Chapter 58
Hearing Theoās words, Lorenciaās expression became more serious. She thought back carefully.
“ā¦So, they talked about divorce.”
She never imagined the Duke and Duchessās relationship was that bad. Of course, Janice had said that there was plenty of room for her to step in.
“Anyway, since my brother and Charles are too busy, Iāll read books and help out. Stephanie will read, but if there are any difficult words, the teacher can explain them!”
Snapping out of her thoughts, Lorencia smiled brightly.
“Alright, letās do that.”
Theo nodded confidently. Seeing him, a spark lit up in Lorenciaās eyes.
It had been a long time since she felt a sense of excitement in life. She had come to the North relying only on Janice, but so far, she had accomplished nothing.
She was getting frustrated.
But now, hearing that the Duke and Duchess werenāt getting alongā¦
Lorencia swallowed hard and thought of Cassius, who was breathtakingly handsome.
According to her original plan, he should have already been her husband. Since fate twisted, he must be struggling with his wife.
Besides, according to Janice, that woman couldnāt even have children.
“Then, I should have the child first, shouldnāt I?”
Lorencia smirked. There were always ways to get what you wanted.
She started to dream of the fastest way to become the Duchess.
“The Duke is still a man. He must need a woman.”
If they were already discussing divorce, there was no way the couple shared a bedroom. According to Janice, their intimate relationship had always been rare. By now, it must have completely stopped.
Lorenciaās lips curled into a sly smile.
“If an opportunity comes, I have to take it.”
***
During Dinner
“Teo, stop picking out the carrots. Stephanie, did you just throw a pea on the floor?”
Raising kids naturally made me nag more than I expected.
The children I took in as my own were being picky eaters.
“Uuuuuu.”
“Yuck! Stephanie is a dragon. Dragons are carnivores!”
“The doctor said something recently. Stephanie is constipated because she doesnāt eat enough vegetables.”
“Uuuuuu!”
Stephanie and Theo protested.
“Eat properly. If you keep this up, no snacks. And I already heard from Luna what you both ate outside.”
“ā¦Traitor!”
“I told you humans couldnāt be trusted! Luna, Iām disappointed!”
Sigh. These little troublemakers.
“Enough.”
Finally, Cassius spoke in a warning tone.
As soon as he locked eyes with Theo and Stephanie, their rebellion died down.
Even though Stephanie was a dragon, she was still just a hatchling. She couldnāt win against Cassius.
And Theo had always been weak against his older brother.
“If you disobey Charlotte or talk back again, you will face consequences.”
Theo and Stephanie widened their eyes in shock.
Yeah, they shouldāve listened before Cassius had to step in.
“C-Consequences?”
“Whatās that, scary human?!”
“No snacks. No cake. No juice.”
Theo and Stephanie looked like their world had just collapsed.
Of course. How could kids live without sweets?
Suddenly, they started eating the vegetables they had pushed aside.
“All done!”
“Me too, brother!”
The kids opened their mouths wide to prove they had swallowed everything.
Cassius smiled at them.
They were just too adorable.
Resting his chin on his hand, he added more food to their plates.
By the time dinner was nearly finished, Theo and Stephanieās stomachs were round and full.
After getting down from his chair first, Theo said,
“Letās have dessert together!”
“Dessert sounds great!”
“Alright. You both ate well, so you can have it. But next time, you mustā”
“Cassius?”
Thatās enough. He really could be so strict.
Cassius met my gaze and immediately shut his mouth.
As always, he listened to me the most.
Looking into his eyes made my heart tingle.
He was unbelievably handsome.
With that deep, melancholic gaze, even a woman with a heart of ice would end up falling for him.
Theo and Stephanieās dessert was soon set up in the sunroom.
As I watched them laugh and eat happily, it felt like the perfect, peaceful evening.
It was almost enough to make me forget everything that had happened at the beach not long ago.
***
Suddenly, Theo cleared his throat dramatically.
Then, he looked back and forth between me and Cassius before asking,
“Do you two have pet names for each other?”
“Pet names?”
Cassius raised an eyebrow.
“Happy couples have pet names for each other.”
“What are you talking about, Theo?”
We werenāt even a happy couple to begin with.
“Pet names, huhā¦”
“I have a list of suggestions.”
Stephanie, with cream all over her mouth, chimed in.
“‘Darling,’ ‘Honey,’ ‘Dear.’ These are basic ones. More like formal titles, but lots of couples use them.”
“And there are more! What was it again?”
Theo turned to Stephanie.
“Many couples also use nicknames based on names. For example, shortening āCassiusā to āSis.ā”
“ā¦Sis?”
That sounded ridiculously cute.
Cassius let out a small laugh. It definitely didnāt suit him.
“And shortening āCharlotteā to āLili.ā”
That also sounded way too cute. It made my tongue curl just thinking about it.
“No.”
“No.”
Cassius and I rejected the idea at the same time.
Theo pouted.
āThere are other pet names too! Stephanie.ā
āIf those are too hard, you can use animal names instead. Like bunny, cat, puppy, bear, wolf, or even dragon.ā
Bunnyā¦ bearā¦? Just thinking about it gives me chills.
āā¦Do we really have to choose a pet name?ā
I questioned the whole idea. Cassius and I were doing just fine without one. Suddenly talking about āhappy couplesā and insisting on pet names seemed unnecessary.
I liked my own name just fine, kids.
āNo! You have to be a happy couple!ā
Theo insisted firmly.
āIf youāre not a happy couple, you get divorced. Cassius and Charlotte are trying to divorce because they arenāt happy.ā
āā¦Divorce? Weāre not getting a divorce, Stephanie.ā
āBut Theo said he heard it!ā
āTheo, I told you. Weāre not getting divorced.ā
I had a feeling I knew how this all started.
Theo must have overheard my conversation with Cassius last night.
That was enough to make a child anxious.
āā¦Once a marriage is broken, it takes a long time to fix.ā
Wellā¦ that was true.
But actually, our marriage was never ābrokenā to begin with.
Because we werenāt a normal married couple in the first place.
That thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Cassius must have kept me by his side because he needed meāfor Theo, for the people who liked me.
There was also his guilt over how I had healed Theo and how I had nearly ruined my own body in the process.
As for why I stayedā¦
It was because I wanted to stay.
I didnāt want to leave.
Here, I had people I cared aboutāpeople I could see anytime.
The more I gave them my affection, the more they gave theirs in return.
I had never had a place this warm before, and leaving felt impossible.
And Cassiusā¦ he was one of the reasons I wanted to stay.
Because whenever I looked at him, my heart fluttered.
And I liked that feeling.
How was I supposed to explain all of this to Theo?
āIām not leaving, Theoāā
But then I saw Theoās big, round eyes filled with tears.
I understood immediately.
No matter what we said, he wouldnāt believe us.
āā¦Fine. Letās go with an animal name.ā
Cassius suddenly spoke.
āHow about bunny, Charlotte?ā
I flinched.
āBunny.ā
W-What?!
Has he lost his mind?!
