"I hate you, Arianne. I really do!" Stepping out of the carriage, Melrose continued her lament. She couldn't get over how embarrassed she was in front of Lord Knight.Arianne only laughed at her fuming friend. "I must say you are so courageous to force Lord Knight to keep your secret. I doubt if I could say a word if it was me! I am bold but the lord is obviously someone not easy to deal with.""And I was crazy for agreeing to your ridiculous plan. Now let's pray that he won't open his mouth or else I will be done.""Fret not, Mellie. If I have to beg the lord not to spread a word, I shall do it on bended knees."That day ended up a tragedy. Melrose could only hope for Lord Knight's vacation to end quickly so he would return to wherever he came from. She wanted to do nothing with him because for some reason she could feel that he hated her.She could understand why those ladies hated her, that was because of envy, but this one, she couldn't think of a sensible reason. Or maybe Lord Kn

In the midst of the night storm, she stood there in front of him, his eyes fixated to hers. She could still hear the voices from her nightmare but when he held her an inch closer as he led her to the rhythm he wanted, the shouts haunting her turned to whispers.Her father never knew what she had been going through all these years. Not that she didn't want to tell him, but she just knew he wouldn't understand, nor would he care. Lord Lewis was the kind who paid little to no attention when it came to women's thoughts or feelings. He never even asked her if she liked the King enough to marry him. It was because even if she said she didn't, he would still push her into doing what he wanted.And in truth, even though the King was the best choice for her, a small part of her couldn't help but wonder how it would be if she found someone she truly wanted. Someone who would understand the deepest part of her soul."I thought you already left," she uttered silently and the thunder drowned her v

As they walked through the dark alley, Melrose spoke, "The rebels didn't start this chaos alone. They must be working for someone who is in the court.""Why do you think so?" Reed asked, curious how she came up with the same deduction as him."East Brownsville is near the border where the military troops are deployed, yet those rebels weren't a bit intimidated to make a mess in the village. At first, I thought the military troops at the border turned a blind eye on it because they must be restrained, but after observing those men, I figured that they weren't originally rebels. They were soldiers.""Soldiers?" Reed inquired."Yes. The way they moved, there was some sort of coordination that only military men are accustomed to, and have you noticed the weapons they used? Those bear a familiar emblem."Reed was surprised how Melrose's mind worked. Most people cared about nothing but their lives when at the brink of death, but she was different. She may look innocent but she was sharp and

"Hello, Mr. Leighton," Melrose's polite response, her gaze lingering at Raphael's face.Sure, she had seen him several times in balls and soirees, so it was right that she was familiar with him. But it was the first time she had seen him up close and noticed his brown eyes. Those were different from most brown eyes she had seen. His was way brighter, and the outer lining of his pupil had a different color, like gold. And for some reason, she felt that she had seen it before.Raphael smiled at her. She offered back a small smile, before tearing her gaze from him."I thought you ladies went for a walk, so I brought Raphael here to discuss our business," Benedict said."Actually, we are going to the town's library, so you can have our place and talk all you want," Arianne said with a little hint of sarcasm because it was obvious his brother wanted them to leave the front yard."If the ladies want to have tea a little longer, then we can just go inside, Benedict," Raphael proposed.Though

The double doors of De Noir manor creaked as Melrose pushed it open. She took a step forward carefully as if she would fall somewhere if she didn't watch her steps. The marbled floor and high ceiling with old golden chandeliers told her that it was once a beautiful and grand manor. It was abandoned after Princess Celestine's death, and ever since, no one had the courage to enter the manor again until Reed came.Although it looked gloomy, it was clean and the things inside were organized. She assumed Reed had it cleaned since his arrival. It wasn't like those manors she had seen in the town, but she could not say it was that bad. In fact, there was something in those paintings in the walls that mesmerized her.She took more steps. Her shoes were clicking against the floor. She stopped in front of the painting that caught her attention the most. It was a woman standing above a hill while looking at the town filled with floating lanterns. Her long black hair was flowing down her back, sl