The Duke's Passion

Chapter 757  The night of the regression

[ Flashback: The night of the regression ]

Florence was fuming as soon as she reached her chambers, still clutching her skirt tightly. A loud shriek escaped her mouth as she recalled the humiliation she had met tonight. All her life, Florence had been the good girl. Despite being a young princess, she was always mindful of her reputation. She would put up a smile even when her feet were bleeding with the heels she was wearing. Her smile would never leave her face in every banquet, and no amount of inner turmoil could take it off. Even as the Empress of this great empire, Florence never showed the slightest vulnerability. Her emperor had broken her heart many times; every time Rufus would look at Silvia, a piece of her heart would fall. Yet, no one knew about it. However, the audacity of that butler! "How dare he defile me?" her voice shook as her entire body trembled in anger. Florence bit her lower lip to numb the lingering sensation Fabian left.

"Ughh!!!" Florence stomped her feet towards the bed and threw herself on it. She reached for the pillow, burying her face to muffle her screams. She had been angry before, but not to this extent that she wanted to explode. Perhaps it was also because of the piled-up anger towards the emperor, Rufus, and Fabian's shamelessness was simply the last straw. Either way, Florence felt like exploding. She wanted to detonate for real. "Hah…!" she breathed out, peeling her face from the pillow to breathe. Her face contorted as her eyes felt hot, while tears formed in the corner of her eyes.

"How dare they…" her voice cracked, clutching the pillow. "Why are they so cruel?"

Florence had suffered emotionally during her entire marriage with Rufus. She did everything she could; she did her best but to no avail. Even though Rufus was overall kind and considerate to her, Florence simply wished to gain his affection. They were husband and wife, after all. They didn't have any dispute in this political marriage and there were many reasons for them to try. However, even though Florence was willing, Rufus wasn't. His heart was shut and the most painful of all was that Florence would always catch him staring at another woman lovingly. She might've turned a blind eye or she could've turned mean to Silvia, but she couldn't. Silvia was a wonderful lady and Florence couldn't blame her if the emperor was in love with her. The only consolation Florence had was that she knew the emperor was suffering just as great as her. After all, no matter how deep Rufus' love for Silvia was, Silvia was married and in love with another man. They were both miserable in this marriage. Still, they could've prevented it. If only Rufus knew how to let go and tried his best to look in Florence's way, they might actually become happy. Sadly, Rufus didn't and Florence couldn't force him. A tear rolled across her nose bridge, chewing her lower lip. 'That's right…' she thought. 'What did I expect?'

Florence sniffed hard as she allowed her tears to overflow from her eyes. The anger she felt for Fabian, who kissed her without consent, wasn't what truly disappoint her. It was Rufus' reaction. "He's right…" came out a shaking voice, recalling Fabian's advice. "... he's a bad husband. It's a good thing I mustered my courage to propose a divorce."

Deep in her heart, she wished the divorce process would soon be over. Since Rufus and Florence had a good relationship as partners, she was certain Rufus wouldn't mind letting her return to Karo. Florence cried silently for the next hours until her eyes were puffy. She didn't know how long she had been crying, as the night was usually long for her. All she could tell herself was that everything would be fine soon. She wouldn't hurt anymore and once she divorced, she would be free.

She might not meet a man who would accept her, but what was important for her was to stay away from Rufus. Even though she loved him, she wanted to leave him. She couldn't stay in this place longer. Knock! Knock!

Florence flinched when she suddenly heard a knock on the door. Widening her swollen eyes, she pushed herself to sit upright. "Your Highness, it is I… returning after your orders…"

She sniffed hard as she raised her brows, hearing her servant from the other side of the door. Because of all the crying all night, Florence took a minute to recall what sort of order she had given this servant. When she realized what it was, she hastily flung her legs out of the bed. Standing in front of the shut door, Florence cleared her throat. She opened the door slightly, slipping her hand. Follow current s on N(o)vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.nᴇt

"Hand it over," she ordered with a coarse voice, embarrassed to present herself in front of the servant in such a wrecked state. "Your Majesty, are you alright?" asked the maid, warranting an irritated response from the empress.

"Just hand it over!" Florence's breath hitched upon realizing she raised her voice. "Just… give it to me and don't bother me anymore."

The servant worriedly gazed at Florence's hand and sighed. Being the empress's maid for years, she already knew that the empress disliked showing her vulnerability. And that crying was considered one. "Your Majesty, we received a letter earlier than expected. It came from your friend in Karo. It seemed it was sent days before you sent your letter," reported the maid as she placed the letter that was meant for the empress. "If you need anything, I will be right outside."

"No need," was what Florence said, closing the door as soon as she clasped the letter. Florence rested her back against the door, biting her lower lip, holding the letter tightly. A deep exhale slipped past her lips, gazing down while raising the letter in her hand. "A letter…" she whispered. "... right. I thought it was a response to my previous letter regarding the divorce. But it seemed a letter from Karo was on its way before I sent mine."

Another deep exhale slipped past Florence's lips, hoping this letter from Karo wasn't bad news. She would feel terrible if the letter was a bad one, and then her letter would arrive in her home country, only to know she was divorcing the emperor. Little did Florence know, the letter wasn't just bad news. It was horrible to the core.

------ A/N:  THIS IS FLORENCE PERSPECTIVE ON THE NIGHT OF THE REGRESSION. IF YOU NEED A REFERENCE, READ CH 646 TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY OF WHAT HAPPENED.