It was only then that I got my first clear look at him. As the rumors had said, he was frail and sickly, with the kind of face that did not seem destined for a long life.
As I held the handkerchief, his hand suddenly grabbed mine. He looked at me with bleary eyes, mumbling, "Elyse… Elyse…"
I lowered my eyes, not wanting him to see the hatred in them.
He was calling my sister's name.
To outsiders, it was well-known that the daughters of the Frederick family did not get along, since we did not share the same mother, and my father never treated us equally.
They were actually right. My relationship with Bianca was awful. Whenever we saw each other, it ended in either a fight or her hitting me. Always her, never me.
I remember that when the Archer family came to accept me as a second wife, they had specifically asked about the relationship between me and my sisters.
When they received the answer that it was terrible, the person smiled with satisfaction.
At the time, I didn't understand why he smiled like that until I saw the scars all over Elyse's body when she died.
The thin handkerchief, soaked with water, could easily suffocate a drunken man if pressed tightly over his nose and mouth. It would take less than a quarter of an hour.
Draven stirred briefly before slipping back into unconsciousness. I, however, was haunted, placing the handkerchief embroidered with flowers over his face slowly.
He had tuberculosis, and now, with the alcohol rendering him insensible, if he suffocated in his sleep, no one would suspect me.
Before I realized it, my hand was covering his mouth and nose. His shallow breaths felt like the feeble purring of a sickly kitten. A little more force and I could end his life.
However, in the end, I didn't go through with it because I wanted to know what had really happened to Elyse in the Archer household.
The next morning, before dawn, a maid woke me up to get ready.
On the first day when a new bride entered the family, she was always expected to rise early to pay respects to the elders.
Draven kept rubbing his neck as he dressed, his brows furrowed from the moment he woke up.
"What's wrong, honey?"
I lowered my head as I fastened his jade pendant, feigning ignorance.
"I don't know what happened last night. I kept feeling like I couldn't breathe, as if someone was choking me."
My hands paused for a moment, and I looked up, offering him a faint smile.