The palace was quiet that night. Everyone was asleep. Everyone except Lydia.
She lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. Her pillow was wet from her tears, but she could not stop. No matter how much she tried, the tears kept falling.
Her chest felt heavy. Her eyes hurt. Her heart would not calm down. Over and over, she kept hearing his voice from earlier that night.
"I cannot abandon my child."
Those words cut through her like a knife. They broke her. They tore her into pieces because, to her, they only meant one thing.
He did not care about her. He never had.
Her son… their son… had died because he abandoned them. And yet here he was, saying he could not abandon another child.
Lydia pressed her hand against her mouth to stop her sobs, but it was useless. Her tears streamed endlessly.
