A young woman stood outside, holding an umbrella as snow drifted down from the skies.
Her face was emotionless but her eyes, their blue depths, betrayed the hurt, the sorrow, the anguish which she hid from the rest of the world.
Her feet, adorned...
A young woman knelt on the ground, her eyes stared toward the wooden floors while silent tears dripped from them.
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She flinched when the voice of her mother-in-law sounded, her words were sharp.
"Three years; three years since you you were wed to my son. Yet my son has no heir, you have never even gotten pregnant. Are you a monster, SENT TO PUNISH OUR FAMILY? THE RESULTS ARE OUT!" The madame roared as her fist connected with the table.
"Mother, I, I..." The young woman pleaded, her blue eyes filled with humiliation.
"SILENCE! I DID NOT ASK YOU TO SPEAK!" Her mother in law screeched, almost alike a feral cat, before a ceramic cup hit the floor, shattering into pieces.
"My son is already twenty one. He has done well for himself, a good position in our Country's Government. As his wife, you had one duty, ONE DUTY! To give birth to healthy children, so that my son could have an heir. He is not young anymore; I have given you time, I have expended my patience, but to no avail. DO YOU SEE ANY OTHER MEN OUT THERE, WHO AT THIS AGE ARE STILL CHILDLESS?"
The young woman closed her eyes, her forehead touched the cold floors of the mansion before she was backhanded off balance, and a red mark started to form on her cheek.
"You are simply useless." The madame spat toward her before closing a window.
"I suppose you know how lucky you are to have married my son, when so many, of much higher status also wanted to become his wife. Yet for some reason which evades me, he chose you, a woman of no special talent, nor are you an outstanding beauty. YOU CAN NOT EVEN BEAR CHILDREN!"
The older woman knelt down, one bejeweled hand lifting the younger woman by the hair, ignoring her winces of pain.
"My patience is gone. I give you two choices, if you try to take another path, I will make sure you are hanging from the rafters by morning. Do you understand?"
Blue eyes flickered up, enlarged by fear and pain, glistening with wet tears, yet to fall.
"Leave this family of which you do not belong to, and never have. I will give you enough wealth to sustain yourself for the rest of your days. Or, step away from my son's side, and allow me to choose concubines for him. When they bear heirs, you shall adopt them and raise them as your own."
The young woman's lips quivered while her body trembled, her hands clutched at the madame's fist before she shook her head.
Her body hit the side table, the air was knocked from her lungs, and her hair had been nearly ripped out when her mother-in-law had half thrown and half pushed her.
She curled into a ball, her arms hiding her face and protecting her head.
"MOTHER WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" The voice of a young man echoed throughout the room before her husband stormed in, his black hair was loose, he had likely rushed to his mother's chambers without even waiting to be properly dressed by the servants, he was still in his night robes.
His mother's sharp gray gaze flickered toward him before she spoke in reply, "Three years ago, you married this woman, against the wishes of your elders, this woman comes from a family with a status that is barely above one of a commoner, she doesn't possess any extraordinary talent nor looks, but for some reason, which keeps eluding me, you took this woman as your wife. Yet three years have passed and you do not have an heir, as your mother all my actions are for your good, all my actions are done for the wellbeing of THIS FAMILY!"
"MY WELLBEING? MY WELLBEING? YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR ME! I DO NOT MIND IF I POSSESS NO HEIR! AIRI IS MY WIFE, THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, AND YOUR DAUGHTER-IN-LAW! FOR MY WELLBEING AND THE GOOD OF THE FAMILY ACCEPT IT! SHE IS MY FAMILY, AND IF YOU DO NOT WANT HER TO BE YOUR FAMILY, YOU CAN DISOWN ME RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!" Her son roared, his grey eyes flashing with fury, while his wife looked on in horror at the situation before herself.
"A WITCH! SHE'S A WITCH!" His mother screamed, her fist clenching, "SHE HAS ENCHANTED YOU SO THAT SHE MAY LIVE IN LUXURY!"
The young woman tugged on her husband's haori in a desperate attempt to calm him down, even as she herself tried to drown out the hurtful words spewing from the mouth of her mother-in-law, the young man tried, breathing in deeply before opening his eyes again, gray eyes which flashed with hatred even as he spat out his final words.
"Mother, you are the witch, destroying this family and your son."
Turning away, he picked up his wife his eyes angrily observing the bruises visible on his wife's body, while he carried her away, ignoring the furious shouts of his mother behind him.
