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the Villainess they took for granted

Chapter 137: The Invitation · Oct 27, 2026

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Chapter List (304)

Page number / 7

101 Chapter 101: I Missed You 2026-10-27
102 Chapter 102: A Moment of Peace 2026-10-27
103 Chapter 103: The End of Questions 2026-10-27
104 Chapter 104: Beside Her 2026-10-27
105 Chapter 105: The First Move 2026-10-27
106 Chapter 106: The First Ripple 2026-10-27
107 Chapter 107: The Crown Prince Moves 2026-10-27
108 Chapter 108: The Last Olive Branch 2026-10-27
109 Chapter 109: Between Storms 2026-10-27
110 Chapter 110: The Name 2026-10-27
111 Chapter 111: The distance between us 2026-10-27
112 Chapter 112: What do you want? 2026-10-27
113 Chapter 113: Just Cassian 2026-10-27
114 Chapter 114: Then What? 2026-10-27
115 Chapter 115: The Audience 2026-10-27
116 Chapter 116: A Father’s Argument 2026-10-27
117 Chapter 117: And What of My Son? 2026-10-27
118 Chapter 118: Why Him? 2026-10-27
119 Chapter 119: If I Refuse 2026-10-27
120 Chapter 120: The Future 2026-10-27
121 Chapter 121: The Weight of a Crown 2026-10-27
122 Chapter 122: My Son Deserves Better 2026-10-27
123 Chapter 123: For the Best 2026-10-27
124 Chapter 124: Good News 2026-10-27
125 Chapter 125: The Road Ahead 2026-10-27
126 Chapter 126: Letting Go 2026-10-27
127 Chapter 127: The Proceedings 2026-10-27
128 Chapter 128: His Nephew 2026-10-27
129 Chapter 129: How Did This Happen? 2026-10-27
130 Chapter 130: My Brother’s Son 2026-10-27
131 Chapter 131: The Price 2026-10-27
132 Chapter 132: The Cost 2026-10-27
133 Chapter 133: Ashford House 2026-10-27
134 Chapter 134: Patience 2026-10-27
135 Chapter 135: Yours 2026-10-27
136 Chapter 136: Spring 2026-10-27
137 Chapter 137: The Invitation 2026-10-27
138 Chapter 138: The Season 2026-10-27
139 Chapter 139: Afterward 2026-10-27
140 Chapter 140: Questions 2026-10-27
141 Chapter 141: Attention 2026-10-27
142 Chapter 142: Answers 2026-10-27
143 Chapter 143: Waiting 2026-10-27
144 Chapter 144: His Grace, Duke Ashford 2026-10-27
145 Chapter 145: Home 2026-10-27
146 Chapter 146: Welcome Home 2026-10-27
147 Chapter 147: The Space Between Them 2026-10-27
148 Chapter 148: This Dance 2026-10-27
149 Chapter 149: Reality Returns 2026-10-27
150 Chapter 150: The Ring 2026-10-27

Chapter 137: Chapter 137: The Invitation

Marian stared at the invitation.

Then at the dress laid neatly across her bed.

Then back at the invitation.

Neither object improved upon closer inspection.

The Season officially opened that evening.

This information failed to inspire enthusiasm.

Marian considered not attending.

Briefly.

Then for considerably longer than was strictly appropriate.

Unfortunately, refusing to attend would create questions.

Attending would also create questions.

The latter option was marginally less annoying.

Which was the only reason she had not yet instructed someone to invent a convenient illness.

A folded letter rested beside her jewelry box.

Marian’s gaze drifted toward it automatically.

Then narrowed.

The letter remained entirely innocent.

Marian knew better.

The latest letter from Cassian had arrived two days ago.

She had already read it several times.

A completely reasonable number of times.

Probably.

The final page remained particularly troublesome.

Not because it contained anything important.

Quite the opposite.

The entire page consisted of observations that served no practical purpose whatsoever.

A complaint regarding terrible tea.

An argument with a horse.

A detailed explanation of why he strongly disliked being away from her.

Marian had reread that particular section several times.

Purely for research purposes.

Obviously.

Her maid entered.

One glance at Marian.

One glance at the letter.

The woman immediately smiled.

Marian immediately regretted everything.

”You seem pleased, my lady.”

”I am being harassed by correspondence.”

The maid laughed.

Traitorously.

Marian sighed.

”If Duke Ashford were here, this evening would be considerably less irritating.”

The smile widened.

This was somehow even worse.

Unfortunately, it was also true.

