That night, long after the palace had fallen silent, Princess Lilian remained awake.
The candles in her chamber had burned low, but she had not bothered to replace them.
She sat beside the window, staring into the darkness.
Somewhere in the palace, Evelyn was probably asleep with happiness in her heart.
Edward was home.
After seven years, he was finally home.
Lilian pressed her fingers against her lips.
She could still see them.
Edward’s arms around Evelyn.
Evelyn’s head against his chest.
The tears in her sister’s eyes.
The tenderness in Edward’s voice.
She could still hear him saying, You don’t have to let me go.
Lilian closed her eyes.
The memory hurt.
She had secretly longed to be in Evelyn’s shoes.
But what frightened her most was not the pain.
It was the desire hidden beneath it.
She wanted to be Evelyn.
She wanted Edward to look at her the way he looked at her sister.
She wanted to hear her own name spoken with that tenderness.
She wanted to feel his arms around her.
She wanted to be the woman he had spent seven years fighting to return to.
Lilian opened her eyes suddenly.
“No.”
She stood and began pacing across the room.
“No, I cannot think like this.”
But the more she tried to suppress the thoughts, the stronger they became.
She stopped before the mirror.
“He’s my sister’s love.”
She stared at her reflection.
“And I am supposed to be happy for her.”
A tear slipped down her cheek.
“I am happy for her.”
She said the words again.
“I am happy for her.”
But the words sounded less convincing each time.
Because there was another truth inside her.
She loved Edward.
Perhaps she had begun loving him long before she had realized it.
At first, she had admired him because of his courage.
Then she admired his devotion to Evelyn.
Then she began looking forward to hearing stories about him.
Whenever a letter arrived from Edward, she noticed how Evelyn’s face changed.
Whenever news came that Edward had survived another dangerous assignment, Lilian secretly felt relieved.
She had told herself that it was simply concern for the man her sister loved.
But perhaps it had always been more.
Perhaps she had fallen in love with him silently.
From a distance.
Without permission.
Without hope.
And now he had returned.
That was the problem.
Before, Edward had been far away.
It had been easier to hide her feelings when he was thousands of miles from the palace.
Now he was here.
She could see him.
She could hear his voice.
She could watch him hold Evelyn.
And every time she did, the hidden wound inside her opened again.
Lilian walked to her desk and sat down.
On the table was a list of the men who had proposed marriage to her.
She stared at their names.
For years, she had rejected them.
Some were respectable.
Some were handsome.
Some came from powerful families.
Any one of them could have given her a comfortable life.
But none of them had been Edward.
She picked up one of the letters.
She read the man’s name.
Then she slowly placed it down.
“Could I marry someone else?”
She whispered.
“Could I look into another man’s eyes and promise him my heart?”
She already knew the answer.
No.
Not while Edward remained in her heart.
And that realization terrified her.
Because if she could not love another man, what was she supposed to do?
Remain unmarried?
Wait?
And if she waited, what would happen?
The royal law had already given her an answer.
If Edward completed his service and she remained unmarried, he could be required to marry her.
She hated the thought.
Yet some secret part of her wanted it.
She covered her face with both hands.
“How can I want something that would break my sister’s heart?”
She cried quietly.
She knew Evelyn’s love was real.
She had watched it grow.
She had watched her sister wait through loneliness.
She had watched her read Edward’s letters until the paper became worn from being handled so often.
She had seen Evelyn pray for his safety.
She had seen her cry when his letters arrived late.
Evelyn had earned her happiness.
She deserved Edward.
Lilian knew that.
And yet her own heart whispered something cruel.
You deserve happiness too.
She lowered her hands.
“Do I?”
The question remained unanswered.
Lilian remembered something Evelyn had said earlier.
“Please choose someone.”
Her sister had not demanded it.
She had begged.
There had been fear in her eyes.
Fear of losing Edward.
Lilian could still hear her voice.
“I have waited seven years.”
Those words wounded Lilian more deeply than any accusation could have.
Because Evelyn trusted her.
She trusted her sister to protect the love she had spent seven years preserving.
And Lilian was secretly considering becoming the greatest threat to it.
She stood and walked toward the window.
Outside, the palace gardens were covered in moonlight.
She could almost imagine Edward standing there.
She imagined him turning toward her.
She imagined him taking her hand.
She imagined hearing him say,
“Lilian, I choose you.”
