I caught my breath seeing her there, standing just a few feet away from me.
She was more breathtaking than any description I wrote in my book.
Her hair, a soft platinum blonde, was loosely braided, a few strands slipping free and brushing against her face with the breeze. Her skin was pale, almost too pale, giving her that fragile, doll-like look, like she might break if handled too roughly.
She wore a simple blue dress, light and flowing without all the heavy layers or embroidery most noblewomen preferred. It suited her, though. She didn't look like a future Duchess standing there, just… someone quiet, almost out of place in all this, but it was her eyes that froze me.
They were a pair of deep, hazel eyes, currently fixed on me with a look of quiet observation rather than the hatred I had expected.
"Selene," I breathed, the name feeling like a prayer and a confession all at once.
She didn't flinch at my presence. She didn't call for the guards. Instead, she took a small step forward, her gaze shifting from me to the wild flowers I had been admiring.
"Do you really think they are beautiful?" she asked, her voice tilting with a genuine curiosity. Before I could speak, she covered the distance between us. She then knelt in front of those flowers.
"My maids wanted to pull them up yesterday. They said they were an eyesore and a blemish on the Valmont reputation for perfection." She completed without looking at me. I stared at her, trying to figure out what was going on in her mind, until she met my eyes.
I found my voice, though it felt small and raspy, "Well, my lady, I meant Perfection is boring. It's a lie we tell each other so we don't have to admit how messy life is. These... they survive on their own. That's a different kind of beauty. A stronger one."
Selene's lips parted slightly, a tiny flicker of a smile touching the corners of her mouth. It wasn't the practiced, regal smile she wore at balls. It was something personal.
"Stronger beauty," she mused, as if tasting those words on her tongue. The woman I was accused of trying to kill was within arm's reach. "That is an unusual sentiment coming from you, Irene. I was told you considered any similarity between us an insult to your status."
I looked down at the flowers, then back at her, meeting those eyes with everything I had. "I think both of us have been told a lot of things about each other that aren't true, my lady. People like to spin stories for us because it's easier than asking us who we actually are."
The silence that followed wasn't like the heavy, suffocating silence I had shared with Xander. This was a quiet space, a bubble in time. Selene looked at me, really looked at me, maybe searching for the "villainess" she had seen all this time.
"You're different today, Ms Irene. The air around you... it doesn't feel like ice anymore," she said softly. Tearing through our gaze, she again looked at those flowers dancing along the wind. I took in a deep breath, not knowing what feeling this was. This feeling, which was now overwhelming this fast.
"Maybe because I'm tired of freezing," I somehow replied, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.
Now, looking at her, I realized that my plan to "use" her for optics was only half the truth. I wanted to protect this woman. In a story full of monsters, she was the only light, and I was the only one who knew exactly how the darkness planned to snuff her out.
I said, dropping into a shallow, respectful curtsy. It was not as a social obligation, but as a genuine gesture. "Lady Selene, I know why you're here, and I know what people in this ton say, but if you'll allow it... I would like to tell you my own story. Not the one the gossip wrote, but truly mine."
Selene watched me for a long beat, the shadows of the willow tree dancing across her face. Then, she reached out a slender hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"The sun is setting," Selene stated, her eyes tracing the setting sun through the trees.
She began to stand, her movements so fluid and graceful that it felt like watching a painting come to life. My heart sank.
That was it. The window was closing, and I had barely even managed to say hello before she was already making her exit.
A wave of genuine disappointment washed over me. I had built up so much courage for this, and now I was just going to be left standing in the dirt with my wild flowers while she went back to her world of silk and safety.
I started to shift my weight, preparing to give a stiff, formal goodbye. The kind of see you later that actually means never, that's when she paused.
She didn't walk away. Instead, she turned her head back toward me, a small, thoughtful smile tugging at her lips.
"The tea in my pavilion is likely getting cold by now, but... I find I am suddenly very interested in hearing a story that hasn't been edited by someone or some gossip columnist," she continued, her voice soft but steady.
I froze. The disappointment snapped into a sharp, electric jolt of hope.
She tilted her head, watching me with those calm hazel eyes. "I would like to hear your version, Irene. Should I call you by your first name?"
I nodded quickly and replied, "Yes, my lady."
She tilted her head, inviting me with a subtle grace. "In that case, you can also call me by my name. Will you walk with me now, Irene?"
I felt a surge of triumph, tempered by a heavy sense of responsibility. "Yes, my...I meant Selene," I said, stepping up beside her.
As we began to walk, side by side, toward the distant pavilion, I realized the beast wasn't the only thing I had to worry about. I was rewriting the script in real-time, and for the first time since I woke up in this body, I felt like I wasn't just a side character.