Chapter 4 CHAPTER FOUR

ELLA

“I’m assuring you, Mira. He is never going to reach out. It’s been more than a week.” I plucked another pale lavender bloom from the bush and dropped it into the woven basket between us. “If he still wanted the alliance after everything I did, he would have sent word by now. I messed things up. Completely. I told you I would.”

Mira chuckled softly beside me, her laughter light and warm in the quiet garden. We were tucked away in the private rear gardens of Silverthorn Manor, surrounded by blooming night-jasmine and neatly trimmed hedges. The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves, casting gentle golden patterns on the gravel path. A week had passed since the disastrous meeting at Stormhold, and this peaceful moment felt like the first real breath I’d taken since returning.

In my head, I kept replaying the ending of that dinner. After my increasingly unhinged performance… the spills, the greedy demands, the shamelessly pervy comments about his wings and stamina,Damon had simply finished his meal with that unnerving calm, set down his utensils, and said he had an emergency meeting to attend.

 Clear rejection. Polite but final.

I had left Stormhold convinced my plan had worked perfectly. 

Mission accomplished.

Yet Mira still looked worried.

She snipped another stem with the small silver shears, adding the flower to our growing collection. “You really think so? Mother has been pacing the halls like a caged bird. She keeps checking her messages, waiting for any word from Stormhold. The silence is driving her mad.”

I shrugged, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “Good. Let her be mad. The longer the silence stretches, the more obvious it becomes that the prince wants nothing to do with our family. Once this whole thing dies down and she finally accepts it… you can tell them about Ronnie. About the baby.”

Mira’s hand paused over a bloom. She placed it gently over her stomach again, a habit she’d developed in the last few days. “I know. I can’t hide him forever, Ellie. I can’t hide our baby forever.” Her voice grew quieter. “Ronnie wants to be part of this. He wants us. A real life together, not this constant performance for status and alliances. But every time I think about telling Mother and father,I feel sick. They’ve spent years climbing the social ladder. This marriage with the high prince was supposed to be their big break.”

I stopped plucking flowers and turned to face her fully. “Then we’ll face it together. You’re not doing this alone. Even if they scream, threaten to cut you off, or try to send you away… I’ll be right there. We’ll figure something out. You, me, Ronnie, and the little one.”

Mira’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but she smiled. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. You always make everything feel possible.”

We continued walking slowly along the path, the basket swinging between us. The garden was one of the few places in Silverthorn Manor where we could speak freely without fear of servants eavesdropping.

Suddenly, Mira straightened. “Look,” she whispered, pointing toward the stone wall near the back hedge. “There’s that cat I told you about”

A large, scruffy grey tabby was crouched low in the shadows, ears flattened, yellow eyes narrowed in clear hostility. 

Mira took a careful step forward. “Hey, sweet thing… it’s okay…”

The cat hissed violently, arched its back, and launched a lightning-fast swipe at her hand, claws extended. Mira yelped and jerked back, but not before the cat caught her wrist, leaving three thin, angry red lines.

“Ow! You little demon!” she cried, clutching her hand.

I couldn’t help the sarcastic laugh that escaped. “Or maybe you just didn’t handle it well. You approached like you were trying to negotiate a trade deal. Cats hate that fake gentle energy. They can smell the desperation.”

Mira shot me a playful glare while sucking on the fresh scratches. “Fine, Miss Animal Whisperer. Show me how it’s done then.”

I handed her the basket and walked slowly toward the cat. The moment I got within a few feet, the feral creature froze. Its flattened ears twitched, then relaxed. The aggressive tension in its body melted away. I crouched down and extended my hand, palm up, without forcing contact.

“Come on,” I murmured softly.

The cat hesitated only a second before padding over. It bumped its head against my fingers, then rubbed its scarred, dusty body against my leg with a deep, rumbling purr that vibrated through its whole frame.

Mira stared in disbelief. “You seriously need to teach me how you do that. This cat literally tried to murder me thirty seconds ago, and now it’s purring like you’re its favorite person in the world. It’s unfair. How?”

