Was it because they had made love so passionately, as if they had returned to their honeymoon days? Regina dreamed of that time again.

“It was such a wonderful time.”
That’s what people often said about newlyweds.

And it had been wonderful.

To be born a noblewoman and to marry the man she loved – such happiness was granted to very few.

What’s more, he had been her first love.

Throughout their honeymoon, Regina felt as if she were floating, her feet wrapped in clouds.

As soon as the wedding was over, Grey whisked her away to all sorts of social events.

If a man clung to his wife like that, it could only mean he loved her – or was proud of her.

Not even the hectic schedule could dampen her spirits.

She loved the flutter of excitement every time Grey introduced her as “the Countess of Cabil”.

She believed it was all love.

But in the splendour of Royal Bliscott, the beautiful scales that had once blinded Regina began to fall away – revealing a truth far harsher than she had ever imagined.

The tournament, in which each noble house showcased its finest horses, was far more than just a race.

Hosted by the royal family itself, it attracted the entire royal procession and almost every influential figure in the kingdom. Naturally, Grey, ever the businessman, had not hesitated to seize the opportunity.

Regina did her best to keep up with the gruelling five-day affair.

Each day began with breakfast meetings at dawn, followed by afternoon tea, then hours spent watching the races, and finally evening receptions and a ball that went on past midnight.

She endured it all for four days in a row.

On the fifth, her body gave out.

It started with chills the night before, and by morning she was burning with fever.

She couldn’t keep anything down and threw up everything she ate. Pain ravaged her body, hives broke out on her skin and an unrelenting thirst prevented her from getting any rest.

“I’m sorry, Grey.”

She had never been so sick in her life. Regina apologised in a hoarse voice when he came to fetch her in the morning.

“I’m just going to rest today. I really don’t think I can go out.”

She didn’t think it mattered.

The first two days of Royal Bliscott were the most important, and the rest was mostly for socialising.

Although there had been rumours that a number of previously aloof power players would be attending on the last day –

“…this is annoying.”

Grey muttered, frowning in displeasure.

“If I’d known this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have made time for it.”

“What?”

“There are several urgent matters awaiting my approval.”

Noticing Regina’s face go pale with shock, he added slowly.

“They are all time-sensitive matters. I could hardly find the time to come here.”

“I’m sorry… for wasting your time.”

Regina apologised, intimidated by his tone.

But even as she spoke, a question nagged at her.

‘Is this really right?’

‘He says he shouldn’t have taken the time to come… Does that mean a sick wife isn’t worth his attention unless she’s well enough to turn up to a ball?’

‘Is there really no room – no room at all – in Grey’s carefully packed schedule for something as simple as taking care of his wife?’

“It’s all right.”
His cold response crushed the doubts that had begun to stir in her heart.

“I’ll manage. I always did—before we were married.”
With his eyes lowered, he adjusted his collar with those perfectly precise fingers. His face, composed to the point of being stifling, carried a quiet loneliness that made Regina feel as though she were sending a lover off to war.

“I’m really sorry.”

Grey didn’t respond again.
Instead, he turned back to her and asked something else.

“This handkerchief—does it suit the outfit? I picked blue to match with you, but since that’s no longer necessary, maybe I should change it to grey.”

“You’re right. Grey would suit it better.”

It was only after he had left that Regina’s dazed mind began to clear. She retraced the events, recalled every little detail of Grey’s behavior—
And at last, she understood.

“He used me.”

Like bees drawn to honey, people were naturally drawn to wealth and power.

Grey Cabil had already proven himself to be far more than a lucky upstart – but that wasn’t enough to change the hearts of the old nobility. Their pride ran too deep.

They no longer treated Grey with open hostility, but they saw no reason to reach out to him either.

The only thing bridging these two worlds – so different they might as well be oil and water – was Regina.

“I heard the news. You’re getting married, aren’t you?”

“The Marquis of Odair sent me an invitation. He said he’d like me to attend his daughter’s wedding.”

Those hesitant, reluctant congratulations were what finally opened the doors of noble society to Grey Cabil.

And it was all thanks to Regina.

More specifically, because of her father, Marquess Ralph Odair.

