The next morning, Marian woke up angry.
Not sad.
Not devastated.
Angry.
The distinction mattered.
Because sadness wanted to cry.
Anger wanted answers.
Marian preferred answers.
She spent breakfast staring at her tea.
A deeply productive activity.
One she committed herself to completely.
Unfortunately, her father existed.
"You’re plotting."
Marian looked up.
The Duke sat across from her.
Entirely too observant.
A lifelong problem.
"I am not."
"You are."
"I am thinking."
"That’s what I said."
Traitor.
Complete traitor.
Marian stabbed a strawberry.
Violently.
The Duke sighed.
A familiar sound.
One she had inspired many times throughout her life.
"Did you and Adrian argue again?"
The question caught her off guard.
Because of the word.
Again.
As though the previous argument had already become noticeable.
How embarrassing.
"No."
"A lie."
"We had a discussion."
"You yelled."
"I raised my voice."
The Duke looked unconvinced.
Reasonably.
After breakfast, Marian made a decision.
A terrible decision.
The sort of decision people regretted later.
Unfortunately, she made it anyway.
Because she was angry.
And angry people occasionally confused bad ideas with good ones.
The plan itself was simple.
Observe.
Nothing more.
No accusations.
No drama.
No confrontation.
Just observation.
She wanted proof.
One way or another.
Because perhaps she was wrong.
Perhaps she had imagined everything.
Perhaps Elena Hart had nothing to do with any of this.
Marian desperately wanted that to be true.
Two days later, opportunity arrived.
Disguised as a charity planning meeting.
Marian hated charity meetings.
This one suddenly became interesting.
Because Elena would be there.
And Adrian.
Together.
Again.
What a surprise.
The conference room was crowded.
Nobles.
Officials.
Advisors.
Physicians.
The usual.
Marian entered quietly.
Taking a seat near the back.
No one questioned it.
After all, Lady Marian rarely paid attention during administrative discussions.
Her reputation remained useful.
The meeting began.
Marian immediately became bored.
A natural response.
Then Elena started speaking.
And Marian found herself paying attention despite herself.
Not because Elena was fascinating.
Because Adrian was.
Specifically—
The way he listened.
The realization arrived slowly.
Then all at once.
When other people spoke, Adrian listened politely.
Attentively.
Respectfully.
When Elena spoke—
He listened differently.
Not romantically.
Not obviously.
Yet differently.
More focused.
More engaged.
As though her words carried extra weight.
The discovery settled heavily inside Marian’s chest.
Because she recognized it.
She had seen that look before.
Years ago.
When Adrian listened to her.
The thought hurt.
Far more than she expected.
Because suddenly she remembered.
There had once been a time when she was the most interesting person in Adrian’s world.
Not the most important.
The most interesting.
There was a difference.
A painful difference.
And somehow she wasn’t sure she occupied that position anymore.
The meeting continued.
Elena proposed something.
One of the officials disagreed.
A discussion followed.
Then Adrian spoke.
Immediately.
Calmly.
Decisively.
Defending Elena’s proposal.
The room quieted.
The matter settled.
Marian froze.
Not because Adrian agreed with Elena.
Because he was right.
The proposal genuinely was good.
That was the problem.
Everything was reasonable.
Everything made sense.
Everything had an explanation.
Which left Marian with nothing to fight.
Nothing except the feeling.
And feelings made terrible opponents.
When the meeting ended, people began departing.
Conversations formed naturally.
Small groups gathered.
The usual.
Marian remained seated.
Watching.
Waiting.
Testing.
A horrible activity.
One she hated.
Then Elena laughed.
Again.
That warm laugh.
That easy laugh.
And Adrian smiled.
Again.
That effortless smile.
The one Marian knew by heart.
The one she’d loved for years.
The one that appeared more and more often around Elena.
The sight struck like a physical blow.
Small.
Precise.
Merciless.
For one terrible moment, Marian wanted to hate Elena.
The urge shocked her.
Because it felt so unfair.
Elena wasn’t doing anything wrong.
She wasn’t flirting.
She wasn’t scheming.
She wasn’t trying to steal anyone.
If anything, Elena seemed completely unaware.
The realization made everything worse.
Because villains were easy.
Good people were difficult.
And Elena Hart was undeniably good.
Marian stood.
Abruptly.
The movement drew Adrian’s attention immediately.
Of course it did.
Some habits remained.
"Marian?"
The concern in his voice felt genuine.
As always.
The problem was that she no longer found that reassuring.
Because concern wasn’t the same as attention.
And attention wasn’t the same as love.
The realization frightened her.
"I’m leaving."
The words came out calmly.
Gracefully.
Years of practice.
Adrian frowned.
"We were supposed to have dinner."
Ah.
So he remembered.
How wonderful.
"We can reschedule."
The answer arrived before she could stop it.
Adrian looked surprised.
Then troubled.
Good.
Let him be troubled.
Just a little.
For once.
Marian turned.
Then paused.
Not looking at Adrian.
Looking at Elena.
The heroine looked confused.
Concerned.
Kind.
Everything Marian wished she wasn’t.
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
And suddenly Marian understood something.
The original novel had never stood a chance.
Because no matter how beautiful Marian was.
No matter how much history she and Adrian shared.
No matter how desperately she loved him—
Elena possessed something far more dangerous.
She made Adrian feel alive.
The realization terrified her.
Because for the first time—
Marian no longer thought she was imagining things.
And once certainty arrives, denial becomes impossible.