I grinned, scratching behind the cat’s ears as it leaned happily into my touch. “It’s a trick only I possess,” I said, winking at her dramatically.

Mira shook her head, laughing. “Somehow you just have this calming effect on everything around you. I don’t know how you do it. I might be pissed as hell, stressed out of my mind, ready to scream… but the moment I see you and talk to you, I just… calm down. Everything feels less impossible.”

“Well, that’s trick two,” I replied with a smirk, still petting the now perfectly content cat.

Mira’s gaze suddenly shifted past me toward the main garden path. Her expression changed in an instant  from warm amusement to nervous tension.

“Well, you might need to use trick two right now,” she muttered under her breath. “Because Mother is headed our way… and she looks mad as hell.”

Mother appeared at the end of the garden path like a vision summoned from one of her own carefully curated dreams.

Lady Victoria Kane moved with effortless elegance, her posture perfect even on the uneven gravel. She looked far younger than her years…skin smooth and luminous.Her hair…that particular shade of auburn that sat somewhere between red and brown was swept up without a single strand out of place.. I had inherited the ginger shade from her, though mine was softer, more muted, and stubbornly refused to hold any kind of polish or shimmer.

“Oh my precious daughter” She said, her voice warm and melodic as she zeroed in on Mira. “What are you doing out here in the garden getting yourself dirty?”

I let out a slow, silent breath of relief. At least she wasn’t here for me. I shifted slightly behind a flowering bush, trying to blend into the background the way I had perfected over years of practice.

Mira straightened, brushing dirt from her fingers. “Just spending time with Ellie, Mother. We were collecting flowers for the dining hall arrangements.”

Victoria’s sharp gaze flicked over Mira’s simple day dress, the faint smudge of soil on her sleeve, and the small basket in her hands. Disapproval flickered across her elegant features.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” she said, already reaching out to adjust a loose strand of Mira’s hair. “You need to change your dress immediately. Something finer…the deep emerald silk with the silver threading, I think. And have your maid redo your hair. We can’t have you looking like you’ve been playing in the dirt.”

Mira blinked, confused. “Why? I’m not going anywhere today. I thought we were staying in.”

Victoria’s smile was bright, almost triumphant. She clasped her hands together, rings glinting in the sunlight.

“Yes, well… plans have changed rather dramatically.” She paused for effect, clearly savoring the moment. “The High Prince is here, Mira. Prince Damon Vale arrived twenty minutes ago. He has formally agreed to the arrangement. He wants to marry you.”

The words landed like a thunderclap.

Mira went completely still beside me. The basket slipped from her fingers, flowers scattering across the path. I felt the blood drain from my face.

No.

This wasn’t possible. He was supposed to reject me — her.  I had practically propositioned him at the dinner table. He had ended the meeting early. That was supposed to be the end of it.

Victoria didn’t seem to notice our shock. She was already in full planning mode, her voice bubbling with excitement.

“He’s waiting in the main receiving hall. He brought a small entourage, but he specifically asked to see you. This is it, my darling. This is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for. The Vale family alliance will elevate us beyond anything we’ve dreamed of. Now go… quickly. We cannot keep a prince waiting.”

Mira’s hand found mine behind the basket, squeezing hard. Her palm was ice cold.

“Mother, I…” she started, voice shaky.

“No time for nerves, sweetheart,” Victoria cut in smoothly, already turning back toward the manor. “This is your moment. Make us proud.”

As our mother turned to sweep back toward the manor, she paused and glanced over her shoulder at me.

“And you, Ella,” she added. “Clean yourself up as well and come inside. We will need help setting up the refreshments and making sure everything looks perfect. Don’t dawdle.”

She didn’t wait for a reply. Her elegant skirts whispered against the gravel as she disappeared down the path.

Mira turned to me with wide, terrified eyes.

“Ellie…” she whispered.

I swallowed hard, my mind spinning.

The plan hadn’t worked.

Damon Vale had come for “Mira.”

Me