Not Everyone Was Happy
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LYRA HEARD ABOUT THE courtship announcement while shopping for more makeup. She was in the lower market, the sketchy part where they didn't ask questions, negotiating with a merchant who sold "specialty cosmetics" when someone mentioned it casually.
"Did you hear? The Marshall and that pun farm girl are courting. Official announcement yesterday."
Her hands clenched on the vial she was examining.
"Really going all out for her, isn't he?" another voice said. "Walking through the market hand-in-hand, introducing her as his intended. Never seen Jin so open about his feelings."
Lyra's vision blurred at the edges.
Jin, going public. Making declarations. Being open.
He'd never been like that with anyone. Not even close.
And Viktor... She'd seen Viktor at the market too. Seen him approach them, congratulate them, smile that charming smile. Then she'd seen him ride out to the pun farm that evening. Alone. Staying for nearly an hour.
He was still trying, pursuing Wren. Working harder for that girl than he'd ever worked for Lyra in two years.
"I'll take three vials," she told the merchant, her voice shaking. "No, four. And do you have anything stronger?"
The merchant's eyes narrowed. "How strong?"
"Strong enough that the effects last all day."
"That'll cost you. And you'll need more of it, more often. The stronger formulas are more addictive."
"I don't care. I need it." She paid too much. She knew she was paying too much. But she couldn't go out looking like this—haggard, desperate, old.
At home, she applied the new formula. The transformation was immediate and dramatic. Her skin glowed, flawless and luminous. Lines vanished. She looked twenty again.
Perfect.
She looked at her reflection and tried to feel triumphant. Instead, she felt hollow.
Viktor had never looked at her the way Jin looked at Wren. Had never walked through the market holding her hand, proudly declaring his intentions.
She'd been a placeholder. A convenient partner with useful magic and decent connections. But the moment someone better came along—someone with land and power—he'd discarded her without a second thought.
Two years wasted. And now she was in debt, addicted to expensive makeup that was getting harder to find, and watching everyone else get their happy endings.
The rage that had been simmering for weeks boiled over. If she couldn't have happiness, why should they?