Sylus smirked, clearly satisfied by my submission. “Good girl,” he said, his tone patronizing. “Now, go rest. I want to spend some time alone with Lotty.”
He glanced at Julius, who had been quietly standing by. “Take her to the guest room,” Sylus ordered without sparing me a second look.
The words were like daggers to my heart.
I was no longer a wife. I was just a mere guest, an unwelcome shadow cast by the return of Sylus’s true love.
With Julius’s help, I staggered out of the room, each step drawing me further away from a life I once thought was mine.
At least, after my apology, Sylus had not pushed matters further. He let me leave in peace, his interest entirely absorbed by Charlotte at that moment.
Obediently, I followed Julius to the guest room.
Each step was a painful reminder of the toll that day had taken on my body, my stomach bloated and sore.
Julius, seeing my discomfort, gently suggested, "I will call the nurse to come here and tend to your wound."
I shook my head. "No, thank you. I can take care of it myself."
I had no intention of causing a stir or drawing attention to my fragile position in the house. I was nothing more than a shadow, so I intended to stay that way.
Julius nodded but added cautiously, “You should avoid touching anything that made for Mr. Fuentez from now on. So, I will bring your meals myself to make sure this never happens again. How does that sound?”
His thoughtfulness stung, not because of him, but because of how far I had fallen.
Not long ago, everything in this manor had been mine. But then I was reduced to being grateful for even a meal that would not harm me.
I nodded, though the bitterness in my heart welled up again.
Before Julius turned to leave, I mustered enough strength to say, “Thank you, Julius. I do not say it enough, but I appreciate everything you have done for me.”
He gave me a kind smile. “Anything for you, Madam. Call me if you need help.”
And with that, I was left alone in the guest room, a room that only deepened the feeling of isolation.
The once grand manor I had shared with Sylus for three years felt foreign, as though the life I had lived there had been nothing but a cruel illusion.
The moment Charlotte came back, it all crumbled.
I was not a queen that was dethroned, I had never been on the throne. I had merely been a substitute, filling a void until Sylus’s true love returned.