , Ephraim was still hooked to machines , his voice barely a whisper . He looked at me like I was sunlight through thick fog . " Go ," he had said back then . " Come back once your divorce is final . " I had smiled through tears and said I would . Now I stood at the edge of his drawing room , waiting . Not sure who I was anymore . Not sure who he had become . The door opened . And then he stepped in like a storm in a tailored suit . Still pale , but taller somehow . Straighter . The kind of man who didn't just survive war , he became it . His eyes weren't soft anymore . They were steel . است الشوق " Therese Calderon , " he said . His voice was low and smooth and sharp like broken glass . " The beaten wife . The disgrace . The woman who crawled home with her tail between her legs . " I didn't say anything . Just kept my spine straight and eyes steady . He took slow steps toward me , studying my face . I could smell the faint hint of something expensive on him . Leather , maybe . Or old books . " You look different , " he said . " Older . Quieter . " " I buried my son , " I replied . " That tends to age people . " He flinched . Just a little . It was gone before I could study it . " I heard , " he murmured , walking toward the window . " About the urn . About the scandal . The slap . The headlines . " I didn't ask how . Someone like Ephraim Lambert didn't need newspapers . The world whispered its secrets to men like him . He turned back to me , arms folded . " You stayed for too long , Therese . Let a man ruin you in full view of everyone . And for what ? Love ? " " I thought it was love ," I said quietly . His laugh was soft and cruel . " That's the thing about you . You think too gently . Still trying to see nood in rot" Chapter 13 3/3 39.4 % 22:08 Sun , Aug 10 : 49 % X I looked down at my hands . The knuckles were still bruised from clenching too tightly in my sleep .