Life Without Her Stranger

Light bounced off the tiered glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling, its rose-gold hue lighting up the winged cherubs carved into the cream-coloured walls of the second informal dining room of the Montgomery manor.

The room was one Rhea took great pride in, considering she had been responsible for creating it in her first days as Lady Montgomery.

Usually, it was reserved for special occasions or guests, like family or friends of the family, that required a layer of refinement their usual dining room did not provide.

Rhea even had a ritual she did before every meal was served in the room, one she had been dedicated to for the last seven years.

First, she polished all the silver that would be used with special tea cloths she had embroidered, without the help of the staff. Next, she set the table with her trusty ruler in hand, to ensure every plate and utensil was where it ought to be.

Finally, she stood beneath the arch of the double doors and took in her finished work with a proud smile for exactly a minute, her silver pocket watch keeping time for her.

However, in the aftermath of her injury, Augustus' departure the morning of the previous day, and what Lonan insisted had to happen, her pocket watch and ruler lay in one of the wooden cabinets in the back of the room, while she was seated by the grand table, on Lonan's right side, struggling to contain the unease deviating from her routine gave her.

A meeting, her Lord-husband had insisted when he stormed into her room that morning, as she was getting ready for the day, and commanded that she have breakfast with him and his mistress to settle everything and plan their futures together.

All three of them, or four, with the addition of the innocent creature growing in Alice's belly. Alice who was seated across from Rhea, on Lonan's left, glaring down at her empty plate with tear-filled eyes and a small tremble of her bottom lip.

It was clear that she had taken the news of their new 'arrangement' as hard as one would expect from a girl so young and full of fantasies of her dream life.

Rhea almost pitied her, having been in her place not too long ago, except she had had a ring on her finger. But the emptiness that Augustus' anticlimactic departure had left and the clumsy table setting, Rhea concluded Alice had been responsible for, numbed her empathy to apathy.

Alice's belly grumbled loudly, the sound deafening in the silent room. Rhea glanced at Lonan whose jaw clenched so tight she swore she heard a creak.

"I'm hungry." Whined the young woman with a pitiful pout, one hand stroking the gentle curve of her belly, through her pink, skin-tight top. "When will they serve us?!"

"When they are damn good and ready so shut your mouth and be still, woman!" Lonan snapped, slamming his fists down on the table, and causing the dishes to rattle.

Red bloomed on Alice's heart-shaped face and her big brown eyes grew moist.

"Lonan," she whimpered, her hands wiping away her tears before they could roll down her cheeks.

He scoffed and looked away from her, his eyes fixed on the blank screen of the Television on the wall across from him, which would later be turned on for him to watch the news while they ate.

Against her better judgement, Rhea felt pity for Alice, who was yet to see how consumed by his rage Lonan could get.

Thankfully, the doors were open as servers pushing carts flooded in and she looked away from the blonde woman, mentally berating her pity when she should be enforcing herself as a woman of the house.

It is what her mother would have done if ever she was in a position like hers.

Breakfast was simple. Egg Florvié with lamb sausage paired with stuffed tomatoes, sautéed spinach, and caramelized mushrooms.

Rhea placed her napkin on her lap after Lonan had, and prepared to start eating, while Alice stared at her food with a scowl.

"Is the meal not to your liking, Alice?" Rhea asked, conversationally, as her tea was poured for her by one of the maids.

"I'm fine," Alice grumbled as she grabbed her fork and began tearing apart the layers of the dish and pushing the spinach to the very edge of the plate.

Lonan gave her an unimpressed look but made no move to correct her.

The remote was handed to him by one of the butlers and, with a soft click, the breathy accent of the Greenwood Duchy anchor, a pretty redhead woman who was Lonan's favourite, flooded the room.

A soft hum left Rhea when she took a sip of her tea and she set the cup down with a small frown.

"I doubt I will ever get used to this new formula," she commented, to Lonan who was deeply absorbed in the weather report.

"Formula?" He repeated, his eyes still on the screen.

