"Are you a virgin?"
Magnus asked. Wow. A typical man who thinks virginity decides a woman's worth. Cassia lost her temper the moment those words left his mouth.
"Alright, she's not a virgin. Then what? What are you trying to imply, asshole?"
Cassia went all in, dragging his true side out into the open. The things I heard from Magnus were truly disgusting.
"Virginity tells everything about a woman. Whether she is a lady or a slut. A virgin woman is pure and innocent…"
The more he talked, the more I wanted to puke. The audacity to say such things — his mind was rotten to the core. Cassia didn't lower her voice either.
"Oh wow. Then are you a virgin? Go ahead, tell me! Let's see if you are a man or a manwhore!!!!"
Cassia chose aggressive words and sharp gestures. It didn't bother me at all. Let's hear it. I wouldn't care if she broke his arms or legs. But despite her words, Magnus wasn't budging.
"I'm a man. It doesn't matter. A woman's virginity matters…"
Magnus went on and on about the societal rules we had grown up hearing. How a woman should be and what women were to men. Magnus was a blind follower. Whoever ended up marrying him would be the most unlucky woman on earth. I wasn't going to marry him. I had never planned to from the beginning.
But I was stuck on his question and his words. No matter what I thought, society was filled with men like Magnus. Was I really going to find a man that different — someone who thought like me? I was overthinking again and beginning to question everything, even whether Aurelian was the right choice. He was different, alright, but… I didn't know.
I didn't pay attention to what Cassia said to Magnus afterwards. They began arguing loudly, but for me their voices were shut off.
Some servants were even eavesdropping on us because of the commotion. Like I said, I wasn't paying attention, but when Magnus began to lose it, he turned toward me with pure wrath.
"You! You will pay for this. Both of you." He started, pointing a finger at me, his eyes red with fury.
"I will make you my wife and teach you a lesson myself. I'm sure your grandmother will be happy to get rid of you!!"
With that, Magnus left the pantry with heavy, furious steps. Cassia cursed him several times as he stormed out. We had become quite the entertainment for the servants. Slowly, the words reached Morwenna.
Morwenna was rotten herself, so obviously she took Magnus's side. She blamed me and Cassia for his bad behaviour and pathetic mindset. One right thing that had come out of Magnus's mouth was that Morwenna would be happy to get rid of me. She was planning exactly that.
Mother Elowen and Father were out on work, so I wondered if they had been here when Magnus arrived, would it have changed the outcome? Or would it have remained the same? Unchanged, perhaps. Mother Elowen was powerless, and Father was just another puppet of Morwenna. And here I thought I was making changes in my father… but no. I could make a change if I tried.
Magnus left within a few hours. He hadn't been able to meet my parents. I wished he had stayed and spoken in that same arrogant tone again, but this time in front of my parents. That would surely shift things in my favour. A chance missed.
When my parents came back from work, Morwenna had already filled Father's mind with misinformation. At least Mother Elowen didn't believe her words. She could never actually. She came to my room the instant they returned.
I was sitting on my bed while Cassia paced around the room in frustration, arms crossed. Tamsin stood quietly, stressed out on the inside. None of us wanted to break the silence.
It wasn't long before Morwenna and Father came to my room to convince me to accept the marriage. I couldn't believe what they were trying to do. I was exhausted.
Morwenna was probably going to scold me for Magnus's incompetent behaviour. Cassia was here to defend me, but how much could she handle?
"Just look at her. I knew the day would come when her bratty mouth would drag down our family name."
Morwenna said, looking at Father. She took a pause before continuing. Father had no words. He couldn't even defend himself — how was he supposed to defend me? I wished I had more control over him.
"You are lucky he didn't cancel the marriage. Do you even know how rare it is to get married into a tier-two family?"
Morwenna was getting angrier with every second. Mother Elowen and Father remained tense, unable to say anything.
"Lucia!" Morwenna called out, and I shifted my gaze toward her.
"I don't want to hear any of your excuses. You are going to apologize to Magnus the next time you see him."
Morwenna spoke with wide, furious eyes and a loud voice. That was when Cassia stepped in without hesitation.
"Why does she need to apologize to that bastard who thinks women are—"
"Watch your tongue, young lady!! This is not your house. You are only a friend. Stay in your place."
Morwenna cut Cassia off sharply. Her wrath was clearly visible — eyes that barely blinked, mouth curled up, ready to burst.
"You are just jealous because Magnus is a tier-two royal. Yes, that's it. Maybe you are the one who gave her that bad mouth."
Cassia was boiling inside, but before she could react, Mother Elowen gently held her hand and pulled her back. The silent gesture said everything: It's no use.
"I don't want any excuses from anyone!!!"
Morwenna snapped, rubbing her temple in frustration while holding her waist as if she had done some heavy lifting. "This marriage is a very big deal for this family. The Ravenscroft family is our next business partner."
"I didn't want to leave a bad impression of us, but Lucia just had to ruin things. Still, it's not the end of the world. This marriage is going to happen no matter what."
Morwenna said as she sat on the chair beside the dressing mirror and leaned her head back. At that moment, I just couldn't keep my mouth shut anymore. Not out of anger — just pure sadness.
"I don't want to get married."
Everyone's eyes shifted toward me. My tears spilled over, and a single touch, a single word, or anything at all could break me completely.
"Crying? Oh please, go vomit somewhere else. You are going to get married to Magnus. Nothing will convince me to change my mind."
Morwenna said in a painfully casual tone. Defeat. My tears fell freely. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. Would Aurelian make things better? What if he failed? Was there any hope left? Everyone was quiet. Cassia… Mother… Father? When would he finally speak?
"Fine then."
I said, turning toward the balcony. I stood there, staring outside. I didn't want to see anyone's face.
"I'm ready to get married... to Magnus."
I said with a broken, sob-filled voice. Mother Elowen was barely holding back her tears, and Cassia stood helplessly.
"Besides, who am I?" I continued. "Just a bargaining chip. No one truly wants me here."
Every word was difficult to speak, as if they were being dragged out of me. I wasn't even sure why I was saying those things — it felt like they were spilling out on their own.
I was accepting my fate. It was possible to change events that had happened in my previous life, but some events hadn't occurred back then. This was exactly one of those. I was blocked. Aurelian was still a hope, but at that moment, I was more focused on my family's actions.
"To tell you the truth, I would be happy!!.... knowing that when I wake up, I won't see any of your faces."
I said it with hesitation, but my cries covered it. Was I angry? Hopeless? Both. Morwenna would only see this as an act. I wasn't sure about the others. I didn't looked at them.
"Magnus might have disgusting opinions on women, but if marrying him can get me out of this damn family—" I paused, biting my trembling lips.
"I will get married... There's a reason my aunties got married early and our relationship with them is getting weaker and weaker."
I clenched my fist hard, head lowered as tears fell without restraint. "I don't want to see any of your faces! Just get the hell away from my life. Don't even bother to take care of me."