𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘽𝙡𝙪𝙚

𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵

The party was a grand celebration, with people coming from all over the whole country. The Royal Families had congregated together to celebrate the little prince, who was wearing a sweater vest Evie had sewn herself, currently on top of the world, giggling and chasing the other children of the royal families that were somewhat his age.

Evie stood at the door of the kids' room, 6 and a half months pregnant and donning a gown that flaunted her belly, chatting with Elsa of Arendelle, who had brought her own daughter, Winter Frost, and was now expecting a son, Aster.

Mal then spotted Ben on the other side of the ballroom, in deep conversation with Jay about running AnZhou, while his eyes were trained on Evie, watching her from behind protectively.

It made her so jealous.

Ben never did that for her anymore. He used to- but not anymore. Honestly, she missed it so much. She still loved him, still reminisced the times where they were younger and much more carefree.

When she married King Ben, she really didn't know what she was signing up for. She wishes she didn't regret it, but she does.

And now, she was paying the consequences. Evie was much more a domestic soul than her, that fact was well established, so it was no surprise Ben would take a liking to her. She had always known that, part of the reason why she made sure they hardly got the chance to speak to each other while they were in Auradon Prep.

Then she had something else in her mind, something she had been hiding from everyone, other than Uma and Harry, when she was living with them.

She was with child. And yes, it was Ben's. Another child to add to the royal family, it was a blessing, right? Mal didn't feel that way. She knew Ben had been sort of raising Max alone, other than when Evie would come to help, so why would he want another one when he already had a son that could take over as his hier?

She was about 34 weeks already, but has been concealing her round belly with a spell, wishing to only reveal the news to Ben before they decided on anything.

She had planned to do so when she arrived at the castle, but as she watched Evie getting closer and closer to her husband, she had refrained from doing so. She didn't know why.

Truth was, she was nervous. Nervous that Ben would find a better partner in her best friend and leave her for good. She loved her son and husband, and would do anything for them, though it wasn't obvious.

Then, there was Evie. Mal didn't know what to do with her. She had tried separating her and Ben, but Ben kept claiming that Evie needed assistance and was weak. After that, she tried to come up an excuse to make Evie return to her own, abandoned home, but she loved her best friend as well, and couldn't bear to hurt her like that.

Now, she was just winging it, living through everyday and wondering what to do next. The people of Auradon were picking up tells that Ben and Mal were separated, and there had even been a couple of gossip magazines that speculated about the kings affair with his wife's best friend.

Ben forbade Evie from reading such articles anymore, so neither of them had seen it, but the rumours were getting worse and worse.

It was so obvious. Ben's Auragram only consisted of photos of Max with Evie accompanied with affectionate captions, the King and Queen hadn't been seen in public together for the longest time ever, not to mention that Mal had been spotted on the opposite side of Auradon while Ben and Evie were seen spending every waking hour together.

Lastly, Evie's Auragram held one specific post that announced her pregnancy. Below all the congratulations in the comment section, there were citizens asking if the baby was Ben's. Mal knew it wasn't, but the fact that Evie didn't even bother replying and denying it bothered her tremendously.

The staff in the castle, along with Belle and Beast, seemed to be in knowledge that Ben and Evie were close enough to resemble spouses, but all of them ignored it, even restricting Mal into rooms when Ben and Evie were occupying them and then feigning idiocy when confronted about it. Oh, how it infuriated her.

A sudden cry erupted from in front of Mal, breaking her train of thought. It was Max, who had fallen down while playing. Mal wanted so much to walk over and pick him up, but she only watched as he waddled toward Evie, who bent down and kissed his booboo.

Unable to watch anymore, she left the ballroom for her own sleeping quarters, which she still shared with Ben, tears glistening in her emerald eyes.

//Scene Change//

It was almost midnight when Mal awoke from her slumber by a knock on the door, followed by a soft whisper.

"Ben?" Called the voice she recognised all too well.

It was Evie. She looked to her side immediately, expecting Ben to be there but his side of the bed lay untouched.

Mal sighed. She knew Ben hadn't been sleeping in their master bedroom. Not since the day before. She took comfort in the fact that Evie wasn't aware of that.

The purple haired Queen just lay still, wondering if she should get out of bed and question her best friend. Why was she looking for her husband in the dead of the night anyway?

The door was shut after a while, Evie realising Mal was the only one there, which peaked Mal's curiosity.

Tumbling out of the sheets, she left the bedroom, tailing Evie, who went all the way down the halls and nearing the staircase. Suddenly, she stopped, seeming to be in slight pain or in a dizzy spell. Leaning on the railings of the grand staircase in the dark of the night, Evie groaned and ran her hands through her hair, trying not to collapse.

It was when Mal suddenly got the most terrible of notions in her head. She didn't help her best friend at all, instead, she stood tall from behind Evie, rage boiling in the very core of her heart, and boldly, she pushed her down.