VALERIA "Mama... Can I sing for you?" Giselle stutters as she clutches her doll tightly to her ribs. She's scared and, at the same time, anxious to know what Emilia's reaction will be. She thought that if Emilia didn't want her to be seen outside, then maybe she could spend time with her... after all, Emilia's her mother. Emilia's expression darkened as she glared at Giselle over her shoulders, sitting the powder platelet on the vanity table. "What does that mean? Or would I say, What do you mean Giselle?" Emilia asked with scorn on her face. Giselle's voice was barely above a whisper. "I heard some kids singing in the field... I learned the song and was hoping that you'd love to hear me sing." "Why would I?" "Because you are my mother." Giselle stuttered, unsure of herself. Emilia gave a mirthless laugh, clutching her dress firmly as she glared at Giselle from her head to her toes. "What?" Emilia tugged h

"Mum, I told you already that Dad warned me not to treat Giselle badly!" Emilia rolled her eyes as she slumped on the sofa, gulping wine from the glass in her hands. She had always told Camilla, but Camilla never believed her. Emilia had no idea but felt like Camilla might have thought that she was lying to her when that wasn't the case. "Do you think he loves Giselle more than he loves you? Is that why you are scared?" Camilla flipped through the pages of a magazine on her hands as she adjusted her glasses. That was her fear. She only wanted Sam for herself. She wanted everyone around her only for herself. Camilla took a deep breath. "We shouldn't be talking about this, Emilia," she paused. "Valeria is still out there, and I'm sure she'll be out soon... you have no idea what she's plotting next." Camilla rolled her eyes. She had never liked Valeria from the start, and now she's instilling pure hate into Emilia. Emilia's shoulders s

Miss Sophie placed a hot, steaming bowl of cereal in front of Giselle, who was sitting at the table in the kitchen. "Come on, I made food for you. Eat alright." Miss Sophie said, her voice soft and soothing. Giselle remained still and didn't look up, her eyes fixed on the cereal. "I want Miss Valeria... where is she? She promised to come out and hug me. What happened that night? We saw her with my mama at the bridge." Miss Sophie stood straight and shut her eyes. She had no idea how to explain what happened and had no intention of explaining what happened. She just needed to make sure that Giselle ate so she didn't fall sick. Miss Sophie picked up a spoon and began to stir the cereal. "Come on baby girl, eat so it does get soggy. Valeria misses you, but she's hoping your papa lets her out of there," she said. Even though she lied, she had to at least tell her something so she would eat. "But trust me, you are going to see her. I promise you,

"My words should never be questioned!" Brutus fired at Khai, who trailed behind him as he hung a satchel over his shoulder. They stormed into the armoury as Brutus glared at the warriors. "I'm going to have fun with you boys today, " he said, a mischievous smile plastered on his face as he tapped on their shoulders. Brutus supervised the weapons they were taking along as Lucian walked in on them. "Brutus." Brutus whirled around to see who was calling him. "You are here finally," he said, crossing his hands behind him. "Y—yes... But what's going on?" Lucian waved his hand in front of his face as the dust penetrated his nostrils. "What do you think is going on?" Brutus threw his hands to his sides. His eyes darted over the room and back at Lucian. "Things will go wrong. Obviously," Lucian rubbed his palm over his forehead and said, "But it hasn't been three days yet." "Do I look like I care?" Brutus gave a m

"Father!" Emilia's lips quivered as she staggered backwards and fell on the couch. "How could you! Huh? Tell me, how could you go that far?" Sam bellowed, his voice menacing, as he gestured his finger at Emilia. Tears welled up in Emilia's eyes as she was unable to believe that her father could do such to her... he loved her, and now he was upset because of the situation they were facing. Camilla rushed to Sam and held his arms tightly. "Stop it, Sam. She's our daughter, and she only did what she could to save what's hers." She pitched in. "What?" Sam's eyes widened. "Didn't you put her up to do this?" Sam rubbed his palm over his head as he paced around the room. "Why are you so bent on destroying things? And you..." he paused and gestured his finger at Camilla. "I told you about this, yet you didn't talk to her. Do you think that if this gets out, my position is at stake and we might get banished? Huh?" Camilla crossed her arms ac