Chapter 15: The Wrong Decision
Morning light came through the curtains. Lydia lay in her bed, wide awake. She couldn’t sleep all night. Her body was tired, but her mind kept racing with thoughts.
She acted brave yesterday. She acted strong. But deep down, she was scared. Very scared. She had said yes to marrying the Grand Duke - a man everyone feared.
What if she made a bad choice? What if he was worse than what people said about him?
The door opened. Galina walked in, and Lydia’s worried thoughts stopped for a moment.
"Still in bed?" Galina asked, opening the curtains wider.
Lydia squinted at the bright light. "I couldn’t sleep."
Galina sat on the edge of the bed. Her face showed worry. "Sweetheart, the Grand Duke is a cruel person. Everyone knows this." She took Lydia’s hands. "Please think again about your choice. Who knows what might happen when you marry him. He might hurt you..." Her voice got quieter. "Worse, he might ki—"
"Don’t worry, Galina," Lydia cut her off with a fake smile. "Everything will be okay."
It was a lie. Lydia wasn’t okay at all. But she didn’t want to talk about her fears.
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At breakfast, no one talked. They all kept looking at Lydia with worried eyes. When she looked back at them, they quickly looked away. The only sound was forks and knives against plates.