Chapter 2

2 The woman twirled the jade hairpin in her fingers, letting out a cold sneer.

"A worthless maid serving a whore dare speak to a commander? Before opening your filthy mouth, count how many lives you have left to defend this trash."

She turned her venomous gaze back toward me.

"I saw this very hairpin in his study at the military camp. I thought he bought it in secret for me, but it ended up on your head! No wonder he sneaks out of the estate without a word ever since coming back to the capital. Every time I asked, he refused to tell me. It turns out he was visiting you, you seductive leech!"

Clutching my bleeding arm, I stepped forward to argue.

"I do not know what Velvet Orchid you are talking about. I am Declan's lawful wife, Lady Corinna, titled by the King himself."

I had deliberately slipped out of the estate in secret today.

To avoid alerting my overprotective brothers, I brought no royal guards with me, only taking Pearle.

I never expected to encounter such madness.

The woman pointed her whip toward a lavish building not far away and shrieked.

"I watched you walk out from that direction with my own eyes! You reek of cheap perfume from miles away, yet you dare pretend to be a royal lady? What a sick joke! Why would a real noblewoman ever set foot near such a vile place?"

She took a menacing step closer, her voice laced with rage.

"As for Declan, he never once mentioned being married. Out on the northern frontier, he promised to make me his wife! Yet the second he returned to the capital, a common prostitute seduced his soul away, leaving me cold and neglected. A few days ago, I saw him take a massive bag of gold from the treasury. He clearly used it to buy your cheap freedom!"

I followed the direction of her whip.

Adjacent to The Gilded Blossom stood a lavishly decorated three-story parlor.

Several men were currently being ushered inside by giggling women clad in sheer robes.

Above the entrance hung an ornate sign: The Velvet Orchid.

It hit me then.

She had assumed I had come out of that brothel and mistook me for a working girl.

Two days ago, Declan had indeed brought me countless gifts, including that jewelry chest and bolts of the finest silk.

He claimed it was to celebrate my pregnancy, saying he wanted to tailor beautiful clothes for our baby and me, insisting we deserved only the best.

I never imagined that beneath his loving facade, he had brought back a female commander from the frontier and hidden her in his manor, keeping me completely in the dark.

The Montgomery family and the Thorne family were lifelong acquaintances.

Given the Thornes' social standing, they were never truly on equal footing with my family.

Yet my father and Lord Thorne had been close friends in their youth, and Declan had earned his military merits fighting under my second brother.

When we reached the age of marriage, both families agreed that since we grew up together, it was a safe and trustworthy match.

That was why I agreed to marry Declan.

Yet appearances can be utterly deceiving.

For over twenty years, I had failed to see what a rotten, deceitful monster Declan truly was.

I took a deep breath, suppressing the rising fury inside my chest.

My priority was to get Pearle out safely since they outnumbered us, and I was in no condition for a physical fight.

I could settle all scores once I returned safely to my family's manor.

I spoke in a cold, steady voice.

"I was dining at The Gilded Blossom, which is why I walked from that direction. You are mistaken. As for whatever promises were made between you and Declan, I will question him myself when I return."