There is no happy ending

Bliss felt as if she had to take both her cheeks and turn to face Bianca. It seemed to him that if he looked into Bianca’s eyes like that, he would find a clear explanation for the unknown confusion she had felt since she had left Duke Winston.

But it was Odette who interrupted her.

‘Bliss, please stop!’

I felt like I had to, like I couldn’t do otherwise.

******.

……To be clear, Odette loved Bliss, pure and simple. She’s the ultimate adulteress now, but she was.

Her father, Fabien Hallona, was a man who had started out as an antiques dealer and now made as much money as any other nobleman, if not more.

Fabien often took Odette on business trips to facilitate other negotiations and deals.

She didn’t like it. There was a blatant ogling of her, and she often felt embarrassed at the table, as if she were some kind of high-class hostess.

Nevertheless, Odette could not resist Fabien’s words.

Odette had nothing but the title of Fabian Halona’s daughter: she was called Odette Halona, but Halona was not her last name, and Fabian had money, but Odette had none.

Although she thought it would never happen…… Odette often imagined herself living the worst life possible, being abandoned by Fabien.

Bliss and Odette’s first meeting was similar. Fabien took Odette out to meet Bliss. That’s how they met.

‘Is it a daughter?

A voice that tickled her ears……, she thought.

That was probably the beginning of love for Odette.

Often, when Odette recalls her first meeting with Bliss, she laughs, not sure if she should call it ‘love at first sight’ or ‘love at first note’.

Odette was fortunate that Bliss Winston could not take his eyes off her, a sheep he fell in love with at first sight.

It was Odette’s good fortune that Bliss Winston could not take his eyes off her.

The occasional brush of their fingertips, the way Bliss looked at her, sometimes intensely, even when Odette was looking elsewhere…… grew her love.

I won’t deny that the nobleman’s well-learned bearing and handsome face played a part, too, and one day Odette found herself unable to contain her love, which had grown far greater than she had realised.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, ‘I know it’s rude of me to say this to the Duke, and I know it’s presumptuous.

‘…….’

‘But, but, but, what will my heart do if I don’t tell him? What do I do with a heart that swells…… and swells and swells and swells and feels like it’s going to suffocate me?’

Odette had always been honest with her feelings and had been brought up to be. She didn’t have much, but she had the courage to be honest with herself.

Therefore, she wanted to speak her mind.

Therefore, she dared to confess that she was in love with Bliss.

She grasped the hem of Bliss’s dress, bowed her head, and said over and over again with tears in her eyes.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry…….’

‘Wait, Miss Halona.

‘I love ……I love you, I dare say, Your Majesty.’

Little did I realize that the answer to that confession would be that he had a fiancée, with whom he had been in a relationship for several years.

‘You have a fiancée?

‘Yes. I’m probably going to marry her.

‘…….’

‘That’s why I can’t give in to Miss Halona’s wishes.

So Bliss’s eyes, Odette felt, were cold; surely there was no love in them? Were we not of the same mind, and did I not have a chance?

Odette was confused, but resignation was easy: growing up as the daughter of a commoner merchant with a lot of money, she was used to it.

Besides, she couldn’t hold on to a man who had a fiancée. Odette complied, and so she walked away.

The illusion of her first love was sweet, and her first heartbreak was bitter.

After that, Fabian and Bliss met again and again. A couple of times Odette had refused to go out with him, but the look of anger on his face had compelled her to do so.

Over the years, Odette had become a little thinner, a little more withered. She had even caused some concern. Bliss had noticed, too.

Bliss looked sadder than his own when he looked at the broken Odette. It was only a slight, slight blush, and it was Odette’s to deal with. …….

If it’s a miracle, it’s a miracle.

Bliss grabbed Odette in confusion, and it showed on her face that she hadn’t been able to control her impulse the moment she’d grabbed her.

Odette seemed a little angry, too.

‘Why, why do you give me false hopes?

‘……I, Miss Halona. I don’t know how to say this, but I am.

‘You have a fiancée.’

