CH 7.2

A few days had passed since then, and she still had no idea when they would leave.

All she knew was that Cade was still engaging with the Marquis.

The Duke didn’t attend his party for some unknown reason, so she didn’t have a chance to meet him again after that first day.

On the other hand, Natasha glared at Cherryl with her sharp, piercing eyes as the days went on.

The arranged marriage between her and Cade didn’t go well.

‘I wonder how things are going.’

Cherryl sighed as she watched the green scenery outside the window.

Nothing seemed to be going on, making her even more nervous.

It eerily felt like the calm before the storm.

It frustrated her that she didn’t know what was happening behind the scenes.

“My Lady!”

Before she knew it, Lucy had entered the room, scurrying to find her.

“You need to come over here for a second.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Quick, My Lady. You have to hear it for yourself.”

Lucy grabbed Cherryl by the wrist.

The two reached a small side door leading to the backyard.

There was a small table for drinking tea in the middle of well-trimmed shrubs and high fences.

It was a vast open space yet enclosed simultaneously, so it was the perfect place to invite guests for a secret conversation.

She could see someone’s portrait through the door’s crevice.

It was the Lady Mother and Child.

Natasha chatted between refreshments as her friend sat next to her.

She was as frivolous as Natasha so it made sense that they’re friends with each other.

“We’re going to throw her away for a bargain.”

“Why don’t you wait a little longer?”

“That would never work. He’s a Duke of a high position. I think he is a great businessman as well!”

She must be referring to Cade.

Without knowing that Cherryl was eavesdropping, Natasha grumbled one after another.

“My husband seems to avoid the topic everytime I talk about marriage.”

“Are you really going to hand her over to Count Maxon, instead?”

Lucy’s eyes trembled as she looked up at Cherryl.

“I think so. I guess my husband ended up with the same decision too.”

“You’re going to send your twenty-year-old step daughter to a sixteen-year-old man? Will you be able to handle the gossip after that?”

Natasha snorted and folded her arms.

“Does it matter when we need money urgently? She’s not even my daughter! My husband’s business is ruining this family!”

“It might be hard, but wouldn’t it be better for her to wed the Duke?”

“The Count couldn’t care less about the Duke. She had been eyeing Cherryl since he met her at a ball.”

It was a typical conversation between business people, but the problem was that the deal had involved Cherryl.

After hearing the story that should have caused her to tremble in fear, Cherryl’s face hardened coolly.

Count Maxon.

It’s a name she had heard of.

Shortly after Natasha remarried her father, she attended a social party held by a lady.

On that day, Cherryl wasn’t feeling well and wanted to rest at home.

However, Natasha forced her to accompany her, saying that it was a party she must attend as the new wife of the Marquis.

She would have no prestige if she couldn’t even bring her stepdaughter.

Even if she didn’t like to be there, Natasha still pushed her to the end.

Despite her shyness, she ended up attending the party with her stepmother.

Cherryl sat alone in the ballroom while drinking juice just like that.

A balding old man kept prowling around her as if wanting to flirt.

He even had the audacity to ask her to stroll with him the next day.

Terribly angry, Cherryl couldn’t help her sarcasm.

“No, Grandpa. Aren’t you not supposed to flirt with a woman as young as your granddaughter?”

That had cost Cherryl her reputation in society.

Young women who went through similar things tend to understand each other, but young people who valued authority and face more, especially older unmarried people, expressed their sympathy toward the elderly and criticized Cherryl.

Lucy told her later that the old man was Count Maxon, a dirty aristocrat who had a reputation of being lustful.

Are they going to sell her to that crazy old man if push comes to shove?

Cherryl clenched her fists and turned around.

“My Lady.”

She ignored Lucy and kept on walking.

If it wasn’t for Natasha and her friend’s conversation at the backyard—-

Cherryl slowly headed upstairs.

Then, Natasha and her father arrived at the room.

A closet filled with dozens of valuable dresses came into view.

Natasha’s dark green silk dress, which she said she would wear to a social party this weekend, was also on the bed.

+++

The dressing table drew attention in the luxurious room from all the expensive ornaments hanging on it.

“If you’re really in a hurry, you can sell this. Not me.” Cherryl murmured as she looked down at the jewelry.

Even if she disposed of everything she saw right before her, she could still receive tens of thousands of gold.

Then, the fireplace right next to the dressing table came into view.

A bright yellow flame had burned over the firewood.

Without hesitation, Cherryl grabbed Natasha’s gold jewelry in her hands and threw it into the fireplace.