Chapter 8

The woman looked far away to the infinite horizon as her maid collected the heaps of letters that have accumulated onto the desk and put them away before wiping it with a cloth and stacking the tiny place with books containing the knowledge of herbs and alchemy.

"Lady, the duke and young masters have sent a letter today too..do you want me to......"

"No, just throw them away."

"Duke Valentine has expressed his wish to come and visit you once before departing to the border areas."

The delicate female did not answer but rather looked outside at the sun that was burning somewhat soothingly in the color of ruby before dipping below the aqua waters of the ocean.

Layla sighed and without her knowledge tears gathers as dew drops on her lashes yet maybe with time she had become so stubborn and habitual to abuse that she refused to let them fall. It happened to be the death anniversary to the only one being that she had come to love and has lost so suddenly.

She asked the disappearing sun god if she could hope and pray for someone's brutal death...if only she could curse Duke Valentine to perish in the war with arrows piercing his body and never return again. If this was a sin to wish death upon someone...

"Ask him to come." 

Come and see what have you done to my soul

How deeply am I wounded that even a rebirth could not fix the pain

May lord give you a similar anguish that I once had to go through.

When Jeremiah arrived at the secondary mansion it was a significantly quiet place filled with white roses blossoming magnificently at the garden, there were only a few commoner's houses in the capital that did not understood what did they represent and planted them mistakenly yet others avoided such a bad omen that was symbolic of mourning. 

Nobles were heavily particular about them and did not do so yet he did not believe in such superstitions and thus could not care less about why Layla did that.

The mansion did not had many servants and workers and was managed by only a dozen of them thus when Jeremiah was guided to the front parlor and not to his fiancée's chambers it appeared more intentional than a mistake.

"My apologies for keeping the duke waiting." Layla sat down with dead set eyes and looked at him as if wondering about his purpose of visit making it seemingly clear that he wasn't welcome here.

"I have come since I wish to discuss something with your ladyship......a meeting was arranged by the elders of house Valentine and they have come to a conclusion that before I go to the front borders in two months......we must spend a night together. They do not approve of you living away from the Valentine mansion."

Blue irises locked with the rose ones and Layla for the first time could not hide her heart and the emotions that were buried deep splashed on the canvas of her face.

"What did you say?"

"As the duties of this engagement you must produce an heir." She gritted her teeth in rage as contempt filled eyes glared into Jeremiah's soul as the man said those words.

"Such a bastard" Hearing the woman curse himself, duke Valentine at first only tried to maintain his calm yet when Layla called a maid to send him out and she herself stood up to leave he could not control his temper anymore.

"You are my fiancée Layla! It is a woman's duty to share her husband's bed so what is so wrong in that or is it that you have already dirtied yourself-" A loud sound echoed through the chamber making the maids tremble and retreat. 

Princess Layla Everdale, a woman dared to slap a man and that too it was Duke Valentine. 

The male stood silently with his veins bulging as he glared at her before his lips moved.

"Duke Everdale your father has already sold you to me, even if you dislike this engagement you cannot break free since you Layla Everdale has no place to belong." After that when the male retreated no servant dared to approach him.

For god knows how long Layla kept standing at the same place, frozen, staring at the wall without saying a single word, the maids knew better and did not disturbed her thus when the room was locked no one came out and asked if she was alright.

They could be loyal to the princess of Everdale yet they were more true to their real master the Duke of Everdale.

Shivering hands poured some water in a cup but at the end it was a mess, she took huge gulps not realizing that the water was dribbling down the corners of her mouth.

In her previous life too she was a machine of the Valentine duchy, an unfeeling animal like creature without emotions that once Duke Valentine wished to sleep with and told her to give birth to an heir for him. 

She was so young and foolish, even if none could love her but maybe she hoped that she would be capable enough to love her child so she finally agreed because she had no where to go. It was her hope to survive.

If she pleased her fiancée maybe he would treat her better.

The process used to be painful, each week he used to enter her bedroom and simply leave after the sex. When she finally got pregnant it was such a relief that she would not be touched by the man anymore. She did not felt anything from it but was just in the hurry as she closed her eyes tightly till he was done.

Yet the moment her belly swelled with a child she got hate from all the sections of the society because she was still unmarried and an engagement could be anyday broken.

After that- Layla closed her eyes and sat down in fetus position as she put her hands on her ear and wept sadly.

"My dear"

"My sweet baby" 

"Just open your eyes my love." Desperate pleas escaped the lips of the woman that clutched onto a heap of dead and decaying lump of flesh as she screamed with snot and tears running down her face.

After all that anguish, at the end where she hoped every insult would be forgotten was the day when she miscarried.

It was the same day in spring that she miscarried in her previous life.