"My tea. I believe the formula has been changed, perhaps the oxidation process altered, to make it taste so different."

His head snapped to her suddenly, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed.

Rhea stiffened, wondering what she had said wrong to cause such a reaction when it was typical breakfast talk.

"Perhaps it's time to try a new tea, then? If the taste bothers you so much." He suggested with a stiff smile. "After all, you have been drinkin' this one for as long as we have been married."

"It does not bother me, per se, I will eventually get used to it." She waved off with a glance at tea, lighter in both colour and consistency than she was used to. "Also, drinking a different tea after seven years sounds like a nightmare, and you know how much I detest small changes like this."

"Then why are you trying to play co-wife with me instead of signing the divorce papers and f*cking off?" Alice mumbled, hateful brown eyes glaring at Rhea.

The air in the room suddenly grew colder as everyone held their breaths and turned to Lonan, awaiting his outburst.

His hands were clenched so tightly around his fork and knife, his knuckles had turned white, and there was a tremble to them, as if he was one word away from pouncing on her.

"Behave yourself, Alice, or so help me Gaea, I will teach you how to," he warned with a look in his eyes that dared her to test his already fragile patience.

A look that was easily ignored by the blonde woman.

"This isn't fair! You promised you would get rid of her and we would get married. You said it would be just the two of us and I would be Countess!" She fumed, angry tears flowing down her flushed cheeks.

"Alice."

"You told me she was nothing but whore, who's too busy seducing the Grand Duke to mourn your marriage," she accused, rising from her seat with a soft slam of her palms on the table. " You said you were glad to be rid of her and I believed you, not knowing you're nothing but a liar!"

Rhea's heart clenched and her vision blurred with tears as she fixed Lonan with betrayed eyes. "You called me a whore to your mistress?"

"We already had this conversation, Rhea," he said with a hand held out to silence her. "Do not re-open healed wounds."

"Healed wounds?" She repeated with humourless laughter as she joined Alice to stand. "I was unaware this wound even existed until your darling revealed...."

"Enough!" Lonan thundered with a slam of his down on the table, causing the dishes to tremble and causing some of her tea to spill on the white tablecloth.

"Get back in your seats, eat your food and allow me enjoy my breakfast."

"How do you expect me to be obedient and meek knowing now that you badmouth me to your mistress?"

"I do not expect it," he hissed, fixing her with a harsh glare. "I command it."

Rhea wanted to argue and storm out, but her bandage remained tight around her throat and there was no Augustus to step in and save her so she sat back down.

With a huff to show her defiance, Alice followed after and began picking at the mess she had made of her food.

Their sulking silence seemed to bother him as he set his cutlery down with a sigh and cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Now, I understand how difficult of a situation this is but we can not overcome it if we continue squabbling and fighting among ourselves" He paused, to let his words sink in. 

"We need to put up a united front, if not for the baby then to show the world that we will not let our mistakes break House Montg..."

'Our mistakes.' Rhea thought, bitterly, as she tuned out his speech and turned to stare at the Television.

The image of what appeared to be multiple car accidents on Riverian's main highway greeted her and she perked up in attention.

One car in particular, turned over and engulfed in dying flames, caught her attention and Rhea squinted as she struggled to read the familiar numbers on the license plate, through the haze of smoke.

Her heart stuttered to a stop when she got to the last number and she reread it over and over again, wishing each time it would change.

"Excuse you," Lonan barked when she snatched the remote from beside him and turned up the volume.

".... officials are calling it a careless assassination attempt that got lucky, and managed the claim three people in Grand Duke Augustus Carlton Holloway's party."

"Oh my goodness," Rhea gasped, her eyes growing wet and one hand resting on her chest to control her quickened breathing.

"It has not yet been confirmed whether or not the Grand Duke is part of the dead, but all survivors have been rushed to St. LIlliana Rei Hospital where they are currently undergoing..."

Rhea's chair hit the ground with a loud thud and she was soon sprinting out the door, Lonan's cries of her name nothing but white noise in the whirlwind that was her mind.