The Archduke's Songbird
***Completed*** Lady Jessamyn brought home a ten-year-old orphan when she was eight. He was handsome ^_~. She provided him with a place to stay and warm meals. As they grew up, she desired to marry him, despite their differing statuses. As war raged, he signed up for the military, promising to ask for her hand when he was worthy. Two years later, he became more than what he promised he would be. He became the Archduke of Ayberia. But he broke her heart by marrying her friend. Years rolled away; life happened. She married a man who loved her and fell madly in love with him. She didn't think of him again. But fate was cruel; she was widowed at the age of twenty-one. She lost everything. Seven years later, she met a mysterious wolf while she was out at work in the Archduke's fief. She had a fall. The next morning, she found herself on the Archduke's bed. Did fate bring them together again? Or something nefarious is at play? Is this a chance for a second love? Will she find out why he abandoned her in the past? Is it possible to rekindle their old love, or is it too late? ----- Join me in this journey. Your comments and votes are appreciated. Gift me to motivate me. Updates will be daily.
The Realization
Jerrick watched her walk away, her silhouette a shadow of anguish against the dimming light. Her hurtful words held no weight for him, for he recognized them as the cries of a heart fractured by distress. She had accused him of poisoning Hector, even questioning his mother about it. Grief—such a strange and overwhelming force—drives people to irrational actions.
Grief is a merciless tyrant, seizing hold of one's soul and warping perception. It whispers insidious lies, stoking the fires of guilt and doubt.
Jerrick knew this all too well; he had once believed his departed wife had caused the fire that took their son's life. The power of grief is relentless and consuming, staining the heart with an unmanageable darkness that resurfaces with every pang of memory.