Regret?

A pang of regret would be born every so often in Daphne's heart at her decision back then, the decision to marry someone who her parents chose. But she would snuff this feeling out, as soon as it came.

She had been stupid, yes; she had been naïve, yes; but at the same time, her family would not have left her to her own devices all these years had she not been married, and if she had not gotten married, maybe she would have wished she had married if she hadn't.

Humans always wished for what they don't have after all, and would always wonder "what if" even if they knew realistically, that the situation would not have ended up being much better. And anyway, historically, women sacrificed many things in their marriages, especially in situations of domestic abuse or where divorce was not allowed, and Daphne was aware she had only sacrificed a love life. She felt like she should really stop depressing over the past.

Her life was good no matter how you looked at it from the outside, so she felt guilty for her unhappiness for a while since she was aware of less fortunate people.

Most people wanted to be in her shoes, some would even kill for the opportunity. Her every action was under the microscope and the smallest face of distaste she wore, or any lack of generosity she would express, was hastily criticized and explained away with negative stereotypes about 'rich people.'

Some of the high-class female acquaintances that she had been trying to reconnect with seemed to be even more miserable than her in some respects, and they HAD a sex life with their husbands. Their problems were just … different. They were always trying to justify their expenses and were trying to keep busy with charities and events so as not to feed negative stereotypes that they are lazy or that they just exist to look good and birth children.

Daphne once caught Annabelle, one of her childhood friends, a person who she did not use to get along with, in a vulnerable disposition and Annabelle had remarked back then that it was as if she was not actually human, or that she was in a different realm from her family members, that people saw her and even referred to her as her husband's wife or her son's mother. She had wondered in sadness, aloud, that that was all her worth. She was speaking to Daphne, but it was more like she had been speaking to herself.

Consequently, even if Daphne acknowledged other people's suffering, it did not mean she had to accept her own. She could at least have a try at happiness.

'I will probably get to see Ezra soon since my birthday is coming up. He always keeps up with the pretense of a good husband after all.'

Daphne looked at her watch and realized dinner would be served in 3 minutes, as such she got up from the vanity where she had been staring at her reflection, lost in thought, and headed towards the dining room.

The dinner was a combination of Asian and European dishes, presented in a Korean way, where there was a main dish and many side dishes. Daphne liked this presentation as she could not eat much, but she wanted variety. Also, with this setup, the table looked fuller even if it was only for one person.

Daphne was trying her best to enjoy her food, convinced that she should enjoy the small things in life, she was a very slow eater. Half an hour after she had gone down to eat, she was only half done. Daphne felt a bit sorry for the staff that had to sit and watch her eat, but she knew they were professionals and that they were used to it.

After an hour, she was almost done with her dinner and was waiting for desert to be served.

When she placed her teaspoon on her ice-cream desert, she heard a house staff welcome Ezra in.