XIV
Lennox Hawthorne knew what true love looked like. He saw it when he walked down the halls of his palace, when he would sneak off to the city without permission, and when his friends would speak about their parents. That was how he knew his parents didn't love each other.
Well, that was half true. Miranda loved his father more than anything.
But Edric's heart had no room for love. Edric taught Lennox from birth that it was the responsibility of a King to give his people a Queen, and it was also his responsibility to take care of her.
But outside of that, Edric didn't do much else.
Miranda wore the finest silks, jewels, and lived in a palace.
She could live a life of luxury. But the thing she wanted most, true love, was not afforded to her.
They talked for the first time at a society function, mere months after Edric had turned 25.
Being the daughter of a Baron, her life had completely changed when she became the Queen of Renetia.
Miranda admired Edric. I mean, what woman didn't?
Edric had the most stunning blue eyes, blond hair, and tan skin.
He was the envy of all men, intelligent, attractive, and powerful.
But perhaps his only quality that Miranda did not like was the fact that he was a womanizer.
Women flocked to him everywhere he went.
At every society function, he could be seen dancing with a new woman, engrossed in deep conversation, or shamelessly flirting.
And yet, throughout all the years, he had never once looked Miranda's way.
So when the Renetian star appeared on Miranda's 25th birthday, she was overjoyed.
The man she had admired from the sidelines was destined to be with her.
He would finally look at her. But, when their families met to celebrate this union, Edric's gaze felt as though it went through her.
As if he was staring at Duchess Edison right behind her.
But that couldn't be right. She had been married to Duke Edison for well over a year by then.
It was a known fact among noble gossip that the Prince and Duchess had been romantically involved over the years, but that had all ended when the Duchess's mark appeared, and she was quickly married. Things had ended amicably between them.
But feelings like those tended to linger.
Throughout their marriage, Miranda could feel Edric's gaze wandering.
Even on the day of her wedding, when she walked down the aisle, she couldn't help but get the sense that when he looked at her, he didn't really see her.
And the way the Duchess left in the middle of the ceremony, unable to watch, all the more proved that to her.
When he slid the ring on her finger, she did not smile. The light inside of her extinguished that day.
From that day on, the only joy in her life came from her children.
She had given birth to a healthy baby girl.
While she had the most stunning head of blonde hair, courtesy of Edric, Miranda wept when she looked into the eyes of her daughter.
She had the same golden eyes as her. Anastasia.
Anastasia Hawthorne was her name. She made a prayer to the Goddess Irene to spare her daughter from the pain she had to endure.
It was obvious to everyone that Edric was disappointed when he found out that his firstborn was a girl. In Renetia, only men could ascend the throne. So when Lennox was born 3 years later, it was the first time in their 5 years of marriage that Edric smiled at her. A real, true smile
If you were to look up troublemakers in the dictionary, Anastasia and Lennox's picture would show up.
As they grew older, they became more rebellious and would encourage each other to break the rules.
Constantly sneaking off to the city, ditching their lessons, and causing disasters wherever they went. It tired the palace staff to no end.
They sat on the patio of a restaurant in the city, cloaks shielding their identities.
"Do you think we're going to grow apart when we get older?" Lennox asked.
Anastasia flung a pea off her plate that smacked Lennox in the face. "Pfft, I doubt it. You're always gonna be a brat, and I'm the only person who knows you would sneak into my bed until you were 8."
Lennox kicked her under the table. "I DID NOT!"
"DID TOO!"
The people sitting around them scowled at the two cloaked figures who had broken out into a fight.
This would end up being one of the last times the two of them would be able to sneak off. When Lennox turned 13, his father became more controlling and strict. He was now a man, after all. He would be closely monitored by his personal guard and was kept under lock and key.
Every day looked the same. Wake up, attend class, have lunch, attend class, have dinner, go to sleep. There would be occasional events where Lennox would be able to spend time with the other children of nobility. But he always felt somewhat detached from everyone else. He had to hold himself apart.
And in came Evangeline Edison. He ran into her in Viscount Orlowe's garden, where she sat on a bench smoking a cigarette.
She noticed him staring at her and scoffed. "Take a photograph, it'll last longer."
"I apologize, I didn't mean to stare," Lennox said, surprised she had noticed him when she had her back to him.
"You want one?" she pulled a pack out and held it in front of him.
He scrunched his face at the offer. "No, I'm quite alright."
Evangeline shrugged her shoulders. "You never know, all it takes is one shitty thing to happen to you and suddenly inhaling smoke doesn't seem so bad."
Lennox nodded. "Well, when that happens, I'll know who to look for."
She let out a laugh and turned to face him. "Is that right?"
The two of them smiled at each other. Evangeline shuffled to make room for Lennox and patted the space beside her.
A friendship was born that day. While Lennox tried his best to be the responsible figure in their friendship, Evangeline was always able to pull his former self out of him.
Whenever he would visit the Edison Manor, the two would always have some sort of plan on how to sneak away without being noticed.
And when people began to assume their relationship had turned romantic, neither attempted to correct them.
People often gave them more privacy if they thought they were a couple.
But even if they weren't actually in a relationship, that didn't mean feelings didn't blossom between them. Lingering touches, whispered words in the night, smiles from across the room. There was something unspoken there. Something that had so much potential.
A spark that would never have time to burn into a true flame.
Because the moment Lady Calypso bumped into him, something had shifted. Like the final piece of a puzzle that clicked into place. The thing that completed the picture of his life.
So when he saw her in the crowd, crouched and face contorted in pain, he felt his heart pang watching her suffer. He wanted nothing more than to yell at all the Healers to run and help her. Every single one of them. Even that insolent Lenorian if it meant her pain went away.
And his eyes continued to follow her as she ran to the grand hall doors.
So when her eyes connected with his, he felt his heart stop.
Her tear-filled eyes, her flushed cheeks, and her quivering lips made him realize anything he had ever felt for another woman paled in comparison.
The woman in front of him was like a painting that spoke to his soul.
A piece of art that he could not pull his eyes away from.
So when her neck was revealed for the faintest of seconds, he did not miss the all too familiar mark that was sprawled across it. And suddenly, everything made sense.
She was his.
She was made for him.
The stars had aligned perfectly to allow them to meet on such a beautiful night. She was the perfect gift on this day, celebrating him. And he wanted nothing more than to unwrap her and see her very soul.
But when she ran out of the ballroom, he could do nothing to stop her. Because while his mind was running at a million kilometres an hour, his body remained frozen from shock. And when an explosion erupted in the very room he was in, all he could think was how glad he was that she had left.