Bliss said then, looking rather as if she would cry herself. ‘Bliss Winston, in love with Odette Halona.

Bliss told Odette a few things. He has a fiancée, but it’s not a romantic relationship, it’s strictly contractual. He also told her they had no feelings for each other, just an understanding.

Odette didn’t believe him at first; she knew all too well the lies men who cheat on their wives often use. She thought he couldn’t possibly be doing it, but she was also far from convinced.

Perhaps if she hadn’t seen Winston’s fiancée standing near the duke, looking bored, she would never have taken his hand in eternity.

Bliss’s fiancée was very famous, no wonder she was called ‘the’ Moening.

She had a few labels attached to her.

Icy. Violent. Selfish. Arrogant. Dark Morning.

Odette thought that if she was like that, she couldn’t feel love for Bliss. She decided to believe Bliss, she wanted to.

I thought it would be okay to have Bliss’s love, even if it was for a season, just once.

***]

‘Don’t say anything, please!’

Odette cried out like a seizure. Bliss’s hand, reaching for Bianca, was blocked by Odette.

Odette’s face, which had been white, was now flushed red. Odette shook her head again and again and said to Bliss, ‘I’m going to go first.

It seemed he would have to be the first to intervene and shut her up. An uneasy feeling of foreboding tingled in her stomach as if there was no turning back.

Odette trusted her instincts.

‘No.

Odette wanted to defuse the situation quickly. Although her beautiful dress was ruined, she had plenty of spare dresses to change into.

She would attract attention, but that wasn’t the point. It was important to defuse the situation quicklyl.. It was important to put this ominous premonition to rest.

‘Please don’t say anything to the lady, Bliss. Please.’

Odette called out to Bliss again, her voice so thin she thought she might cry. She looked at Bianca as if mesmerized, then opened her mouth.

‘Odette.’

Her voice was low, revealing that she had been holding something back.

When Bliss called Odette’s name, Odette usually felt a surge of love, but this time it was a relief. The fact that she felt relief, not love, made her feel a little miserable.

Bianca’s face contorted oddly as she watched Odette and Bliss. Her nostrils flared.

She had never felt such contempt for them before.

She didn’t want to change her mind about the two of them. There was a small chance, a very small chance, that Odette might not be who Bianca thought she was.

But that was none of Bianca’s business.

Whatever their nature, whatever their love,…… Bianca felt insulted. Bianca had never been kind.

One day, love withers. It wears away and slips away like the sand in your hand.

Bliss and Odette, who had humiliated and degraded themselves with such feelings, for such a mere sentiment. That sentiment was all that remained to Bianca.

Bianca managed to keep her face from contorting and asked herself.

‘If I could slap Bliss Winston’s cheek one more time, would it make me feel better?

Bianca’s heart sank as if a vein had been cut. She realized it now.

The love that, until a few weeks ago, had caused her so much pain. The love she’d been harboring for Bliss for six years without realizing it.

But now Bianca realizes that she doesn’t have any love left in her for Bliss.

Even as she punched Bliss and tugged at Odette’s hair to vent her anger, the insult she felt wouldn’t go away. She was already a laughing stock.

‘……It’s not worth it.

It’s not worth anything.

Today, right now, at this very moment, Bliss had crushed whatever faint remnants of her regret remained in the mud. Therefore, Bianca no longer wanted to pay attention to them.

It would be a waste of her time and emotions. It was better to devote it to something else entirely.

Perhaps the social circles of Palborne will talk about it for a while. The tales of my smug, self-satisfied Mornings, the love-crazed fool Winston…… and the clueless Odette! The sort of gossip for mad dogs to chew on and enjoy.

Instead of slapping Bliss again, Bianca ran her tingling left hand through my hair.

Bianca’s face, which had contorted, looked like it was about to cry, and then contorted again, was now calm.

‘Your Grace, Duke Winston.’

The past six years had been such a waste.

If she had met someone else, she could have had a much better future. Why couldn’t time be reversed?

Such regrets briefly crossed Bianca’s mind. But instead of letting it show, she continued in an easygoing voice.

‘As your ex-fiancée.