Her Dream

Florence looked in every drawer. But she could not find it. She turned to her maid as she entered the bedroom.

"Rilla, have you seen my blue handkerchief, the one that has the blue jay embroidery?"

"I have not, my lady."

"Do you think I left it at the café the other day? It was a present from father."

"I am not sure, I can help you look for it. But right now, you should go see the dowager countess. She has asked you to join her in her bedroom."

Florence was already prepared for bed. 'Why would mother call for me now?'

She sighed.

She fastened the ribbon of her robe before heading to Lina's room. The hallways were empty since everyone had retired to bed early, in preparation for the big day tomorrow.

'I should be in bed too.' Florence pressed her lips together in annoyance.

"Mother, you called for me?" she asked when she entered the room.

"Yes, come in." Florence obeyed. "Sit," Lina added.

The countess dowager was sitting in front of her vanity, applying a cream to her face. In the lighting, her reflection looked even more exhausted. The journey from Geiranger was too long for her.

Florence waited for her mother for a moment, but she did not have the patience for her games tonight.

"Mother, I need to sleep. Just say what you want to say."

"Never in my life have I imagined that I would be this disappointed in a daughter," Lina uttered as she turned in her seat to face Florence. The latter's mouth hung open in shock.

'Is she really going to do this the night before my wedding?'

"I will never approve of this marriage," she continued. "This is a mistake, but I will let you take full responsibility. So don't come running to me or your brother when your husband can't provide for you in the future."

Florence closed her eyes for a moment, but that did not stop Lina.

"I blame your father for putting those stupid ideas in your head–"

"Don't," Florence hissed.

"He had no ambition, and lived in a bubble without even understanding how the world really works."

"I said don't," Florence yelled and stood at once. "How dare you speak ill of the man who loved you, your dead husband. He provided for you, and Richard and me, he protected us. It is not his fault that you were too greedy."

"Excuse me?"

"You are greedy and heartless, Mother."

"How dare a worthless girl like you disrespect her own mother?"

"Because her mother is YOU. This worthless girl will never ask you for help, don't worry. After tomorrow, you can pretend that you have never given birth to a daughter."

Florence rushed to the door and ran out of Lina's room, tears cascading down her face. But as soon as she slammed the door, she crashed against something hard and fell to the floor.

"Oh my, I am so sorry." Jonas offered her his hand.

Florence looked up at her future brother-in-law and horror washed over her face.

'Did he hear the exchange?'

"Please, let me help you back to your room," he said.

She took his hand and allowed him to pull her up. Jonas walked her to the room in silence. It was not awkward though, for some reason it was comforting. When they reached her bedroom door, Florence dried her last tears and nodded at him.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"You know," Jonas started before she could touch the doorknob. "Words are hurtful, yes, but we are the ones to decide whether they can hurt us or not." He smiled at her sweetly, a smile that reminded her of Sofia.

"I always wanted a little sister, Florence," Jonas added. "And I am happy that I do now." He patted her head gently before turning around and walking away. "Get some rest, you have a big day tomorrow."

Florence stood in front of her door for a bit, amazed at how a few words from Jonas made her feel so much better in a matter of minutes. She smiled and entered her room, determined to get a few hours of rest.

She was too nervous to sleep, though. She lay in bed and stared at the canopy above her. The dowager countess' hurtful words tortured her again before she could push the thoughts away. She did not want to hate her mother, but Lina was making it extremely hard.

'Will I become like her if things never get better with Henry?'

She sighed before turning to her side and closing her eyes. She really needed to sleep, she knew that the wedding day would be a long and tiring day.

After a few minutes, Florence heard a knock. She sat up in her bed and frowned at the door.

'Who could it be this late at night?'

Another knock came, louder this time. Florence rushed to the door and opened it.

"I need to talk to you," Henry said before pushing the door and entering her room.

Florence peeked out to make sure no one was watching, then closed the door.

"Henry, you cannot be here this late at night. Can it wait till the morning?"

"No, it cannot," he said simply.

Henry wobbled toward her and put his hands on her shoulders. Florence scrunched her nose at the smell of liquor.

'Is he drunk?'

"Lady Kalwen, I beg you…I implore you to call off the wedding."

Florence stared at his desperate expression with wide eyes. She was wrong when she thought he had given up.

"I never wanted to get married, I cannot love you, I already love another woman."

The revelation knocked the air out of her lungs. "You love someone?" she repeated.

"Yes, so please, release me. Let me go back to my old life. I beg of you."

"I, I am sorry," Florence apologized. "It's too late, the wedding is tomorrow."

"I asked you weeks ago. How can you be so selfish?" His hands fell to his sides. "How can you destroy someone's life like this? Do you think you will be happy in a loveless marriage? I will never love you, Florence Kalwen. Do you understand that?"

Henry stared at her for a moment, but when he saw that she was not going to respond, he walked out of her room and slammed the door behind him.

Florence's knees gave in and the cold floor welcomed her body. Tears rushed down as emotions clashed inside her chest.

She felt guilty for putting Henry through this marriage. She felt dirty for the way she tricked him. But unexpectedly, she also felt sad that he loved another woman.

"He will never love me." Her heart tightened as she whispered. For some reason, the thought was too painful.

'This is my punishment for what I am doing to Henry, though.'

Living in a loveless marriage, and thus, the only dream she ever had never coming true.