Chapter 187:
Love, Love, Love
“WHAT…?!”
The woman didn’t even seem to hear the gasps of the two beside her. Her rapturous expression suggested a love even greater than Auld’s. Beneath her soft exterior, she was like a snake licking her lips at the sight of her prey. It felt like Violette was coated in slime suddenly, and she reflexively grabbed Yulan’s sleeve under the table.
She’d thought she would be okay, and in fact, she hadn’t felt a thing—until now. The same resolve that had held firm when faced with her father now wavered as trauma resurfaced. This was something neither Yulan nor Violette could control. This was her animal instincts crying out in warning, haunted by the memory of a wretched mother who had clung to her daughter while calling her husband’s name.
“If this is to be a political marriage, then Mary would work just as well, would she not? It strikes me as the more optimal choice, in fact. She’s not a Vahan by blood, but she is the daughter
of the current patriarch.” Her smile persisted brightly as she struck every word precisely.
For a political marriage—one where mutual benefit took utmost precedence—Maryjune would indeed be a viable candidate. Since Yulan himself was adopted into the Cugurs family, matters of blood were of no consequence. Thus, if the goal was to marry a daughter of Auld, Maryjune posed no problem. Furthermore, the Vahan family wouldn’t have to give up the daughter who carried on the bloodline. Her grandfather would have surely suggested the same himself had Yulan not requested Violette by name.
Indeed, it was the more optimal choice. Logically speaking, it was a win-win for all involved.
“Elfa…what are you saying…?”
“You agree with me, don’t you, dear?”
Her round blue eyes pierced straight through Auld as he gaped in shock. Whereas before he would have likened them to glittering gemstones, now he couldn’t understand how she could smile so widely. This was a man who considered himself a victim of a political marriage gone wrong, as was Elfa in a way. He had been so sure that she, like him, felt nothing but contempt for such strategic unions.
Now, in place of Violette, she wanted to pawn off the sweet daughter they’d so carefully and lovingly raised amidst that very tragedy?
“You must be joking… I’d never offer Mary to this marriage, or this…this cretin…!”
He grabbed her by the shoulders as if to shake some sense into her, but her merciful, saintly smile never faltered. Her sweet, soft love had always accepted Auld in his entirety. That was why he’d fallen so hard for her, and why he’d pledged his eternal love for her.
Now a different woman’s face floated to the forefront of his mind.
“What other choice do we have, darling?”
As he gripped her shoulders, she laid a hand on his, rubbing it to soothe him. With her dainty lips curled in a frown, she continued, loud enough for the whole room to hear. “I mean…she doesn’t even resemble you.”
Auld could no longer recall the features of her face—all he remembered was her shrill, unpleasant voice. She vexed him so much, “hate” was an understatement. He’d avoided her at all costs, even when she was on her deathbed.
He had thought Elfa to be the opposite, different from her in every way. When he next looked at her…he only saw Bellerose.