Arianne stumbled in the hallway as she made her way to the nearest room. Truthfully, she could no longer feel the strength in her body. Yet she could not afford to rot in place when her whole existence had already become a mess, right?  How could she, after everything she had accidentally heard? It was even a miracle that she managed to convince Cassiander to keep her appearance a secret, when he was so loyal to Aldwynne.

She closed the door behind her. Her strength finally gave out. She plopped herself down on the sofa. She wore a blank expression; the tears had dried up on her cheeks.

What did she just hear?

So many questions swirled in her mind as her brain replayed the conversation like a broken record.

***

Aldwynne descended the stairs with Cassiander, while Giovanne took another route separately. The party was still lively, yet no matter where he looked, he could not find his wife anywhere. Weird, he thought. They had promised the twins that they would be back early tonight, yet she was nowhere to be found. Where is she?

He stopped a random lady passing by and asked, “Excuse me, do you happen to know where Duchess Clarevant is?”

The lady, although startled, answered, “Oh! I think the Duchess excused herself to look for the Duke…”

She did? Aldwynne’s brows furrowed at the answer. Nevertheless, he thanked the lady despite the confusion.

Meanwhile, Cassiander, who stayed beside the Duke, felt nervous at the answer. The Duchess had not come back. The realization that she might still be processing what she heard unsettled him, and he almost lost his usual poker face. That, unfortunately, did not go unnoticed by the Duke.

“You knew something, didn’t you?” Aldwynne turned to Cassiander.

The latter schooled his expression and answered, “What could I possibly know when I’ve been with you and Giovanne for a while?”

Aldwynne did not press further. He went upstairs to look for Arianne.

And Cassiander, still feeling unsettled about the look on her face, followed suit.

“Excuse me, do you happen to know where Duchess Clarevant is?” Aldwynne stopped the waiter this time.

“Duchess Clarevant?” The waiter paused. He seemed to rack his brain to recall. “I think she went that way,” he pointed to the direction where the room Aldwynne and Cassiander had previously stayed.

Aldwynne’s heart sank. He looked at Cassiander, his eyes asking for an explanation, yet he got none except the flinch on the latter’s face.

Don’t tell me, no way … she could not possibly have heard everything, right?

For the first time in a while, he lost his composure regarding someone other than Lilianne.

He approached the direction given by the waiter. He politely knocked on each door he passed by, trying to remain poised despite the uncomfortable nagging he felt. His mind screamed that she must have heard it, yet his heart wanted to believe otherwise.

Humans sure are funny, and I’m that human. Aldwynne laughed at himself. Not long ago, he could not even defend his wife. Yet now, when he could not find his wife anywhere after knowing the possibility that she could have heard everything, his brain triggered an alarm in his heart.

He knocked on the last door, the nearest one to the room he previously talked with Giovanne and Cassiander.

The knock snapped Arianne out of her jumbled thoughts.

“Arianne?”

There came Aldwynne’s voice.

She was not sure what to say or whether she wanted to answer at all. She gripped the edge of the sofa, contemplating her decision. Should she just pretend she was not here and wait until Aldwynne left before she fixed her appearance and acted like she heard nothing?

She closed her eyes, and right in that instant, the twins’ faces flashed in her mind. She remembered how hesitant they were to ask their parents to come home early, and when they received an agreement, their eyes lit up with pure joy.

Her heart ached at the reminiscence, knowing it was about time for the twins’ bedtime. Yet, their parents had not even left the palace.

And even if they did return soon, they did not return with the same hearts as they did when they went out.

Although it was more precise to say that their hearts had never been on the same page, right?

Still, the thoughts of facing the twins’ disappointment weighed far more than her own heart. With a sigh, she got up from the couch. She was about to take a step towards the door when she felt so dizzy that she knocked into the vase. Her vision blurred, although this time it was not tears. She could feel her consciousness slip away as strength left her body.

The last thing she felt was a familiar warmth circling around her waist, supporting her body from colliding with the floor.

“Arianne!” Aldwynne brought Arianne’s limp body close to his. “Arianne?” His voice grew quieter as he gazed at her face. He noticed the trace of dried tears on her cheeks, and his face immediately grew pale. It was a confirmation of what he had feared.

“Cassiander,” Aldwynne turned his attention to his former aide. His eyes pierced the latter with unspoken accusation. “I expect you to tell the truth later.”

Cassiander merely nodded, unable to come up with a proper response as he watched the Duke carry his unconscious wife out of the room.

“Hah…” Cassiander let out a sigh when he could no longer see Aldwynne. He rubbed his suddenly throbbing temple, cursing himself for being the one involved in his former superior’s love affair. “Really, why am I the one having to take care of their love story like this?”

***

“Welcome home, Your Grace,” the butler welcomed the carriage just like usual. “The young masters insist—”

“Father, mother, you’re finally back!” Jaydenn ran to their parents, followed by a yawning Jaylenn. The two waited for their parents to be back to keep their promise.

Aldwynne got out of the car with Arianne carried in his arms. There were beads of sweat on his forehead. His expression screamed that there was something wrong, a panicked face that none ever saw coming. He was nowhere near the composed Duke and reliable Father they saw every day.

Watching their unconscious mother made the twins startle. Gone was the sleepiness they felt from staying up past their bedtime.

“Father! What happened to Mother? Is she okay?”

Aldwynne did not reply. He urged the butler to call for the family doctor as he carried Arianne to her room.

“Children, go back to your room and rest, alright?” Aldwynne said—more like a request, flashing them a small, restrained smile.

“But, Father—” Jaydenn tried to protest.

Jaylenn, who immediately understood the situation, grabbed his older twin’s wrist. “Alright, Father. We’ll go to our room and sleep,” he said, which earned a protest from Jaydenn. He shook his head at his twin.

“Please take care of Mother for us, Father,” Jaylenn said as he dragged the reluctant Jaydenn away from their Mother’s room.

“Why are you dragging me? Aren’t you worried for Mother?” Jaydenn asked as he pulled away from Jaylenn’s grasp. His eyes pierced the youngest, still clueless.

“Don’t you notice something happened to our parents, Jaydenn?” Jaylenn said, feeling irritated at his accusation. “Have you ever seen Father that distraught and panicked before? No? Right, it’s the first for us,” he sighed. “With us there, things will just get more uncomfortable for him.”

“But … Mother…” Jaydenn still felt adamant about staying.

“No buts. Leave the grown-ups to it, okay?”

“Alright…”

The twins left, leaving Aldwynne alone with unconscious Arianne lying on her bed, waiting for the doctor. Having heard the twins’ words, he felt both grateful and disappointed. He was grateful for their understanding, yet at the same time, he could not shake off the disappointment of failing his duty as their Father. And … his duty as her husband, too.

He had disappointed them, had he not?