Binding Fate: Betrothed to the Otherworldly Duke

Chapter 30: Into the Woods

I felt the warm sunlight across my face as I sat near the window, pushing aside the remnants of my breakfast, my stomach protesting the generous portions Kat had insisted I consume. The castle bustled with an unspoken tension that prickled at the edges of my awareness, a shift in the very air since I'd awoken from my latest fainting spell.

"My lady, perhaps another scone?" Kat hovered at my elbow, her brow creased with concern.

"No, thank you. I fear if I eat another bite, I may burst."

Kat's frown deepened, but she mercifully withdrew. I sighed, the weight of her constant fussing settling on my shoulders like a heavy cloak. It had been nearly a week since my collapse, and the castle staff seemed determined to treat me as if I were made of spun glass, ready to shatter at the slightest provocation.

Stranger than the staff's new treatment of me, Mikhail had suddenly begun to avoid me. Each time I approached his study or sought him out in the gardens, his staff politely but firmly rejected me. "His Grace is presently indisposed," they'd say, or "The Duke cannot be disturbed."

In the beginning, it felt like bad timing. Now, it felt personal.

I pushed back from the table, my skirts swishing as I strode towards the door. Kat's eyes widened in alarm. "My lady, where are you going?"

"For a walk," I tossed over my shoulder, determined to escape the suffocating confines of my chambers. "I fear if I remain here any longer, I may go mad."

The castle corridors stretched before me, a labyrinth of stone and shadow. Belmont's red hair caught my eye as he rounded a corner, and I quickened my pace to catch up.

"Lord Belmont!"

His steps faltered, his shoulders stiffening before he turned to face me.

"Lady Samara." His usually playful smile was strained, his emerald eyes darting away from mine.

"Might I have a word?" I asked, my heart sinking at his obvious discomfort.

"Forgive me, my lady, but I fear I am needed elsewhere." He bowed hastily, already backing away. "Perhaps another time."

I watched him retreat, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.

What had I done to warrant such avoidance?

That evening, as I picked at my dinner in the solitude of my chambers, I could bear the uncertainty no longer.

"Kat, why is everyone treating me so strangely?" I asked, my voice trembling with feigned distress. "Have I done something to offend them?"

Her eyes widened, feigning ignorance.

"I don't know what you mean, Miss Samara. Everyone's been quite normal."

"Normal?" I scoffed, recognizing the dance of deception we were about to engage in. "You call this normal?" My chest tightened, not from anger but from the well of loneliness brimming within. It was time to pull out my best performance—a skill honed from years of deflecting nosy academic peers.

"I feel so alone here, Kat. I thought I had found friendship within these walls, but now..." I let my voice trail off, a single tear sliding down my cheek.

Kat's resolve crumbled, her expression softening with sympathy.

"Oh, my lady. Please don't cry." She hesitated, glancing towards the door before leaning closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "The truth is, His Grace fears for your well-being and has threatened dire consequences should any harm befall you."

I stared at her, my mind reeling.

Mikhail had ordered this?

The revelation struck me like a physical blow, and a swell of emotion rose in my chest—anger, bewilderment, and a strange fluttering that I couldn't quite name.