e Herr

iation. Not my laughter, but Bryn's high-pitched giggle mingled with Axel's deep, resonant chuckle. It

ght on a splash of vibrant red draped over the arm of the sofa. My custom-made silk ro

veled, her cheeks flushed. She was wearing my robe. The red silk shimmered in the soft l

usly low, my control hanging by

r of defiance in her gaze. "Axel said you wouldn't be back for a while. He said I could make myself at home." She shrugg

er, my voice gaining strength. "That r

no need to be so aggressive

k. "It's mine. And you are disresp

nd. He stopped dead, sensing the tension. His eyes, though still distan

ere?" His voice wa

g to a soft, injured tone. She pulled the silk tighter around her,

r Bryn, then hardening when he looked at me. "Elouise,

my voice trembling with a mixture of an

t's not a priceless heirloom. Bryn looks lovely in it." He dismissed my feelings with a wave of

belongings, my very existence. He used to know how much I treasured his g

He' d unwrapped the box, his eyes alight with genuine pleasure as he watched my face. "For my queen," he' d whispered,

ed the man I loved was gone. Replaced by a stran

e robe. Enjoy the champagne." I turned on

n the museum project. Bryn kept shooting me triumphant glances, her hand often finding its way to Axel' s arm, his knee, his t

t slipped, and a searing pain shot through my hand. I had

asked, her voice laced with false c

? She didn't hurt you, did she?" He reached across the table, inspecting her hand as if I were

the gut. The memory of him fussing over my scraped knee from a clumsy fall years

delicate, almost theatrical gasp. She clutched her thro

her side. "Bryn! What's wrong? Are you choking?" He

lowed something bad. A... a piece of the food. It tasted strange, A

on me. "Elouise, what did you do?" he demanded, his

Are you insane, Axel? I did nothi

ice muffled against his shoulder. "She's

absurdity of the accusation was staggering. "Axel,

t I see, Elouise. And what I see is you, jealous and vengeful, resorting to desperate measures." He pulled

that had been simmering within me, suddenly solidified into something cold and hard. He was truly gone. The ma

ck, twisted joke, and