My father was framed and thrown into prison. To save him, I married the Grand Chancellor, the most powerful man in the palace.

On our wedding night, my husband was relentless. He took me again and again. Each time, he came close to losing control.

But the very next day, a royal decree arrived. My father had been sentenced to death.

I knelt outside my husband's door for days, begging him to save my father. He looked at me coldly and said, "If your father hadn't reported mine back then, my father wouldn't have died such a miserable death. I wouldn't have been sent into the palace either, forced into a life that stripped me of everything I was.

"Now things have changed. If you behave and serve my family obediently, I might consider sparing your family."

On the day my father was executed, my husband wore a richly colored cloak and personally oversaw the beheading.

He even brought the daughter of the man who framed my father into our home and made her his second wife.

For three years after that, he never stepped into my room again.

I cried and resented him, but he used my family as leverage to keep me in line.

It continued until the case was reopened one day and fully investigated. The king himself cleared my father's name.

I was granted a special royal pardon that allowed me to make two wishes.

My first wish was for my family to live in safety and comfort.

My second was to sever all ties with the Grand Chancellor forever.

When I returned from the palace, a light rain had already begun to fall. The droplets gathered at the ends of my hair, weighing it down before falling onto the back of my hand.

For the first time in a long while, I felt a strange sense of ease.

The wife of the Grand Chancellor was supposed to travel in a carriage, escorted and attended at all times. However, I had none of that.

I didn't have a carriage, and not even a single attendant followed behind me.

If this were any other household, no one would believe it.

But in Blackwood Estate, it was entirely believable.

Everyone knew that the Grand Chancellor Yuvan Fletcher didn't love his wife.

Wherever I went, those who recognized me would glance over with quiet mockery and whisper among themselves. I never reacted anymore, having long since gotten used to it.

"My lord husband is busy with palace affairs. He finally had time to take me to the gardens today, but then it started raining. I even stepped straight into the mud."

As I entered the back courtyard, I heard Sabrina Walker's sweet and soft voice.

I meant to slip past and return to my room without being noticed, but she saw me anyway.

She called out to me with a smile on her lips, her gaze sharp with open challenge, and walked straight toward me.

"Kayla, since you're free most days anyway, why don't you help me clean my shoes?"

She had someone bring over a chair and sat down in front of me like she owned the place. Then she lifted her foot, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Be careful and don't ruin my shoes. Lord Fletcher picked them out for me himself."

I didn't move right away.

Instead, I looked up at Yuvan.

When our eyes met, he looked at me coldly. He raised an eyebrow, as if waiting to see what I would do.

I understood exactly what he meant.

Without a word, I lowered myself in front of Sabrina.

I knelt and gently took one of her shoes in my hands, using a handkerchief to wipe the mud from the sole.

I moved as carefully as I could, but she still suddenly let out a sharp cry.

She kicked me in the chest, and I fell back onto the ground.

"Oh no! I didn't mean to. You hurt me. Yuvan, tell her I didn't mean it."

Yuvan frowned, and his expression darkened. He shot me a cold glance and spoke sharply, not caring at all that I was only using a handkerchief through her shoe and that there was no way it could hurt her.

"Be gentler. Sabrina has delicate skin. She's not like you, rough and unrefined by nature."

Rough and unrefined?

That wasn't how Yuvan used to speak to me.

We grew up together, and we were childhood friends. Everyone in both families had always assumed we would end up together one day.

I followed in my father's footsteps, training in martial arts, climbing trees, and getting into fights with other children.

Every time, my mother would scold me.

"A proper young lady should act like one. If you keep behaving like this, Yuvan won't want to marry you."

But every time, Yuvan would step in front of me.

Even as a child, he would lift his chin and promise her with complete certainty.

"That won't happen. I like Kayla the most. When she's quiet, she's gentle and calm. When she's lively, she's bright and full of energy. When I grow up, I'm going to marry her."

Now, I had married him just as he promised.

Yet, the way he described me had changed.

I was now rough and unrefined.

Everything we once shared, those years of growing up together, had already disappeared the moment our fathers fell from grace.

I said quietly, "I'm sorry. I'll be gentler."

I pushed myself up from the ground and knelt again in front of Sabrina. This time, I not only cleaned her shoes but also gently massaged her lower legs.

I didn't even know what I did wrong this time, but Yuvan's expression only grew colder as he watched me.

"Pathetic," he said under his breath.

Then he turned and left without another word.

I was pathetic. I knew he was hurting me on purpose.

And still, I tried to please him.

Because my family's lives were still in his hands.

There were still three more days. Once the royal decree was finalized, I would be able to save them.

All I could do now was play the role of his obedient wife for three more days.

That was the only way to keep my family alive.

