The ruthless warning

Lylie had always been loud.

She filled spaces with her words, refusing to be ignored.

But now?

Now, the silence was suffocating. It's too much.

She sat in the grand dining hall, staring at the empty seat beside her. The seat where he should have been. Alongside her.

Michael hadn't joined her for a single meal since their wedding.

She ate alone.

Slept alone.

Lived alone—despite being someone's wife. Despite wearing a crown.

The whole palace had quickly taken note of the distance between them. The nobles whispered behind their hands, their pitying glances stabbing deeper than any insult.

The king doesn't love his wife.

She is a queen in name only.

How long before he sets her aside?

Will he take another wife?

Lylie wanted to scream.

She wanted to stand on the grand table and shout at them all, tell them she didn't care.

But that would be a lie.

Because she did care.

Not about their approval—gods, never about that.

But about him.

About the way he had changed, the way he looked at her like she was nothing.

And that?

That was something Lylie Foster would not accept. Not in her wildest dreams.

********

"You should take a lover," Princess Ayanna said, sipping her tea.

Lylie choked on her own drink. "Excuse me?"

Ayanna smirked. "You're miserable and you look terrible."

Lylie wiped her mouth, glaring. "And you think sleeping with someone else will help?"

Ayanna shrugged. "It might make him jealous."

Lylie rolled her eyes. "Michael doesn't care about me Ayanna. He barely even looks at me."

Ayanna tilted her head. "You're wrong."

Lylie scoffed. "I think I'd know if my own husband gave a damn about me."

Ayanna leaned closer. "And yet, he watches you."

Lylie blinked.

"What?"

Ayanna smirked. "My brother doesn't talk to you. Doesn't sit with you. But he watches. I have seen him one day and when he noticed that I saw him,he looked away."

Lylie's stomach twisted. "You're imagining things."

Ayanna leaned back, looking entirely too pleased. "Believe what you want, dear sister-in-law. But if you really want to get his attention?" She took another sip of her tea. "Make him angry."

Lylie frowned. "Michael is always angry."

Ayanna laughed. "No. Make him jealous."

Lylie's mind raced.

She wasn't the type to play games.

But if Michael wanted to act like she was invisible?

Then maybe it was time to remind him exactly who he married.

—

That night, Lylie attended a court gathering dressed in the most scandalous gown she could find.

Low neckline. Bare shoulders. A slit high enough to make the old noblewomen clutch their pearls.

She danced with the lords, smiled sweetly, let them whisper in her ear just a little too closely.

She laughed.

Not because she wanted to, but because she knew he was watching.

And oh yeah he was.

Across the room, Michael sat with his advisors, wine glass in hand, gaze locked onto her like a predator.

Unmoving. Unblinking.

Furious.

Lylie ignored the way her pulse raced.

She turned to Lord Darius, a charming, golden-haired noble who had been all too eager to entertain her. "You're quite the dancer," she mused.

Darius smirked. "And you are quite the queen."

Lylie let him spin her—

And then, just like that, Michael was there.

He didn't speak. Didn't raise his voice.

He simply took her wrist, pulled her out of Darius's arms, and led her away from the crowd.

Lylie's heart thundered.

She had wanted a reaction.

But now, alone with him in the dimly lit corridor, she wasn't sure if she had gone too far and she couldn't care less.

Michael finally stopped, turning to face her. His jaw was clenched, his eyes dark with fury.

Lylie smirked, ignoring the nervous flutter in her stomach. "Jealous, dear husband?"

Michael exhaled sharply, as if restraining himself.

Then, in a voice as cold as steel—

"I don't care who you dance with, Lylie."

Lylie's smirk faltered.

Michael leaned in, his breath brushing against her ear.

"But if you embarrass me like that again, I will make you regret it. And trust me, you won't like it."

And just like that, he walked away.

Leaving Lylie standing there, heart pounding.

Wondering why, despite everything—

She still wanted to chase after him.