Ralph was everything Grey was not. He had no wealth to boast of, but his name carried weight and he was rich in honour and respect.

The old nobles may have looked down on Grey Cabil, but they couldn’t ignore the fact that he was Ralph Odair’s son-in-law. Respect, however grudging, had to be given.

Only then did Regina begin to understand.

Normally a noblewoman would bring a dowry when she married – but Grey had instead showered Regina’s family with gifts.

Ralph had joked, “Thanks to my daughter, I won’t have to sell the estate,” but his expression had been grim.

Perhaps he had suspected the true nature of the marriage from the start.

In essence, Grey had bought the honour of the Odair family with his money – and with it, a ticket to the old nobility. And Regina had loved him passionately.

But from Grey’s point of view, it must have seemed a simple transaction.

‘No… I must be imagining things.’

She tried to convince herself that it was just the fever making her think like that – that her illness was twisting her thoughts into something darker.

But her mind, burning and restless, drifted in and out of lucidity, teetering between moments of clarity and a kind of waking nightmare.

All she could do was cling to the desperate hope that Grey would return soon.

That he would sit by her side, look at her with gentle eyes and tell her that he’d been thinking of her all along, even if he’d had other commitments.

She would have believed him. She was even prepared to be lied to for the rest of her life, if only he would come home. But that night, Grey did not return.

The next morning Chelstina burst in, wide-eyed and breathless.

“My God, can you believe it?”

She barely paused before breaking the news.

“Nadeira! She was practically glued to your husband’s side yesterday…”

Nadeira’s relentless pursuit of Grey Cabil had been notorious – so reckless that it hadn’t let up the day before their engagement.

In the end, nothing could change the fact that she had been replaced.

But even that was something Regina could have accepted – if only the woman who had taken her place hadn’t been her greatest rival.

Nadeira had grabbed the opening without a second thought, stepping easily into the space Regina had left behind.

She stood smiling at Grey’s side, introducing him to her own circle of influence with practiced charm.

What hurt most was that Grey hadn’t stopped her. He hadn’t even tried.

“Why did you let this happen?”

Her face flushed with fever, Regina confronted him, her voice tight with pain.

“You could’ve at least thought about how it would make me look!”

Grey raised an eyebrow at her outburst, calm and unshaken.

“You were the one who didn’t take care of yourself and cancelled at the last minute. And when someone offers help with no strings attached, why turn it down – especially without a good reason?”

The indifference in his eyes made something click inside Regina.

For Grey, there had never been much difference between her and Nadeira.

The blue and grey handkerchiefs – that was all this marriage had ever been: a choice between two colours.

***

After the royal bliscott, their marriage deteriorated rapidly.

From then on, Regina refused to attend any events as a couple.

She clung to a fragile hope – that perhaps Grey hadn’t married her just for her connections.

If he’d shown her even a fraction of the warmth he once did – even the smallest gesture of affection – maybe everything could have been resolved right then and there.

Instead, Grey withdrew from her completely, as if he didn’t have the time or patience for a wife who wasn’t even fulfilling her role.

It felt like her heart was being torn apart.

The man who used to be at her side every day hadn’t even shown his shadow for over two months.

The message couldn’t have been clearer:

If she wanted to see his face, she’d have to chase him into the world of social gatherings.

‘Cruel man.”

So that was it – he wanted her to see it for herself.

To face the truth – that he hadn’t married her out of love, but out of convenience.

Regina didn’t have the strength.

Her heart had tilted too far in Grey’s direction.

If she took him away now, everything inside her would collapse.

And in the end, it wasn’t kindness or reconciliation that broke the silence between them – it was an unexpected visitor.

Wandering through the garden, trying to calm her troubled thoughts, Regina found herself drifting towards the laundry area.

As she watched the maids scrubbing dirty underwear at the sink, a sudden realisation struck her like a bolt of lightning.

‘When was the last time I had my period?’

Regina was usually quite regular.

But she had missed it completely for two months now – and hadn’t even noticed, overwhelmed as she was by all the stress.

Normally, a maid would have quietly brought it to her attention.

But Dain had never been the most observant or reliable.

‘Let’s wait until next month. If I miss it a third time, I’ll know for sure.

But just in case… don’t get your hopes up too soon.’