The Villain's Wife

"How could she even think about returning that?" The Duchess said as she started pacing inside the Duke's office. "Do you think… Do you think we offended her in any way? Is she mad at us about something? Maybe it was because you asked to introduce her as your niece! Phil… what do you think? Why are you so silent? Do you—"

"If you really keep on talking like that… I won't be able to respond." He interrupted her. "And why are you so stressed about a small rock? Isn't this good? Leandro will now feel assured that he will inherit the throne. That is both good for his emotional and mental health." The Duke smiled. "And please… Esther. Lily is not a child. As you can see, she is very direct. She always says what's on her mind."

"Can you stop smiling like that? It is… disturbing. Did the incident with Pierre really make you so happy?"

"Why… of course!" the Duke beamed. "Can you see how smart Lily is? I— I can't explain this but I purposely did not give Pierre a single glance. I didn't even look at him!"

"So you wanted Lily to know that you and him are on bad terms?"

"And she immediately understood!" The Duke exclaimed. "That woman… ah! that woman is so smart that it is somehow scary!"

"Oh! Stop it!" Esther rolled her eyes. "Lily is not the type of woman that would be used by someone."

"Why are you making it sound as if I was using her for my entertainment?"

"Aren't you?" The Duchess replied as displeasure laced her gaze. "Philimon, I am warning you. I—"

"Esther… First, I only wanted Lily to know that she could do whatever she wanted in case that fool Pierre would try to sow discord during lunch. Second, It was Pierre's choice to act so smart and try to attack Lily. And third, I like Lily! She is my niece after all and I am very proud of her. " He squinted his eyes. "Why would you even think that I would dare use her against my enemies?"

"It was just…"

"I know… I know… and I'm sorry for making it look that way. It was just really fun, watching the Earl speechless, face red in anger and embarrassed." Slowly his tone turned soft. "Don't tell me, you didn't enjoy seeing him uncomfortable?"

She responded with a sigh. "My only concern is our daughter. Did you see her face earlier?"

As expected, the Duke turned silent at her words. Mikaela was indeed uncomfortable earlier. However, because he was having too much fun, he ignored his daughter's reaction and just let Lily embarrass the Earl. He even agreed to have him apologize to Lily!

"Do you think she will understand?" The Duke asked.

"Of course, she will. Do you think your daughter is dumb? Your words could have easily stopped Lily from berating the man that she loved and yet you maintained your silence."

Another sighed escaped the duke's lips as he thought about Mikaela's marriage. Despite the Earl's shortcomings, they could really see Mikaela happy at his side. True, the Earl was arrogant and manipulative but he could make Mikaela and their grandchildren happy.

"And that Antone," the Duchess grumbled. "You know he hasn't seen your daughter for a few months already, right?"

"Not even a video call?"

The Duchess shrugged. "That is not the point. Antone owns a private jet, a helicopter and a couple of branded cars! With all the luxurious rides that he owns that man didn't even try to meet Eliza for a date. What kind of engagement is this?" In front of Lily, the duchess was forced to talk as if she really liked the man for her daughter however, when she was alone with her husband, her opinion about Harringfort changed almost immediately. "Do we really have to let our daughter go to a man like that? To have a miserable marriage?"

The Duke maintained his silence. Seeing this, the Duchess continued, "Phil… if that man respected the engagement, he could have at least made an effort to see her and not always make excuses while sending you the most expensive jewels! Did you know? He didn't even greet Eliza on her birthday! True! The man made some contact with you but it wasn't your birthday! It was as if… as if he only made contact with you to maintain your cordial relationship with his father."

The Duke nodded in response, still saying nothing. Antone Harringfort was an estranged prince. He had angered his father countless number of times that the latter had decided to limit his contact with his disrespectful son outside of their family business. It was indeed very reasonable for Antone to maintain a relationship with him just because he did not want ruin Phil's friendly relationship with Antone's father.

"How is Eliza? Does she feel down because of this?" he asked.

In response the Duchess shrugged. "She never liked him. I believe it is high time time for us to cancel this engagement. What do you think?"

"Do you think that will make Eliza happy?"

"I am positive that this engagement has been weighing down on her for a few months now. Plus meeting Lily surely affected her mood about an arranged marriage. After all, we all know how Eliza values her freedom. Unlike Mikaela, Eliza loves to spend her time outdoors, interacting with people and playing games with children. She is… a very smart and special woman." The Duchess smiled as she thought of her youngest child. "And she has been talking about Lily these past few weeks. I think… I think she really wants to get close to her."

"Well… I would not stop her to get close to someone like Lily. We all know how she will be a very good influence on our child. My only concern now is this engagement." The Duke let out another sigh. Was he really going to break the engagement?

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