[What is that face for……? Surely you aren't about to say something ridiculous, like that you'd rather not?] (D) [N-Nothing of the sort! ……It's only that I don't know what one gives a woman. You'd know a woman's tastes well, wouldn't you, Mother?] (L) [Ho ho…… You aren't about to say something as pitiful as … Continue reading Chapter 13 — An Unthinkable Suggestion →

After an evening of trading barbs with the other guests, Leonardo returns to the estate carrying his irritation with him. Waiting to receive him is his mother — the Duchess of Linden — with her anger visibly held in check. [Welcome home, Leonardo.] (Duchess) [Ah…… Mother, I've returned……] (L) [There's something I wish to discuss. … Continue reading C12 – The Anger of Duchess Linden →

'——This might be bad...' Leonardo has never felt this uneasy in his life. Ever since the argument with his fiancée at that soirée, Chloe hasn't shown her face once. She won't even answer his letters. Nothing like this has ever happened before. And Chloe has never, not a single time, said anything to defy him. … Continue reading Chapter 11 — A Nobleman Who Isn’t Very Bright →

After that soirée, no matter how earnestly Leonardo pleaded to see her, Chloe never agreed. However many times the Linden messenger came with letters, she politely refused every one of them and never once accepted delivery. Even knowing he'd given his love to another woman, she had intended to go on playing the fiancée, at … Continue reading Chapter 10 — Chloe Wakes Up →

Countless candles burning in golden candelabra light the ceiling of the great hall, building a stage so dreamlike it makes one forget the passing of time. Tonight's soirée in the royal capital has drawn every noble house worth the name. Waves of gowns and tailcoats sway gently to the orchestra's music, and people trade smiles … Continue reading Chapter 9 — He Hasn’t Even the Means to Buy His Fiancée a Dress →

Once a woman's heart goes cold, it never catches fire again — Chloe has heard that said somewhere, and it describes her exactly. If anything, she's left wondering why she was ever in love with a man like that in the first place. However good-looking he is, however gentlemanly his manners, watching him play the … Continue reading Chapter 8 — What the Maid Thinks →

The next day, Chloe walks through the gardens of House Calendula. Vivid flowers the gardener has raised with painstaking care bloom in every colour. Beside her is her fiancé, Leonardo, smiling the way he always does. That smile used to set her heart racing — or so it should have. ‘Goodness, how thoroughly fake it … Continue reading Chapter 7 — Feelings Going Cold →

A small restaurant sits quietly in a corner of the city. Above the door hangs a rusted iron sign shaped like ivy leaves, and the warm smell of baking bread drifts out through the windows. At the best table in the house — a table for two with a beautiful view from the window — … Continue reading Chapter 6 — A Heart Coming Apart →

The trees in the garden sway in the wind, their shadows wavering across the window. Chloe watches them through the curtain and brings her tea quietly to her lips. In the still of the room, only the faint ticking of the clock marks the passing time. She gazes out at the garden and lets out … Continue reading Chapter 5 — She can’t quite let go of the thought that it might all be a misunderstanding →

Afternoon sunlight filters through the silk curtains and pools softly on the desk in the study. Chloe sits in that light, her jewel-blue eyes fixed on a single sheet of paper.It's a full account of the girl from the city—the one her fiancé, Leonardo, has been meeting in secret.A small photograph is clipped to the … Continue reading C – Chapter 4 →