The last few months had passed more quickly than she expected.

Letters arrived.

Letters were answered.

More letters arrived.

Somewhere between the first and twentieth exchange, corresponding with Cassian had become part of her routine.

A dangerous development.

One she fully intended to continue.

The problem was that Cassian remained in Ashford.

Which meant Marian was forced to attend the opening of the Season alone.

A circumstance she considered deeply unfair.

Mostly to herself.

Eventually she allowed herself to be dressed.

Escorted to her carriage.

And transported toward the palace despite her best efforts to remain at home.

The capital looked different in spring.

Brighter.

Busier.

The streets overflowed with nobles returning from winter estates.

Carriages crowded every major road.

The city felt alive again.

Marian remained unconvinced this was an improvement.

The palace proved exactly as crowded as she remembered.

Which was to say:

Far too crowded.

The opening reception was one of the largest events of the year.

Attendance was unavoidable.

Unfortunately.

Marian stepped from her carriage.

Straightened her skirts.

And entered the palace.

The ballroom glittered beneath hundreds of lights.

Music drifted through the hall.

Conversation filled every corner.

People.

Far too many people.

Marian had barely crossed the threshold before a chamberlain greeted her.

Then a duchess she had known for years approached.

Then a countess.

Then another countess.

Marian smiled.

Curtsied.

Exchanged pleasantries.

Repeated the process.

The entire experience lasted perhaps three minutes.

She was already tired.

What surprised her was not the attention itself.

She had always attracted attention.

No.

It was the nature of it.

Different.

Subtle.

But unmistakable.

For years she had attended these events as the Crown Prince’s future bride.

Everyone had known her position.

Everyone had known her future.

Now they didn’t.

Marian understood the implications immediately.

The realization was exhausting.

A familiar countess approached, rescuing her from a conversation she had no desire to continue.

Marian silently added the woman to a growing list of people she owed favors.

The countess began discussing the weather.

Marian nearly embraced her.

The conversation had lasted less than a minute when Marian happened to glance across the ballroom.

And froze.

Adrian.

He stood near one of the receiving lines.

Tall.

Composed.

Dressed in formal black.

Exactly as she remembered.

For a moment Marian simply stared.

Not because she had forgotten he would be there.

Because seeing him and imagining him proved to be entirely different things.

Nearly a year.

The realization arrived unexpectedly.

She had not understood how long that truly was until now.

The hunting lodge.

The investigation.

The dissolution.

Everything afterward.

The months between then and now suddenly felt real.

Then she realized something else.

Adrian was already looking at her.

The discovery startled her.

For one brief moment their eyes met across the ballroom.

Recognition flashed between them.

A year condensed into a single glance.

Then Adrian looked away.

Immediately.

Almost abruptly.

Marian blinked.

Ah.

Of course.

The thought carried no bitterness.

Only understanding.

The engagement had ended.

A great deal had happened afterward.

Perhaps seeing her was uncomfortable.

Perhaps speaking would be uncomfortable.

Perhaps he simply preferred not to revisit the past.

That was understandable.

Marian continued watching him for another moment.

Not long.

Just long enough to truly look.

He looked well.

The realization arrived quietly.

Healthy.

Composed.

Steady.

As though life had continued.

As though he had continued.

The tension she had not realized she carried loosened slightly.

There had once been a time when she believed she would spend the rest of her life beside him.

A time when his happiness had felt inseparable from her own.

That future no longer existed.

Yet she found herself relieved all the same.

I’m glad.

The thought appeared softly.

Simple.

Honest.

And to her surprise, she meant it.

The knot inside her chest eased.

Not completely.

Perhaps it never would.

But enough.

Enough for her to finally look away.

Enough for her to return her attention to the conversation beside her.

Enough to realize that, for the first time in a very long while, seeing Adrian no longer hurt.

The realization felt strangely peaceful.

Some endings did not require anger.

Some endings did not require regret.

Sometimes people simply walked separate paths.

And that was all.

The countess was still discussing the weather.

Marian listened.

Or at least attempted to.

Unfortunately, her thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.

Toward a distant duchy.

Toward a man who wrote excessively long letters.

Toward a paragraph she had reread far more times than she intended to admit.

A small smile tugged at her lips.

The countess immediately noticed.

Marian immediately regretted smiling.

”Good news, Lady Marian?”

Marian’s expression became perfectly innocent.

The countess looked unconvinced.

Marian chose not to elaborate.

Some things were hers.

For now.

And perhaps that was enough.

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