“Did I call her the lady of the house? Let me correct that. She’ll only be the lady in name only.”
“Oh, I understand. She’s still young — I’m sure she’ll accept it eventually.”
“She has no choice.”
Cullen leaned back comfortably in his chair, a faint smirk curling his lips.
“She’s got nowhere else to go now.”
“And we paid a lot of money to make that happen, didn’t we?”
“What matters is the prosperity of the duke’s family — and Louise’s safety.”
At that thought, the faint ache he’d once felt when thinking of Lana faded away. Along with it disappeared everything that used to cloud his mind. With a cold, flat tone, Cullen murmured:
“So… Ranelia Bundale has to die in Louise’s place.”
Ranelia gasped for breath, her body wracked with pain.
It’s over, she thought.
Her body hurt like it was being torn apart, but that was the only thing she could think about — that it was finally, finally over.
“Please… just let me go now, my lord.”
“Ranelia.”
“The young lady is safe now. I’ve paid the price you wanted.”
“So please, let me get a divorce and leave. Keep your promise.”
The woman who had once shone on him like the sun was gone.
But as long as Cullen could still watch over her from the home he had prepared — as long as he could see her every move — he could endure it.
Then she disappeared.
The moment he realized that, he almost lost his mind.
From that day on, in Cullen’s world, the sun never set.
In that endless, terrifying daylight… he finally broke.
