Martin moved down the staircase in a pace of urgency than he usually allowed himself to show, though his expression remained calm.
Gray followed a step behind him, composed as always, his gaze already fixed toward the direction of the entrance where the disturbance had gathered.
Voices could be heard before they reached the bottom.
By the time Martin stepped into the main hall, six of the security men stood near the entrance, positioned to make it clear that whoever stood beyond them was not meant to pass without permission.
Their bodies shifted the moment they noticed him, the tension in their stance easing just slightly as they straightened and parted to give him a clear path forward.
"Sir."
They stepped aside.
And then he saw her.
She stood just at the threshold, one hand resting lightly against the doorframe as though she had every right to lean into the space without being invited.
Her presence was composed, almost too put-together for the early hour. Her brunette hair fell neatly around her shoulders, parted at the side. Her skin had that polished glow of delicate wealth, and her features carried a kind of beauty that did not need exaggeration to be noticed.
Her glasses sat neatly against the bridge of her nose, framing eyes that were already fixed on him. Her demeanor suggested she had been expecting this exact moment.
She did not look inconvenienced. If anything, she looked patient.
Martin stopped a few steps in front of her, his gaze settling fully now, scanning her with eyes that did not welcome.
"…Isabella."
Her lips curved faintly.
She reached up, adjusting her glasses.
"Good morning, Martin."
Her tone was smooth, almost pleasant, as though she had not just forced her way into a guarded estate unannounced.
Martin's eyes did not leave her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
Isabella tilted her head slightly, studying him for a brief moment.
Then she let out a soft breath, almost amused.
"Do I need a reason," she replied calmly, "to visit my fiancé's home?"
• • •
Meanwhile…
Victoria did not move.
She remained buried beneath the weight of the bedsheets, cocooned in a space where light could not reach her and time seemed to have stopped caring. The room itself was quiet.
The door opened softly.
"Ma'am."
Victoria groaned from beneath the covers, turning further into the mattress as if even that single word was too much. She shifted just enough to pull the sheets tighter over her head, refusing to let even a sliver of light intrude.
Li stepped inside anyway.
Her eyes swept across the room before settling on the bed. The tray by the bedside caught her attention next. Then the second one. Both untouched for hours with the food already gone cold.
A faint crease formed between her brows.
"Ma'am… it is already past midday," Li said, "Starving yourself will not help the situation."
No response.
Victoria remained still and silent.
Li did not give up immediately. She tried again, offering small reassurances and attempts to coax her out of hiding. Each word met the same wall of silence.
Eventually, Li exhaled and turned slightly, as though preparing to leave.
"You must look down at me… just like they do."
The words came muffled from beneath the blanket.
Li stopped. She turned back.
"I beg your pardon, Ma'am?"
There was a pause before the sheets shifted.
Victoria sat up slowly, though the blanket remained draped over her like armor. For a moment, she hesitated, as if even speaking required something she wasn't sure she still had.
Then it came anyway.
"All of them…" she sniffled softly, her voice shakey. "They all look at me with those eyes. Like I don't belong here. Like I'm something that slipped in by mistake."
Her fingers tightened beneath the fabric.
"Like I'm some… rodent in the middle of a polished castle. Something so disgusting they'd rather not touch to exterminate so they just... Ignore. "
Li said nothing.
She only listened.
Victoria inhaled shakily under the blanket as she heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching.
"I know I made a mistake yesterday," she continued, her voice dropping further. "I know what I did… I know the attention it brought, the things people must be saying now…"
Her words faltered.
"I humiliated him," Victoria whispered. "I humiliated his name… and then I stood there and spoke to him like… like he wasn't the only reason I'm not in pri—"
She stopped herself.
The silence that followed felt heavier than before.
By then, Li had reached the side of the bed. She sat down gently. "Ma'am… Please do not say such things."
Victoria shook her head under the blanket.
"No… just when I thought I had escaped," she murmured, sobbing. "Just when I thought maybe I could survive this, I thought… maybe I could manage it, endure it somehow…"
Her breath hitched.
"And then I ruined it. In front of all those expensive people who didn't even respect me to begin with. I made everything worse. A reminder of what a mistake he made by helping me."
Li leaned slightly closer, her voice steady. "Master does not regret his decisions, Ma'am."
Victoria let out a hollow sound that might have been a laugh.
"Ma'am?" Li called. "Take it from me... He's not the kind of man who looks back."
Victoria stayed silent before speaking, "But everyone else does. Everyone else looks at me like I'm the mistake."
Silence.
"Even you."
Li's expression fell immediately. "I would never look at you that way, Ma'am."
Victoria shook her head again, more firmly this time. "I don't believe you."
There was no hesitation in her response. No softness to it either. Just tired hurt honesty.
Li then spoke again, her voice quieter but far more resolute. "Then allow me to prove it."
The room stilled.
Li adjusted slightly on the bed, her posture straightening as she spoke in a tone that carried more than duty.
"All I see when I look at you…" she began slowly, choosing each word with care, "is a woman who stepped into a world that was never made for her… and still chose to stand."
Victoria's grip on the blanket loosened slightly.
"All I see," Li continued, "is someone who carries more than she should have ever been given, yet still moves forward even when it breaks her."
Her voice softened further.
"A strong woman. A bold one… willing to risk what others would never dare to carry. That is how I look at you, Ma'am."
Silence settled between them again, but this time it felt different.
The blanket shifted.
Then slowly, but reluctantly, Victoria lowered it.
Her face came into view.
Her eyes were swollen, rimmed red from tears that had long overstayed their welcome. Her hair was disheveled, strands falling carelessly around her face where it had been pulled apart. There was no trace of rest on her features, only exhaustion that seemed to sink into her bones.
She looked… battered.
Victoria swallowed, her voice barely above a whisper. "…Promise?"
Li's expression softened.
"I will not promise what I cannot control," she said carefully. "But when Master selected me, he told me to be your right hand."
Silence.
"And your right hand, I will be," Li smiled. "Even if I must lose everything else, I will remain by your side as I am meant to be."
That was all it took.
The last thread holding Victoria together snapped without warning.
Her face crumpled as the tears came harder this time, no longer restrained nor hidden. She leaned forward instinctively, and Li caught her without thought.
Victoria broke into shaking sobs against her, clutching onto her as though she had nothing else left to hold.
And Li held her there.
Like she had already decided she wasn't going anywhere in this rollercoaster her madam haf boarded.