Shattered Glass

6- Waking Up Next to The Duke

William wakes up early for his birthday. His wife is still sleeping next to him peacefully. He snuggle next to her, hugging her from behind. He pulls the bed cover over them, trying to shield the cold air.

Who would have known that happiness is this simple.

"Good morning." He places a quick kiss on her lip as she wakes up.

"Morning."

The manor is busy that day, they even hire more servants to prepare for the party later at night.

The day went by quickly, right now the sun has sets and they are ready to welcome the first round of guests.

William has bought a matching maroon outfit for Bree and him. He smiles softly when he sees her come out of the bathroom, taking her hand and leafing get to the main party room.

_______

The lively atmosphere gets even livelier when the guests feasts on the small bites. The servants are busy serving with a big silver tray on their hands.

Maria is standing there anxiously, she can see the duke from across the room. Christ is standing not far from her, nodding.

Maria takes a big sip of the wine on her hand, still debating whether she should be part of this poisoning mission or not.

"Will, meet my friend, Maria."

"Nice to meet you." Maria says bitterly.

"My pleasure."

"By the way, Maria is a very great pianist. She has had many upscale concerts."

Will smiles supportively. "That is great Maria, you must be very talented."

"Oh Will, let me take you a glass of wine. Wait here with Maria, I will be back shortly."

The mission has officially started.

Maria looks at the couple, shaking her head. She sees Bree leaves in a hurry to meet Christ, and when she walks pass the small gaps between the tables, Will is covering the edges with his hand in reflex. Protecting her from hurting herself.

The sweet tiny gestures, she can see that he truly cares about her.

"Happy birthday duke. The party is lively and inclusive. I am very happy to get an invite." Maria starts the small talk.

He smiles kindly at the woman. "You are my wife's friend, of course you should come."

"I am always curious, how did you meet the duchess?"

"Oh!" He chuckles bashfully. "We grew up together, I have known her since essentially forever!"

Maria can see the love in his eyes. She really don't understand why the duchess wants to harm her husband.

"There you go." Bree comes back with two glasses of red wine and hands one to her husband.

She then nods at Maria.

Once she received the signal, Maria takes a massive gulp of her drink.
______

William woke up feeling a little dizzy, maybe he drank too much wine yesterday. He can see his wife is sleeping next to him so he cuddles on her back trying to feel warmer in the cold winter morning. He closes his eyes and hugs her close.

Maria wakes up when the duke tighten his hug. She can feel his naked body on hers, but she is too afraid to move.

One hour.

Two hours.

Finally the duke let go of her, he seems to be completely awake now.

"Good morning love." He kisses her on the cheek. "I don't now why my head is still hurting..." he massaged his temple.

Maria is stunned, has he not realized that she is not Bree? But now that she knows he doesn't realized, she is thinking to herself,

is this how he treats the duchess every morning? With a warm hug and loving words? 

She shakes her head, not understanding the duchess decision. If it was her, she will surely treasure a man like this. The duke is very good looking and successful, busy most importantly, he loves the duchess dearly. It's a guy that can have any woman he wants yet he always chooses her.

Maria took a deep breath. "Um, duke?" She calls timidly.

"Huh?" He looks at the origin of the unfamiliar voice.

Maria can see the horror and the shock on his face when he looks at her.

"W-who? W-why? He tries to cover himself. "Where is my wife?! Who are you?! Why are you here?!" He berated her with questions in panic.

Maria just sits there, not answering. She takes a deep breath. Why should she be involved in this mess.

He is so loyal that it does not even cross his mind that it could be any other woman next to him. It has always been Bree, how could it not be her?

Now that Maria thinks about it, could it be the duchess made up a whole fake sad story because she wants to be with Christ?

Maria feels so embarrassed of herself. Why did she agrees to team up with the duchess, she is clearly the bad guy here.