2
The Marquis of Blackwood himself had seized a ceremonial cane and, in front of everyone, had Julian held down and beaten twen- ty times to appease my family’s honor. Julian’s back was a bloody mess, but he clenched his teeth and didn’t make a sound. The hatred in his eyes, however, burned hot enough to turn me to ash.
As if I were the one he should hate.
In the end, it was Eva who fell to her knees at my feet, weeping. “It is my fault, my lady, all my fault! I will leave Lord Julian. From this day forward, I will never appear before you again!” she cried. “I beg you, Lally Seraphina, in your great mercy, please spare him!”
She was always skilled at such theatrics.
It was how she’d first truly caught his eye. Dressed in a simple white dress, looking fragile and helpless, she had appeared on the
main road. Julian’s horse, moving at a gallop, could not stop in time. He had played the hero, leaping down to sweep her small,
slender form into his arms. She had gazed up at him, her eyes wide and full of adoration, tears streaming down her face, before fainting. I saw it all. And through her pale, tear–streaked face, I could have sworn saw a flicker of a smile.
She was an expert at using her pitiable act to put me in an impossible position.
Swallowing the bitterness in my heart, I maintained the dignity of a highborn lady and bowed to the Marquis. “I understand now
that I am not worthy of the House of Blackwood. I am willing to step aside and allow the heir to find his own happiness.”
Ultimately, our parents agreed to cancel the engagement.
I didn’t want our families to become mortal enemies, and I still held onto some sliver of our past affection. So I brought healing salves to see Julian. He was lying face–down on his bed, a wretched sight, but when he looked at me, his eyes were filled with triumphant satisfaction.
“You’re smarter than you look, Seraphina,” he rasped. “If you had dared to harm Eva then, I would have pursued you
you to the ends of
2011
the earth.”
With that final, crushing humiliation, the bond of our childhood friendship was torn to shreds.
My grace and composure had saved my family’s honor, but my own reputation was still damaged by Julian’s actions. His cronies.
even placed bets on how long it would be before I swallowed my pride and begged for the engagement to be reinstated.
I stopped attending any banquets. I shut myself in my room for days on end, refusing invitations for spring outings and my friends”
birthday feasts. My parents saw my pain, and their hearts broke for me. Fearing I would succumb to melancholy, they sent me to
my maternal grandparents‘ home in the city of Lyria.
I was gone for three years.