-

That night, I had just changed out of my clothes and was preparing to rest when the door was suddenly shoved open from the outside.

Yuvan walked in with a dark, stormy expression. I quickly pulled my clothes back into place and went to meet him.

The moment he got closer, I caught the strong scent of alcohol.

He had been drinking heavily, though I knew he never truly lost control from it.

"Sabrina is pregnant. She can't serve me right now. Tonight—"

I paused for only a moment, then forced a smile.

"Congratulations, my lord. Since Sabrina is with child, you should stay with her. I'll have the servants escort you back to her room right away."

I turned to open the door and call for someone. But before I could, he grabbed my wrist.

His expression was darker than I had ever seen it.

He pulled me closer, his warm breath mixed with alcohol brushing against my face.

"Are you playing hard to get? You think tricks like this will make me notice you? Remember this. You're not even worth my time."

Before I could respond, he shoved past me and stormed out.

I stood there, confused, watching his back disappear down the corridor.

I really did everything he wanted, so why was he still angry?

Maybe he was upset that I hadn't immediately gone to take care of Sabrina after hearing she was pregnant.

So, I immediately went to the kitchen and spent all night preparing a nutritious soup.

At dawn, I brought it to Sabrina myself.

"Congratulations on your pregnancy," I said softly. "I don't have anything valuable to give you, but I spent the night making this. I hope you don't mind."

Yuvan had his arm around Sabrina's shoulders, gently helping her choose hair accessories.

When I held out the bowl, Sabrina leaned into him even more with a smug smile on her face.

"You're so thoughtful, Kayla. But this bowl of soup is nothing special. If you truly want to congratulate me, I actually like the crystal bangle on your wrist. Why don't you give it to me instead?"

I touched the white crystal bracelet on my wrist.

It was a promise gift Yuvan had given me years ago.

Back then, we stood under a tree that was in full bloom. He held my hand and slid the bangle on my wrist himself.

"Nothing else in this world compares to you, Kayla. Now that you've worn this bracelet, you're mine forever."

My first feeling for him began under that tree when I was twelve.

At sixteen, I became his wife.

And before I even reached nineteen, it felt like I had already lived through an entire lifetime of hardship.

Now I was nineteen, and it felt like it was finally time to wake up.

Whatever connection we once had was over.

Both of them were now staring directly at the bracelet on my wrist.

That was when I realized what I had to do, and I quickly tried to take it off.

However, the bangle had been fitted when I was still a child. Now that I was grown, it wouldn't come off no matter how hard I pulled.

"I'll take it off soon and give it to you, Sabrina."

I tugged harder, trying to force it off. My wrist quickly turned red and swollen. The bones in my hand felt like they were twisting out of place.

Still, it wouldn't budge. No matter how hard I tried, I failed.

Yuvan's expression darkened as he watched me struggle.

In a moment of panic, I raised my hand and slammed it against the wall.

A sharp crack echoed through the room.

The crystal bangle shattered, falling to the ground in pieces.

At the same time, the broken edges cut into my wrist. Blood immediately dripped onto the floor.

For a split second, Yuvan's breathing hitched. He stepped forward as if he wanted to say something.

But Sabrina grabbed his arm, and he stopped with a frown.

Just like that, what broke wasn't only the bangle, but also the promise we made when we were young.

I ignored the pain and carefully gathered the broken pieces into my hands, then held them up and offered them to Sabrina.

"I really couldn't take it off, as you saw. If it's something you like, I would never keep it for myself."

Seeing how desperate I looked, Yuvan suddenly reached out and knocked the broken pieces out of my hands.

"Stop this act," he said sharply. "Who are you putting it on for? The more you do this, the more I despise you."

Sabrina added softly, as if helping him along, "If you really wanted to take it off, you could just cut your hand off. Smashing it like this just means you never wanted to give it to me in the first place."

Was breaking the bangle not enough? Did I also need to cut my hand off?

I let out a helpless, bitter laugh and looked up at Yuvan.

"My lord, do you think I should cut off my hand too?"

If it were him who said it, I would cut it off without a second thought.

My hand in exchange for my family's lives wouldn't be a loss.

Yuvan froze for a moment.

His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something. But in the end, no words came out.

He turned away and wrapped an arm around Sabrina's waist instead, lowering his voice to comfort her.

"Her things are dirty. We don't want them. I'll buy you something better."

That crystal bangle had been a gift from him, and now he called it dirty.

How ironic.

-

That night, a young maid came to my room.

"My lady, your hand is injured. Here's some medicine to apply."

It was hard to refuse kindness, so I used a little.

The moment the powder touched my wound, a sharp, piercing pain shot through me. I instinctively shook it off and reached for water, trying to wash it off.

But before I could, the door was pushed open, and Yuvan walked in.