Chapter 2The Last Bloom of Us

“Evelyn, don’t misunderstand,” he said quickly. “I just pity her, all alone with no one to rely on. It’s not like you. You have me.”

I forced a smile. “It’s no matter. I don’t mind. Go on, take it.”

With my permission, Alaric’s face lit up with undisguised joy. He released my hand and hurried towards the storeroom. I watched as he carefully selected three bolts of iridescent, water-colored silk. He then summoned the finest tailor in the capital, his voice gentle and serious as he gave meticulous instructions on the cut and embroidery.

In the five years since our betrothal, he had never once shown me such care.

A humorless smile touched my lips. I walked over to him and presented him with a scroll.

“This is a royal decree of marriage I petitioned for, on behalf of you and Liana,” I said. “Consider it a way to give her child a proper name.”

Alaric froze, a flash of pure ecstasy in his eyes. But he quickly masked it, pulling me into a fierce embrace, his voice thick with feigned heartbreak.

“Evelyn, you sacrifice so much for me. I can never repay you.”

He held me tight. “Rest assured, no matter what happens, the lady of this house will always be you.”

His embrace was as warm as ever. But this time, it only made my stomach churn.

The moment the new gowns were finished, Alaric took the decree and, making some excuse, left the manor.

Watching his retreating back, I was suddenly thrown back in time.

Three days ago, the old steward of my family’s estate had come to me. My mother’s old illness had returned, he’d said. She had coughed up so much blood it had soaked half her bedding. Her time was short.

I had panicked, grabbing Alaric as he was about to leave the manor, my voice choked with tears. “Alaric, can you please come with me to my family’s estate? My mother—”

Before I could finish, Liana’s sweet, cloying voice drifted in from the courtyard.

“Alaric, my love! You promised you would help me choose new hairpins today. Are you ready?”

At the sound of her voice, Alaric pushed my hand away, his expression strained. “I’m terribly busy right now, Evelyn. Can I go with you when I have a spare moment?”

But my mother closed her eyes for the last time, and Alaric never came.

In that moment, all my hope, all my love, shattered into dust.

I knelt at my mother’s bedside, sobbing until I couldn’t breathe. With a tremendous effort, she gripped my hand, a dry, faint smile on her lips.

“Alaric didn’t come,” she whispered, each word a struggle. “Don’t be angry with him when you go back.”

“After I’m gone, he is all you have left in this world.”

“You must be good to each other… you must…”

I watched her take her last breath, and my heart felt as if it had been ripped from my chest by a wild beast. Tears swam in my eyes, and I wanted to scream, Mother, the man you call my only support is with another woman right now. For her, he has made it so I can never have children of my own.

There were twelve hours until my departure from the capital.

I hadn’t even begun to pack my belongings when Alaric, without a moment’s delay, brought Liana to the manor.

When I went to the side courtyard, I found Alaric himself, axe in hand, chopping down the twin Silverwood trees he had planted for me as a symbol of our love.

He looked up, his gaze faltering when it met mine.

He stood at the courtyard gate, holding the hand of Liana, who was dressed in a striking crimson gown. He, so handsome; she, so exquisitely beautiful. They looked like a pair destined for each other.

Liana, her face a mask of false concern, walked towards me, one hand on her belly.

“The maids told me these were your favorite trees, sister,” she sighed. “It’s all my fault. I only mentioned that the scent of the blossoms made me feel unwell, and His Grace insisted on cutting them down.”

She clutched Alaric’s arm, looking at me with wide, innocent eyes. “I never wanted to marry him before you, sister. But the Duke worries so for the child in my womb.”

Her eyes raked over me, a cruel glint within them. “It is only after becoming a mother myself that I’ve learned… a woman’s life is one thing before she is a mother, and quite another after. It is a burden you, thankfully, will never have to bear.”

Every word was a poisoned dart aimed directly at my heart.

But Alaric didn’t care. He pulled her protectively behind him and said to me, his voice placating, “Liana is with child. Don’t lower yourself to her level.”

He had no memory of the promise he made me five years ago, before he, my father, and my brothers rode off to war against the northern hordes. He had blushed and sworn three things to me.

First, that when he returned victorious, my father and brothers would be with him, safe and sound.

Second, that when he had won his glory, he would make me his wife.

Third, that in this life, he would take no other.

But in the end, my father had died taking a flurry of blades meant for Alaric. My brother had been drawn and quartered by the enemy while covering Alaric’s retreat.

When my mother heard the news, she wept tears of blood until she fell ill and never recovered.

And Alaric, his glory won, now intended to marry the woman he brought back from the Northmarch.

He had broken all three promises.

I looked at him, and he finally seemed to notice me, asking absently: