Chapter 28 - fall apart
28
~Lisa’s POV
I wiped my palms on my skirt as I stepped out into the hallway, still trying to calm my heartbeat. The palace walls felt colder now, like they were leaning in, watching me. Every step I took echoed louder than I wanted it to. I just wanted to pass through unnoticed.
But there she was.
Belinda stood near the main staircase, her hand wrapped tightly around Rowan’s arm like she was afraid he’d vanish. Her fingers curled possessively against his bicep, her head tilted sweetly toward him, but her eyes, when they met mine, were anything but sweet.
Rowan didn’t look at me. His face was blank, but his jaw was tight.
"Oh, good," Belinda said, her voice loud and sugary as syrup. "There you are, Lisa."
I walked closer, careful not to meet Rowan’s eyes. "Yes?"
She smiled, too wide. "I need you to clean the guest room on the second floor. The one with the green curtains. I’ll be going out for a bit with Rowan, but I’ll be sleeping here tonight."
She said it so casually, like it was normal, like I needed to know where she’d be sleeping. But I understood the message behind her words. It wasn’t about the room. It was about him.
𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
She stood there with her arm locked in Rowan’s, her smile smug and eyes full of challenge. Her voice was sweet, but laced with venom as she gave the order: clean the guest room, her room for the night.
I understood what she was doing. She wanted me to picture it. To imagine her curled up beside him in a warm, soft bed, laughing and whispering into the night. While I would be curled up on a thin, cold mattress in the servant quarters, trying to silence my tears with the scratchy pillow they gave me.