Chapter 11
Rosamonde removed her engagement ring that night.
No one asked her to.
She placed it on the table.
I left it there.
Not punishment.
Reality.
She asked to speak with me alone.
I refused.
Not yet.
Nerelle and Elias had spent months excluded from private rooms where decisions about them were made.
No more.
Rosamonde looked at Nerelle.
Then said:
“I’m sorry.”
Nerelle did not respond.
Good.
Apologies do not require immediate participation from the harmed person.
Rosamonde continued.
“I thought Elias was threatening my future.”
Elias laughed bitterly.
“You mean your wedding.”
“Yes.”
She swallowed.
“I thought if Anselm learned people were giving me things for introductions, he’d end it.”
Correct.
“So you called Merrick.”
“Yes.”
“And then you believed I died.”
“Yes.”
“What did you do?”
Silence.
That was the key.
She did not ask Nerelle if a body was found.
Did not anonymously send information.
Did not confess to me.
She stayed engaged.
Because death made exposure less likely.
That truth hurt her more than any insult.
“I was afraid.”
Nerelle finally spoke.
“My brother was missing.”
Rosamonde cried.
“I know.”
“No.”
Nerelle shook her head.
“You knew a version where he was already dead. I lived every day not knowing.”
There.
Different suffering.
Rosamonde had certainty built from a lie.
Nerelle had uncertainty built from silence.
I looked at Rosamonde.
“You let her work near you while believing your decision caused her brother’s death.”
She covered her face.
“Yes.”
That was the worst part.
Not the access scheme.
Not even Merrick.
She watched Nerelle serve dinners while carrying a secret about Elias.
Then tonight, annoyed by Nerelle’s grief, she poured wine over the coat.
“There. Something else to cry over.”
Cruelty becomes easier when someone’s pain reminds you of your own guilt.
Rosamonde had not mocked Nerelle because she felt nothing.
She mocked her because she felt too much and wanted the reminder silenced.
Still cruelty.
May you like
Still choice.
Our engagement ended before the ring stopped spinning on the tabletop.
