𝐀 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 | 𝘌. 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘯

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐞: 𝐏𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝

┉ˏ͛ ༝̩̩̥͙ ⑅͚˚　　 ҉　　⑅͚˚ ͛༝̩̩̥͙ ˎ┉

Eloise sat on the couch in the drawing room, her book open on her lap, though it might as well have been a brick for all the attention she was giving it. The words on the page blurred together as her mind spun in circles, replaying the events of the previous day. The familiar knot of frustration and confusion tightened in her chest, and no amount of turning the pages seemed to ease it.

The servants had come and gone earlier, helping her dress for the day, but even that routine felt hollow. Nothing seemed to settle her. She sighed, flipping another page just to give her hands something to do, though she wasn't reading at all. Her thoughts kept slipping back to the same place, to the uncertainty that gnawed at her, and to the person who occupied far too much of her mind.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she barely noticed Colin's entrance, his familiar swagger breaking the silence of the room.

"Eloise."

She glanced up, irritation flashing in her eyes as she saw her brother standing in the doorway. Of course it had to be Colin. She could've managed to fend off anyone else, but Colin had a way of sticking around, of needling her until he got what he wanted.

"What now?" she muttered, slamming the book shut with a little too much force. "Come to plague me with your endless chatter, have you?"

Colin, completely unfazed by her tone, gave her a lopsided grin and sauntered into the room. "You know, it's funny you mention that, because it looks like you're the one who's been brooding in silence for far too long. Thought I'd come and see what's put you in such a delightful mood this morning."

"Brooding?" Eloise snapped, raising an eyebrow. "I'm reading, Colin. Perhaps you've heard of it-something you might want to try sometime."

"Oh, I'm quite familiar with reading," Colin replied, plopping himself down on the couch across from her. "Though I'm not sure it counts when you've been staring at the same page for the last hour."

Eloise groaned, her frustration bubbling over. "Can't a girl read in peace without being harassed by her brother? Or do you simply have nothing better to do?"

Colin raised his hands in mock surrender, though the grin never left his face. "I'm just concerned, Eloise. You've been stomping around the house like a storm cloud since yesterday, and it's starting to worry the servants. I figured I'd ask what's wrong before you scare anyone else off."

Eloise rolled her eyes, leaning back into the cushions. "I'm perfectly fine, Colin. Maybe it's you who needs to find something else to occupy your time."

He tilted his head, studying her with a look that was far too observant for her liking. "If you're fine, then why does it look like you want to throw that book across the room?"