....
RHIA POV
I stared back at the bear, not minding the fact that it seemed not to like me. I didn't like it either. So, I guess we understood each other.
We stayed like that for a few minutes before the bear suddenly turned to leave. I wanted to call out to it but I just couldn't find the voice to do so. So, I let it leave.
The bear walked towards the door, not minding that it was closed. It simply phased through it like the door wasn't there. My eyes widened at what I'd just seen.
Did that mean that the bear was....
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LUCIAN'S STUDY
NARRATOR POV
Lucian groaned for the umpteenth time and threw his pen across the room. After dinner, he had come to the study to get some work done, but two hours later, he was still stuck on the same page.
He couldn't focus. His mind kept drifting to tomorrow's soiree. Dahlia would be there. Finally. But instead of excitement, he just felt tense.
He was finally going to see his first love again — but this time, she belonged to someone else.
The thought made him angry. He pushed everything off the table, papers and ink scattering everywhere. Why did it all turn out like this?
He was the Lord of Valemere. Wasn't everything in Valemere supposed to be his?
Didn't that include every woman in Valemere?
Not that he was interested in them — but why couldn't he have the one he was interested in? Why did everything start to fall apart ever since he met the Harcourts? Why?
Seeing as he wasn't getting anywhere with his thoughts, he picked up his coat and made his way downstairs.
His head maid, Marcy, immediately approached and bowed as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
"My Lord, are you on your way out? Shall I have anything prepared?" she asked politely.
Lucian only gave her a brief glance before turning to the man who had just stepped out of the kitchen, a sandwich in hand.
"Prepare some guards and the carriage, Theodore. I'm going somewhere — and I'm in a hurry."
Theodore raised an eyebrow, silently asking where to?
Lucian frowned. "Just do as I say."
Theodore asked no more. He simply gave a short bow before walking off, shaking his head slightly.
I guess he just couldn't control himself, Theodore thought. I pity the Young Master. If only he knew the state of his family, I wonder if he'd still sleep so peacefully at night.
He sighed, handed his sandwich to a nearby servant, and followed after Lucian.
This would definitely not end well.
....
NARRATOR POV
The evening for the soiree arrived quickly, reminding everyone that time waits for nobody. Rhia, though reluctant, kissed her son goodbye and stepped into the carriage.
Lucian seemed to be in a rush— perhaps eager to see her sister. But couldn't he understand they were both married? He should at least have some dignity and not chase after a woman like a lovesick dog.
It was pathetic.
Rhia sighed and glanced at the ice sculpture across her. As usual, Lucian acted like she didn't exist and minded his business. He had his chin propped up on his knuckles, eyes lost in the distant forest beyond the window.
The Manor wasn't exactly around civilization. It was isolated from the rest of the land as Lucian preferred his privacy.
So, when travelling, they usually spent a great amount of time in the forest than in town, just like right now.
Rhia tried to push the thoughts about Lucian and Dahlia to the back of her minds as she reminded herself of some happy thoughts. These were mostly of Nate. And some vague memories of her childhood with her mother.
She could barely remember her mother. The memories about her were always so hazy. Her face was always blurred and her voice faint. She bet she wouldn't even be able to recognize her own mother if she saw her today.
And to be honest, she didn't want to. Her mother might've been a good person but she wasn't a good mother. A good mother would never leave their child behind with those scumbags.
Rhia didn't want to see her mother, at least not now.
Although her father, Eric Beaumont, had always said his wife, Seraphine Beaumont, was her mother. But it was one of the hardest things to believe.
Firstly, a mother wouldn't look at a child with such hostility in her eyes. Second, a mother wouldn't even dream of treating her own child worse than a maid.
Third, A mother would never play favorites.
She always loves her children equally, no matter their stats. They were hers. She would do anything for them, not let them do stuff for her.
And she was saying this as a mother too. Rhia was ready to do anything for Nathaniel, including lay down her life. She would do absolutely anything for him.
But both her mothers would do anything for themselves, not for her.
That was the stark contrast between them.
'badump!!"
The carriage suddenly jerked forward, pulling Rhia out of her thoughts. She looked at Lucian, only to see him getting down from the carriage.
Why was he getting down?
Rhia looked out the window and saw that they had arrived at the Beaumont household. Did she really spend the whole journey thinking?
'Goodness!' Rhia sighed.
She opened the carriage door and got down as well. She gazed upon the magnificent structure of the Beaumont castle. Though, it was not as large as the Lord's estate, it was surely grand.
While Rhia was busy admiring the castle and it's surroundings, a sweet and cheery voice of doom reached her ears.
"Rhia?!"