***

The next morning, Cajetan appeared at the breakfast table without a trace of shame. 

“Cajetan, what happened to your hand?” the queen asked, noticing the marks. 

“I was bitten by a cat.”

“Oh dear! Have you had it treated?” 

Grace froze at his words, her hand tightening slightly around her fork. She couldn’t bring herself to look up, but she could feel Cajetan’s presence across the table – calm and unflappable as ever. 

“It’s nothing serious,” he said with a slight smile. “It was rather cute.” 

Without a word, Grace abruptly rose from her seat. 

“Sister-in-law, where are you going?”

Cajetan’s voice followed her, calm but tinged with pointed curiosity.

“I don’t have much of an appetite this morning,” she replied curtly, avoiding eye contact.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

The Queen asked with genuine concern.

“Thank you for asking, Your Majesty. I’m not ill, just a little under the weather,” Grace replied politely, bowing her head.

Cajetan grinned, his contentment obvious. 

“I could tell you more about the cute cat I met yesterday. Maybe it would cheer you up?”

“I don’t like cats.”

Grace replied firmly, refusing to meet his gaze.

“Grace, are you all right?”

Velenus’ soft voice cut through the tension and his hand rested reassuringly on her shoulder.

“Could you take me to my room?”

She asked quietly, leaning against him for support.

“Of course.”

Unlike his brother, Velenus was everything Cajetan was not – kind, refined and respectful. As Grace turned to him for support, a sharp, cracking sound pierced the air. It was subtle yet unmistakable, as if something unseen had shattered.

Crack.

“Cajetan.”

The king’s worried voice echoed faintly behind her, but Grace bit her lip, refusing to look back. She couldn’t bear to give Cajetan even a moment of her attention – not now, not ever.

Clutching her husband’s hand tightly, she walked out of the dining room with Velenus at her side.

“Did you get a chance to have a good talk with Cajetan yesterday?”

‘A talk?’

Grace’s stomach twisted at the thought. There had been no meaningful exchange, no real words. All she could remember was the metallic taste of blood and the crushing force of Cajetan’s kiss. Her lips pressed into a thin line as the vivid memory returned.

Noticing her discomfort, Velenus offered a shy smile.

“He’s not usually like this. I don’t know what’s got into him.”

Grace couldn’t answer. How could she reveal that his younger brother was consumed by an inappropriate desire for her? It was a terrible truth to face alone, with no one to confide in.

She forced a strained smile.

“Maybe it’s just the adjustment of having a new family around. It must feel strange to him.”

“Still, he’s never acted like this before.”

Velenus said with a weary sigh.

“I’m sorry. I keep making excuses for him, just because he’s my brother.”

“No, it’s fine,” Grace said hurriedly. “It’s just… I’m a bit uncomfortable, that’s all. Please don’t worry about it.”

‘Uncomfortable.’

The word barely scratched the surface of what had happened, but it was all she could say without giving too much away.

Velenus’ shoulders slumped. His frustration was obvious.

“I should have handled this better. I thought I could smooth things over, but obviously I didn’t.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

Grace replied gently, offering him a reassuring smile.

“I’m sure things will work themselves out in time.”

She didn’t understand why Cajetan felt the way he did about her, but it didn’t matter. In a few years he would probably marry and leave, taking whatever this unsettling tension was with him.

‘I just need to avoid him until then.’

That was all Grace could do – be careful, avoid being alone with Cajetan and limit their interactions as much as possible. Determined to keep her distance, she sat carefully on the edge of the bed.

Velenus, his expression etched with concern, reached out and gently placed a hand on her forehead. He smiled faintly. 

“You don’t seem to have a fever, but you still look a little pale.”

“I’ll feel better after a little rest.”

With the perfect grace of a caring husband, Velenus leaned forward and planted a light, tender kiss on her forehead. 

“Rest well, Grace,” he said gently. “I’ll make sure there’s something for you to eat whenever you’re ready.” 

“Thank you.”

Even after Velenus left the room, Grace remained sitting on the bed, staring blankly at the door for a long moment. Finally, she closed her eyes.

‘If it weren’t for Cajetan, this family would be perfect.’

She had a kind and gentle husband, and the king and queen treated her warmly. Only Cajetan disturbed the harmony.

Grace let herself fall back onto the bed, the tension in her body easing slightly.

‘Just avoid him. That’s all I have to do,’ she told herself whispering the words in her head like a mantra.

But as much as she tried to push the memory of the previous day away, it remained, stubborn and vivid, refusing to fade away as easily as she wished.

***

Grace did everything she could to avoid Cajetan. She had no choice. In the close-knit royal family, it was almost impossible to avoid him completely. Still, as the days stretched into one and then two, the king, the queen and even Velenus did their best to accommodate her.

Of course, they didn’t really “understand”. To them, Cajetan was still the “good” son and brother – a man who caused no trouble. 

‘That was enough,’ Grace reminded herself. 

Since that kiss, she had made sure she would never be left alone with him again. On formal occasions she stayed close to her husband, and on more casual ones she always found a reason to excuse herself. 

Sighing softly, she sank back into the sofa. How she longed to erase the memory of this moment, to forget it had ever happened. 

But Grace knew better than anyone that such a wish was nothing more than an impossible dream. 

The memory of that suffocating kiss clung to her mind, vivid and relentless – the invasive pressure of his tongue, the heat that overwhelmed her and the oppressive weight of his body holding her captive. Even the thought of it shook her, her mind spinning uncontrollably. 

She knew instinctively that Cajetan hadn’t forgotten either. How could he? That kiss had been far too charged, far too consuming to simply fade from memory. 

‘But why? Why me?’ 

The question echoed endlessly in her mind, but no matter how many times she asked it, the answer eluded her. 

“Grace.”

Velenus entered the room, his face etched with concern. Grace straightened immediately. 

“You’re not feeling well, are you?”

“No.”

“You’ve been spending a lot of time in your room lately, and I’m worried.”

Velenus said quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her. He reached out and brushed a stray strand of her golden hair away from her face, his fingers lingering as he gently smoothed her hair.

With a reassuring gesture, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and leaned down to place a soft kiss on the top of her head. 

“Is it Cajetan?”

Grace hesitated, unable to meet his eyes. 

“If he makes you uncomfortable, I’ll tell him to keep his distance. Or if it’s too much, I can send him to one of the estates.”

“Don’t do that for my sake.”

Grace replied, shaking her head. She couldn’t risk provoking Cajetan or showing him any sign of how deeply he had upset her. He was like an unpredictable fire – any wrong move could only make things worse. 

“Just say the word. I have the authority to place him under house arrest if necessary.” Velenus teased with a light-hearted smile, trying to ease the tension. 

Grace managed a small smile in return, finding some comfort in his playful tone. His hand brushed lightly across her cheek, then slid down to the nape of her neck.

The kiss he had planted on her forehead moments before trailed down to the tip of her nose before finally meeting her lips in a tender embrace. 

“Mmm…”

She told herself not to compare, but the thought crept in anyway. Cajetan’s fierce, consuming kiss had been wild and oppressive, the exact opposite of Velenus’ soft, gentle touch. 

‘No, stop thinking about it,’ she scolded herself, trying to push the memory away. 

She wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck, pulling him closer as if to anchor herself in the present. Her back sank into the plush bedding as their bodies pressed together, grounding her in his warmth and care.