Stolen Life, Broken Vows

Going In Blind

Isella… she thought, turning over the name in her head while the maid assisted her into the room. That’s a pretty name… I wouldn’t mind being called ‘Isella’ while I’m here. No one will ever call me by my real name in this world anyway.

Heart pounding a little, Isella was carefully helped into the chair reserved for her. Everyone else was silent as they looked on, so she took that moment to give them a quick study in return.

At the head of the table was a handsome older man of around fifty. He had graying brown hair and intense blue eyes, and judging from his close resemblance to the face she had memorized in the mirror earlier, he could only be her father.

To his right was an auburn-haired woman in her early forties. Her olive green eyes were inherited by the brown-haired teenage boy beside her, while the even younger girl opposite him was almost her exact copy.

Aside from her father, Isella didn’t look anything like the rest of this family—especially the woman, who was on the plainer side. There also seemed to be a considerable age gap between her and the second child, who looked to be around seventeen. Isella had placed her age earlier to be in the early twenties.

Putting all these clues together, that must mean she was a child from the man’s previous marriage. His first wife had probably died young because that’s the way these things usually went, but it could also be that they’d divorced—or that Isella was an illegitimate child brought into the household. Right now, she simply couldn’t be sure.

“How good of you to join us,” the older woman said the moment Isella was settled in her seat. Her tone was civil enough, but there was no affection in it, solidifying Isella’s suspicion that she wasn’t her birth mother. “We’ve so missed your company these past several days.”

Before Isella could consider how to answer her, she saw her father give the woman a warning glance. That confirmed that she wasn’t just imagining the sarcasm.

He then turned to her and asked gently, “How are you feeling now, my child? You didn’t have to force yourself to join us if you’re still too unwell.”

By that, she guessed that she had been sick before or was pretending to be. Either way, her asking to be assisted to the dining room must have inadvertently made it look more or less true to the others.

She felt sorry for worrying the older man, who seemed genuinely concerned. Aside from a persistent pelvic discomfort, easily dismissed because it was such a familiar one, she hadn’t been feeling sick at all.

She smiled at him and answered, “There’s no need to worry, Father. I’ve already made a full recovery. I only asked for assistance because I was feeling too weak from hunger.”

As she was saying that last part, she realized it was true. She now felt so hungry that she could probably eat everything on the table—including the more unfamiliar dishes.

At the back of her mind, she marveled at herself for even having an appetite amid all this craziness. It goes to show that in most situations, all the body wanted was just to stay alive.

Distracted by her thoughts and the spread of food before her, Isella belatedly noticed that everyone had gone quiet. She looked up to find them all staring at her like she had done something strange.

She realized immediately that she must have done. Was she not on good terms with her father?

In the next moment, she decided it didn’t matter. Her father was so touched by her “strange” behavior, he was nearly in tears as he smiled back at her.

“I see,” he replied, still smiling. “That’s good.” Shocking everyone further, he proceeded to serve Isella food himself. “Have some of this soup first. It’s light and easy on the stomach.”

“Th… Thank you, Father…” Isella said. She was used to keeping her cool in most situations, but now that she was being showered with affection, she was as clueless as the others on how to take it in.

For him to be this happy just because his elder daughter was speaking to him politely—or perhaps at all…

You’re one of ‘my’ victims, too, aren’t you? she thought, feeling bad for him. It seems it wasn’t only the servants I didn’t treat well before.

“You must have your fill today,” her father continued as he pushed more food towards her. “You have lost so much weight since I last saw you, it’s quite worrying.”

Relieved that her mistake had led to a good result, Isella did as she was told and ate her fill of the food—all of which turned out to be delicious. Since this was by order of the most powerful person among them, she could be excused for being too busy to join the conversation that eventually resumed. Still, she was careful to copy the others’ table manners while also learning whatever she could about them.

The teens were doing most of the talking, so Isella gathered that the boy was only home on break from his academy and the girl was not yet “out” in society. As she was only sixteen, it seemed understandable that she was still considered a child by most. But the girl lamented that she was the only one among her friends who was yet to make her debut. She was heartbroken at having to wait longer to wear beautiful full-length dresses and attend grown-up events.

“My dear girl,” their father said in a tired but patient tone. “To debut means to accept suits for your hand in marriage. As you are too young yet to wed, it makes little sense for you to debut so soon.”

“But Father, I really don’t plan to—”

“Sylvia,” her mother called from across the table. “Your father has already made a great compromise by allowing you to debut next year instead of in two years. Please keep that in mind and behave accordingly.”

“Oh… Yes, Mother,” Sylvia responded, sounding more like a lady and less like a child after being firmly told off. Or perhaps it was the veiled warning that her debut could be postponed even further that did the trick. “I’m sorry, Father. I promise I won’t complain anymore.”

The older man only nodded, but the expression in his eyes looked extremely sad. Isella thought it was just the normal sadness a parent felt at the prospect of parting with their children, but when he glanced at her next and then quickly averted his gaze as if in shame, she didn’t know what to make of it. She became even more confused when she saw her stepmother looking at him in sympathy before turning to her with a condemning expression in her eyes.

What’s this about? she thought, feeling completely lost. I’m starting to think going in blind was a bad idea…

For a moment, it seemed the woman was waiting for a particular response from her. When it didn’t come, she frowned in confusion and commented, “It appears our dear Isella has grown more mature in the time she’d spent recuperating. Truly…” The woman’s eyes went from the empty plates in front of Isella and then to her body. Her gaze lingered for a moment on her midsection before lifting to her face. There was now a hint of concern in her expression as she continued, “I am happy to see the positive changes.”

Just as Isella was trying to figure out if she was subtly being criticized for eating too much, her brother cut in, “I bet it’s because she is to be wed soon.”

Sylvia gasped and covered her mouth in delight. “She is?”

Meanwhile, their father was looking at him in shock.

The oblivious boy continued, “She knows she can’t keep acting like she used to or His Grace will—”

“Silence, Ansel,” their father said, suddenly all stern after recovering from his surprise. “I do not know where you heard that from, but you should not speak of matters that have not yet been decided as if they were true.”

“But Mother said—”

The older man looked sharply at his wife, as did Isella.

Suddenly put on the spot, the woman seemed rattled for a moment. But she quickly squared herself and even let her frustration show as she told her husband, “With all due respect, my lord, it has been decided. It has already been decided years ago, and now it needs to be honored.” She turned towards Isella, obviously addressing the next words to her. “We simply cannot put this off any longer.”

Isella swallowed. If not for her need to look like she wasn’t learning all of this in real time, she would have already jumped to her feet and asked “What?” several times over.

Because seriously, what the hell was this? “She” was getting married soon? And it was already a done deal that she couldn’t worm her way out of anymore?