Her heart raced.
She immediately shook her head.
“No.”
She forced herself to imagine something else.
Edward and Evelyn.
Standing together.
Married.
Happy.
Children running through the gardens.
Evelyn laughing.
Edward holding her hand.
That image should have brought peace.
Instead, Lilian felt something inside her break.
She sank into the chair.
“I cannot do this.”
The next morning, Lilian avoided the breakfast hall.
She knew she would see Evelyn there.
She knew Evelyn would probably speak excitedly about the wedding.
She knew she would have to smile.
She knew she would have to pretend that nothing had changed.
But everything had changed.
Edward’s return had transformed her secret feelings from a distant fantasy into a possible reality.
And possibility was more dangerous than imagination.
She walked alone through the eastern garden.
There, she found Edward.
He was standing beneath a tree, speaking with one of the royal guards.
Lilian stopped.
For a moment, she considered turning around.
But Edward saw her.
“Princess Lilian.”
She forced a smile.
“Edward.”
He approached and bowed respectfully.
“It is good to see you again.”
“And you.”
He smiled.
“You have changed.”
“So have you.”
They stood silently.
Lilian’s heart was beating so loudly that she feared he might hear it.
Edward looked toward the palace.
“Evelyn is happy.”
Lilian swallowed.
“Yes.”
“She waited for me for seven years.”
“I know.”
“I am grateful to her.”
Lilian looked at him.
“You love her very much.”
“More than words can explain.”
Lilian felt the words enter her heart like a blade.
But she smiled anyway.
“She loves you too.”
“I know.”
There was no anger in his voice.
No hesitation.
Only certainty.
Lilian looked away.
“Then you are fortunate.”
Edward smiled.
“So are you.”
She looked back at him.
“Why?”
“Because Evelyn is your sister.”
Lilian forced another smile.
“Yes.”
But inside, she thought:
I am not fortunate.
Because I have fallen in love with the man my sister waited seven years to marry.
Edward excused himself and walked away.
Lilian watched him disappear.
Only when he was gone did she allow the tears to fall.
That afternoon, Lilian stood before Queen Amelia.
The queen immediately noticed something was wrong.
“You have been unusually quiet.”
“I am fine.”
“Lilian.”
She looked at her mother.
Queen Amelia waited patiently.
Finally, Lilian whispered,
“Mother, what happens when a person’s heart wants something it should not want?”
Queen Amelia studied her carefully.
“Then the person must decide whether desire is worth the cost.”
Lilian lowered her eyes.
“And if the cost is someone you love?”
“Then the decision becomes harder.”
Lilian’s eyes filled with tears.
“What if you could have what you wanted without breaking the law?”
Queen Amelia became still.
“What do you mean?”
Lilian quickly shook her head.
“Nothing.”
The queen continued looking at her.
“Lilian, whatever is troubling you, do not allow fear or loneliness to make the decision for you.”
Lilian nodded.
“I understand.”
But she wasn’t sure she did.
That night, Lilian returned to her chamber.
She stood before the mirror again.
She looked at herself for a long time.
Then she whispered the truth she had been afraid to say.
“I love him.”
The room was silent.
“I love Edward.”
She began to cry.
“But I love Evelyn too.”
That was the heart of her torment.
If she did not love Evelyn, her choice would have been easy.
She could have pursued Edward without remorse.
But Evelyn was not a rival she hated.
She was her sister.
Her closest companion.
The woman who had trusted her.
The woman who had spent seven years waiting for the same man Lilian now secretly desired.
Lilian pressed her hand against her heart.
“I cannot steal her happiness.”
But then another thought came.
What if you don’t steal it?
What if the law gives him to you?
She closed her eyes.
Maybe, I will visit Edward and disclose my feelings for him.
The thought was dangerous.
But it was also tempting.
And for the first time, Lilian understood that the greatest battle ahead would not be fought between two princesses.
It would be fought inside her own heart.
One side wanted to protect Evelyn.
The other wanted Edward.
One side whispered, Let them be happy.
The other whispered, What about your happiness?
Lilian stood alone in the darkness, unable to choose.
Outside, preparations for Edward and Evelyn’s wedding continued.
Inside, Princess Lilian’s heart was quietly becoming a battlefield.
And she knew that sooner or later, she would have to decide whether love meant fighting for what she wanted—or sacrificing what she wanted for the happiness of the person she loved most.