บท 109: People talk

''About that boy?" Elias raised an eyebrow. He held her hands gently, his thumb stroking the back of her palms, ''For someone who sent candies for you, who was curious about your likes and dislikes, who liked stealing glances, how could he grow apart from you that easily? Maybe all those years when you both were apart, he used to think of you as well. He used to imagine what it would be like to go back to you. But when he came back, you were no longer the same. Your younger self was just hidden somewhere beneath that aloof exterior you put so he was determined to win your heart once again. Maybe you were wrong all along?"

Marlene's eyes teared up. Growing up, she was taught to be a good daughter-in-law and a proper duchess, not a wife. And she did not realize when she was molded into it, when she became so aloof. ''I regretted it,'' a soft sob left her mouth, ''I regretted talking so harshly to you before I left the Kingdom with Esme and Arlan.''