Chapter 6
When I was taken by the brigands, I was alone. All I had with me were five hundred silver coins–my entire dowry.
The brigands thought the amount too little and refused to release me.
A bloodstained sword was pressed against my throat. I was so terrified I thought I’d faint. My stomach twisted in pain, and I collapsed to the ground.
When my water broke and blood soaked through my skirts, the brigands panicked
Most of them had never even had a wife. They had no idea how childbirths worked. My piercing screams made their scalps crawl. It wasn’t until I had nearly passed out from pain that they remembered to find a midwife.
But it was too late.
I kept blacking out. The baby suffocated inside me. It was about to be a double death–mother and child.
The midwide, too frantic to worry about propriety, shouted for help. Three men rushed in–one held down my upper body, the other two pinned my legs wide apart
She reached inside me and pulled out the liteless child with her bare hands,
It was horrific
Even the brigands pitied me after that.
They didn’t make things harder. They let me go home
At that time, Alden was with Olivia, reciting poetry and sipping wine beneath the moonlight.
After the old woman finished her story, she left Aiden remained where he stood, lost in thought.
His face was as cold and unreadable as ever, but his trembling fingers betrayed the unrest in his heart. Alden didn’t return to the villa. Instead, he went back to the Norfolk estate alone.
He stayed there for half a month, until Ashley, no longer able to sit still, came to fetch him personally.
“Arden, why won’t you come home? I’m pregnant now. I need you by my side more than ever.
Alden smiled faintly for once.“Aren’t I home now?”
Though his tone was light and his smile warm, Ashley broke into a cold sweat. She stammered, “What what about the villa…”
“You and Olivia should stay here now. Cecilia’s gone, after all. Didn’t you both want her room emptied?
Ashley’s face turned ghostly pale.
Auden had always meant what he said. The very next day, he brought everything from the villa back to Norfolk
Unlike Ashley’s uprase, Olivia seemed far more composed. She took up residence in a small room near Alden’s study. Each morning, she served his chother, at noon, sie reviewed the household accounts; at night, she accompanied her husband. She carried herself like the true mistress of the Norfolk
If I hadn’t just died, Olivia would already be publicly named Duchess, officially inducted into the Norfolk Lamily.
She thought so too
So she began inspecting the storeroom thoroughly and instructed the servants, “Bring me the accounts from the past three years. I’ll need to check every
I knew she hoped to find some fault to use against me. If she could blacken my name further, perhaps Alden would shorten his mourning period and she could mery in grand style
Hot she found nothing missing. In fact, she discovered something extra–a Jeweled brooch.
The ornament was adorned with a large gemstone, clearly valuable.
Not lasowing what to do, she brought it to Alden.
** Aiden, I found this in the storeroom. Do you remember it? How should we handle it?” Alden looked up, a faint smile on his lips. “It belonged to Cecilia You can have it.”
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Olivia froze. Just as she opened her mouth to decline, Aiden plucked the brooch from her hands and pinned it into her hair himself.
“You’ve always wanted what Cecilia had, haven’t you? Here it is. Why aren’t you happy?”
Olivia forced a smile, mumbled something vaguely, and fled in haste.
She and Ashley were starting to realize something wasn’t right with Aiden. His presence made them uneasy.
But they didn’t dare defy him. They could only look for an excuse to put distance between them.
Ashley finally said hesitantly, “Alden… Olivia and I wish to go to the church for a few days of prayer…”
“Go, if you’d like,” Aiden replied readily.
Ashley was delighted and rushed to prepare. The next morning, she set off with Olivia.
But just as they boarded the carriage, they saw Aiden already seated inside, holding a book in his hands.
He smiled pleasantly. “I have some matters to discuss with the nun as well. Mother, Olivia–may I accompany you?”
