Don't show him your face

Marcus and Hayden returned after they saw off Édouard. Rainard stayed outside the mansion's gate. 

"How come you didn't tell Prince Édouard you wanted to marry him?" Hayden asked in a fit of rage from Charlotte as soon as he entered the living room. Marcus warned him not to be harsh with Charlotte.

"Father, please stay out of it. Why did you not tell her the truth?" Hayden argued with Marcus, who had taken the seat around the sofa table. 

"My Husband is right, Father." Fleuretta also arrived at the living room and stood by Hayden's side. She glanced at Charlotte and said, "His Majesty will take over this territory soon or will send a new Duke. Then, what will you do, Charlotte? Indeed, you are the Duchess, but what's the use when the nobility isn't ready to accept you! You might not know, but the King is also upset with you. Prince Mathieu was healthy, but after marrying you he fell terribly sick. They call you a 'witch'."

Charlotte looked at Fleuretta with an unbelievable look. Marcus asked Hayden to take his wife away. "You two don't have any right to talk to my daughter this way," Marcus said. 

"Father, you are the one who is stopping her from marrying Prince Édouard. Fleuretta said nothing wrong. What if the King sends Charlotte to this house? Are we supposed to take care of her and listen to people's taunts for the rest of our lives?" Hayden again argued with his father. 

"I won't return to this house, and why would His Majesty send me away, Brother Hayden? "You have no right to make decisions about my life," Charlotte finally snapped at him. The least she expected from her eldest brother was emotional support. But he failed in that as well. He only cared about him and his reputation. 

"Charlotte, is this the way you are going to be adamant and destroy the lives of us too?" Her second brother, Winfred, said, who had just returned home from work. He handed his leather office bag to the maid, who went to his room. 

"Both of you stop!" Marcus finally shouted at them. "Now, leave!" He told them. 

"I won't," Hayden said. 

"Are you going to disobey me?" Marcus questioned his eldest son.  

"We both will," Winfred said, "if we have to save our family's reputation, then we will go against you too, Father," he affirmed. He then returned his gaze to Charlotte. 

"If you don't want to think about us brothers, then you should at least think about our father once. We only want you to be happy too. You are merely 19 years old, Charlotte. Are you going to stay a widow throughout your life? Most importantly, are you going to see us suffer? Where is Charlotte, whom I used to know? She always thought about her family first," Winfred said with a frustrated sigh. 

"The nobles are after us. The Bourbon family is one of the reputed families in Escana, and because your husband died, things have heated up," Hayden said. His voice had calmed down. 

Charlotte ended up breaking down in tears. "I want to die too. I tried many times," she sniffled. Marcus was shocked to hear the words of his daughter. 

"Because of my family, I stopped myself. Can you both not understand me once? I love Mathieu. I vowed to him that I would be by his side until my last breath. I am not supposed to cheat him by marrying his eldest brother, Prince Édouard, who always despised Mathieu. I would rather die than accept this marriage. No one will question the Bourbon family then. You both can live happily ever after," she said while tears continued to roll down her cheeks. 

She didn't look at her father and decided to leave. She wore her hat and apologized to her father, not looking into his eyes before turning to leave. Marcus stood up to stop her when he felt the tightness in his chest. 

He fell on the sofa when Hayden shouted while rushing to him. Charlotte immediately turned and found her father on the sofa. His forehead was covered in sweat while he was feeling uneasiness in breathing. 

"Father," she rushed up to him and took his hand in hers.His hand had turned colder and she checked his pulse. Winfred rushed to fetch the doctor while Hayden took his father to the room.  

~~~~~~

"Lord Bourbon seems to be under stress for the past few days. His pulse rate isn't stable," the Physician told them as he took a tiny envelope from the briefcase. He handed it to Hayden and told him to give the medicine in the morning and in the evening after dinner. 

"I would suggest to keep Lord Bourbon away from stressful matters. If his stress continued to increase, then it may turn into Angina, a heart disease," the Physician advised Hayden. 

Rainard stayed out of the room and wondered whether he should ask Charlotte to return to the Palace of Beromont as evening was falling. However, the situation didn't appear right and his intervention might not be welcomed. So, he silently left the living room. 

Hayden showed the way out to the physician while Fleuretta started to taunt Charlotte. 

"Are you happy now? Because of you father could have lost his life," Fleuretta said.

"Father's sleep might get disturbed. We must go out," Winfred opined, and asked Butler Roger to keep an eye on their father. Roger bowed while the three walked out of the room. 

"Charlotte, are you going to be adamant? You heard the physician, right? Father is under stress and this stress might lead to a heart disease," Winfred told his sister. 

"Winfred, she's not going to understand. She wants the end of the Bourbon family," Fleuretta sneered at her. "You should feel blessed that Prince Édouard is interested in marrying you. Being the eldest son of the royal family, he declined so many marriage proposals. However, he agreed to marry you. He also pities your situation and wants to give you a name. He is the heir apparent to the throne, and you will be called Queen. You should agree for this marriage." She made Charlotte understand and held both of her hands. 

"Mathieu's death has shook our Father too. He wakes till late at night and doesn't even eat properly," Hayden spoke after he saw off the Physician. 

"He will be happy to see you as a married woman. He loves you a lot. That's why he is not pressuring you. But as his beloved daughter, you must fulfil your duty. And if you don't want to give him happiness, then don't show him your face ever." He didn't refrain from getting blunt. 

Charlotte nodded her head. 

"You should leave for the palace. It isn't appropriate for a woman to stay outside for long," Hayden told her. 

Charlotte wanted to stay by her father's side, but she could not. She asked her brothers to take care of their father and silently left the mansion. 

Rainard heard their entire conversation and followed Charlotte outside. 

He opened the carriage's door for her. Charlotte got inside while suppressing her tears. Rainard closed the door and hopped on his horse. He asked the coachman to start the carriage. Charlotte looked outside the window at her house as tears again rolled down her cheeks.