[Still, grape farming should be all right.]
Regina read her father’s letter over and over, trying to think positively.
[We can turn the leftover grapes into jam or wine—they keep for a long time. They’re also great for export and should sell well.]
But would her family’s finances last until the grapes were harvested? Her younger half-sister, born to her stepmother, had been ill for some time. And how many years of land taxes had the royal family deferred so far?

She let out a sigh as her thoughts spiraled one after another.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry to interrupt, but you have a visitor.”

“A visitor? Who is it?”

“Lady Chelstina of Viti.”

Chelstina was a friend from their unmarried days, when they had both circled the social scene. At the familiar and welcome name, Regina hurried into the drawing room.

“Oh my goodness, Regina Odair!”

Chelstina, already being served tea, stood and spread her arms wide.

“How could you disappear like that with no word! I thought I’d die from missing you!”

“Sorry. I nearly died for real, actually.”

“Would you listen to this girl! Still got your sense of humor, I see!”

Her happy laugh, as light and soft as rolling marbles, hadn’t changed – but something else had. Regina’s eyes widened as she stared at Chelstina’s protruding belly.

“I’m six months pregnant now. It’s quite big, isn’t it?”

Chelstina pouted, guessing that the baby might be big, or even twins. Faced with her friend’s innocent joy, Regina took a moment to catch her breath.

“That’s wonderful. Congratulations, Chelsti.”

Fortunately, the congratulations came without a hitch.

“Oh please, wonderful? The hard part’s just beginning! Once I get heavier, I won’t be able to go out for a while, so I’m glad I got to see you before then.”

Chelstina pulled her over to sit beside her. On the surface she was bright and lively, but her eyes told a different story – filled with the same shock. The look she gave Regina clearly showed her dismay at how thin and exhausted her friend had become.

“What on earth happened to you?”

“I was just… sick.”

“Just sick? When I heard you might die, I almost went into labour!”

“You said you were six months pregnant? I doubt you’d even heard the news by then.”

“That’s not the point!”

Pouting, Chelsti launched into a barrage of questions.

“What exactly was wrong with you?”

“They called it an unexplained coma.”

“For a whole year?”

“Yes. A whole year.”

Wow. Chelsti mouthed the word, her shock clear as day.

“I read an article once – it was about a man who’d been in a vegetative state.He said that when he finally woke up, thirteen years had gone by, just like that. As if he’d been a prince under some kind of spell.”

“It wasn’t nearly as romantic. And compared to him, my time was short.”

“So, Regina… you don’t remember anything from when you were unconscious?”

No.

But instead of answering, Regina just smiled in silence.

***

She remembered the night – a year ago – when she drank herself into oblivion.

The constant fighting had worn her down, drained her to the bone.

A husband who kept his distance… and the pathetic woman she’d become, clinging to him, begging him not to hate her.

But more than anything, it was the crushing weight of disappointment she couldn’t bear.

Each time her hopes were shattered, the love she had so carefully held onto slipped away, one delicate petal at a time.

Before the last of those petals could fall, Regina had decided to cut the withered stem herself.

It had been a more drunken night than usual.

In one swift movement, she swallowed the poison she had secretly purchased.

Unfortunately, she didn’t die.

God, in his judgement, had given a harsher punishment to the one who had tried to give up life.

When she awoke the next day, Regina saw that her hands and feet had become ghostly transparent.

Had she lost her mind?

Confused, her eyes landed on her own body – lying motionless on the bed.

Thinking it was a nightmare, she reached out to touch herself.

But a sharp blue static snapped back at her.

She needed help.

But she couldn’t leave the room, trapped as if sealed behind invisible glass.

From that moment on, the real nightmare began.

Strangely, the doctors never discovered that Regina had been poisoned.

As they diagnosed her condition as ‘coma of unknown cause’, Regina floated helplessly at their side – frightened, invisible, unheard.

It was a long, agonising time – unbearably dull, yet endlessly agonising.

No one could see her. No one could hear her voice.

She was trapped in her bedroom, forced to watch her own body slowly wither, dry up and fade.

Every now and then she could look out of the window, glimpse the grounds of the mansion or the corridor – but none of it mattered.

The person she longed for most had never returned.

And then one day, after countless hours of silent agony, something inside her broke.

All the fear and anger she had held in all these years burst out at once.

Regina screamed like a wounded animal, thrashing, clawing, desperately trying to regain her body.

But her hands went through everything. There was nothing to hold on to.

Her struggle was useless.

Finally she collapsed in despair, sobbing – staring at the fragile shell of herself that was fading with each breath.

‘That’s right. I deserve this punishment. I tried to end my life—so this is what I get.’

Regina decided to accept her fate. When she gave up the will to live and surrendered completely, for the first time, the consciousness that could not even sleep began to fade.

‘Am I finally dying now?’

Faced with an overwhelming force pulling her in, she let go and surrendered her entire being.
And then…

“My lady has awakened!!”

“Hey, Regina. Come on, open your eyes! You don’t sleep with your eyes open, do you?”

Chelsti’s panicked voice pulled Regina out of her thoughts.

“You scared me half to death. From now on, ask my permission before you sleep, OK?”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

Regina replied with a faint, awkward smile as she slowly returned to the present.

Even that small smile was enough to make Chelstina visibly relax.

“I’m so glad you came back, Regina.”

“Thank you.”

“But it’s such a shame about your appearance! You’re all skin and bones. Your husband must have been worried sick.”

Regina’s hand stopped in mid-air, the teacup trembling slightly between her fingers.

In that moment – when she truly thought she was going to die – the face that had come to her mind… was his.

The cold, distant man who hadn’t visited her once.

Not once in a whole year – while she lay motionless, as good as dead – had he come to see her.

She had waited for him with all her heart—

And hated him just as fiercely.

But now, no matter how sweet his words,

No matter how gentle his voice or how warm his smile—

She would never offer her heart so easily again.

‘I’ll never trust again. Never.’

Regina’s expression grew sombre. Sensing this, Chelsti patted her shoulder gently.

“Hey, Regina?”

“Yes?”

“I got married a bit earlier than you, didn’t I? And I have a couple of older sisters who are already married.”

“Why bring that up now?”

“I recently realised that men are all the same.”

Regina blinked, not sure what she meant.

“Love eventually fades. What remains between a married couple is affection and loyalty. We don’t even share a bed anymore.”

“That’s quite sudden and personal.”

“My point is that loyalty is what’s important in a marriage!”

Chelsti shouted, clenching her fist.

“After having a child, it’s not uncommon for couples to have affairs. Life is long and it’s understandable to stray a few times. The key is not to let go of each other’s hands.”

Regina remained silent, not because she agreed, but because there were too many counter-arguments.

Did Chelsti think Grey was having an affair? Or that it was enough that he hadn’t left Regina in a coma? More importantly, wasn’t Chelsti the type to make a scene if her husband ever strayed?

“Oh my, Regina!”

But Chelsti’s attention had already shifted.

“Try this lobster sandwich. It’s unbelievably delicious!”

Perhaps due to her pregnancy, Chelsti ate everything with enthusiasm. Thanks to her, Regina’s appetite returned and she cleared her plate.

Except for one thing.

“You know, Regina, you’d be shocked to hear what happened while you were away.”