The teacup in my hand cracked.
Not shattered. Not broken. Just… cracked.
It wasn't the cup's fault, of course.
It was the voice of my cousin, lounging too comfortably on the garden bench beside me.
"You didn't hear?" he said, stirring sugar into his tea. "Viscount Albrecht paid Lady Evelyne a visit. A personal one. No chaperone."
The crack widened.
Viscount Albrecht.
Smart. Polished. Son of a respected noble house. One of those rising stars people whispered about at banquets.
And apparently, bold enough to visit my fiancée.
Without me.
---
"I see," I said.
But I didn't. Not really.
It didn't make sense.
Evelyne never entertained visitors. She didn't charm nobles. She didn't smile.
And yet now, rumors floated like petals through court—the villainess has changed, they said. She's softening. She's kind.
Kind enough to make him smile?
The crack in the cup finally split, and tea spilled across my glove.
---
Later, I walked the palace corridors with long, slow steps. I didn't want to find her.
But I did.
She stood beneath a cherry tree in the courtyard, her silver-blonde hair catching the sunset, pale hands adjusting the sash on her dress.
Alone. As usual.
I stopped a few steps away.
"You're letting others visit you now?" I asked.
She turned slowly.
Her expression was unreadable, calm as ever. "Should I not?"
"You never have before."
"I'm allowed to change."
It was such a simple answer, and yet it unsettled me more than any rumor.
Because maybe she really was changing.
And maybe…
Maybe I was too.
---
She walked past me, not sparing another glance. The faint scent of lilac lingered in the air behind her.
I stood still.
And for the first time, I wondered what it would feel like…
if someone else took her hand.
---