Soon, the sound of rolling wheels and footsteps echoed from the hallway.
The woman’s high heels made a particularly pleasant clicking sound.
A moment later, silence fell.
Ashley Bowen covered her head with a pillow and, hiding under the covers, cursed Yuri Sinclair for being a scumbag.
She drifted off into a groggy sleep.
By the time she woke up, sunlight was already flooding the room.
Ashley Bowen opened her eyes.
Rubbing them, she glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand—it was exactly six-thirty.
She dragged her exhausted body out of bed, brushed her teeth, and trudged downstairs for breakfast.
As soon as she reached the first-floor landing, Ashley saw a woman sitting at the dining table in the hall.
Yuri Sinclair was in his usual place at the head of the table, eating his meal with slow, deliberate movements.
Ashley’s mouth fell open.
She descended the last few steps, walked to the dining table, and stopped across from the woman.
‘She’s sitting in my seat!’
The woman seemed to notice Ashley.
She looked up slightly, a gentle smile gracing her lips.
“Sister-in-law, you don’t mind me sitting here, do you?”
‘Sister-in-law?’
Ashley mulled over the term as a stream of curses flooded her mind.
‘Who is this woman?
And how dare she have the nerve to call me that?’
“You’re free to sit where you like. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
I’m not fussy, but the Sinclair family has a rule: the first seat to the left of the head of the table is for the lady of the house.
Sister-in-law, it’s not appropriate for you to be sitting there.”
When the woman heard this, her face went deathly pale, and the knife and fork in her hand clattered onto the table.
She turned to look at Yuri Sinclair, her voice faint.
“Yuri.”
‘This woman is obviously having an affair with Yuri.’ Ashley rolled her eyes.
The thought that this woman had shared a room with Yuri just last night filled her with contempt for them both.
“Sister-in-law, please change seats.
Ryan!” Yuri Sinclair paused his meal and said in a flat tone.
Ryan Osborne was startled.
He hurried to clear the woman’s tableware and ordered a servant to set a place for Ashley Bowen.
‘The Grand Imperial Concubine holds a unique place in His Highness’s heart,’ he thought.
‘Why would he upset her today for the sake of this wild brat?
It’s just so strange.’
Ashley Bowen gleefully sat down in her rightful place and began enjoying her breakfast as if no one else existed.
Warm, sweet milk; soft, fluffy toast; and sweet-and-sour strawberries…
everything was perfectly to her liking.
She poked at her food a few times with her knife and fork before setting them down.
With a gentle smile, she said, “Yuri, I’m full.
I’m going to get some fresh air in the courtyard.”
Yuri Sinclair’s hand paused for a moment before he nodded.
“Go on.” Not a single word of comfort, nor any attempt to ask her to stay.
Though Claire Sutton maintained her serene expression, she shot Ashley Bowen a vicious glare as she walked past.
Having thoroughly enjoyed her breakfast, Ashley Bowen wiped the corner of her mouth.
Seeing Yuri Sinclair about to leave, she quickly called out, “Um, Your Highness, I was thinking of going to school to study today.”
“Go on,” Yuri Sinclair said flatly, steering his wheelchair toward the courtyard without another glance.
‘Those shameless adulterers!
How dare they have a rendezvous so brazenly, right in front of me?
And in my own home, no less!’
Ashley Bowen leaped up from her chair.
Like a thief, she pressed herself against the glass window, secretly watching the man and woman under the wisteria trellis outside.
‘Are they really just in-laws?
They’re obviously just a pair of cheating dogs.
Hmph!’
“Your Highness, you shouldn’t say that.
Before you were here, that seat was always Miss Sut— I mean, the Grand Imperial Concubine’s.”
Startled by the voice behind her, Ashley Bowen jumped, pulling her head back from the window and accidentally bumping it against the maid’s forehead.
Holly Underwood clutched her forehead, crying out, “Ouch!”