Chapter 36 Unanswered Pleas
One winter afternoon, the tiny girl had carried a steaming cup of tea into his study. She clearly wanted to speak, yet dared not interrupt while he copied classical scripts, so she simply leaned on the desk, eyes shining. She finally piped, “Adonis can write! Adonis is amazing! I want to write too. Will you teach me? Your handwriting is the prettiest in the world, and I want mine to be just as lovely!”
He, however, felt nothing but irritation.
Adonis said, “You are slow and silly, nothing like Daisy. Who has time to teach you? Run along and stop bothering me. If you cost me my chance at the examinations, I’ll rap your knuckles with the ruler.”
The child’s round eyes filled with tears, yet she said nothing. She knew Adonis‘ studies were sacred, so, glancing back at every other step, she reluctantly left the room.
Later, he found Sadie kneeling on the stone steps, dipping a twig into water and tracing characters that vanished as quickly as they formed.
Adonis stood behind the lattice window, watching Sadie struggle with her twig. A flicker of pity rose in him, and he half thought of setting aside time to teach her himself.
Before the impulse took shape, Oliver strode across the courtyard and unleashed a scathing tirade. Adonis did not catch a single word, yet from that day onward, Sadie never wrote again.
What Adonis could never have foreseen was this. Though none of the Francis brothers had time for Sadie, Zephyr–The Duke’s heir and commander of the Southwestern Army–would lower his proud head to coach her in calligraphy. A nobleman with troops to command had no business tutoring a girl who was not even his kin, yet here he was, ink–stained fingers guiding hers across the page.
The absurdity clogged Adonis‘ throat. Something sharp and hungry seemed to gnaw at his heart, threading pain and sourness through every beat, as though Zephyr had stolen from him an unnamed but precious right.
Beside him, Daisy’s complexion turned ashen. Her gaze skittered between Zephyr and Sadie, baffled by the transformation. In the former life, Zephyr had loathed her, yet in this one, he lavished warmth on the sister. she despised.
From childhood, Sadie was the least welcome soul in our house. Father and the boys found fault; the aunts turned away. Truly, no one liked her. In everything, she lagged behind me, a shadow crushed beneath my heel. Yet why… Why in this life does she glide through the Gates Estate so effortlessly?
As Daisy watched the girl who once trailed behind her now outshine her in every arena, jealousy and resentment sprouted like mad weeds, choking what remained of her reason.
She opened her mouth to dredge up Sadie’s humiliations–childhood mistakes, whispered scandals–but Gregory burst into booming laughter. “I see! All this fuss over a simple misunderstanding.” At his words, the crowd relaxed, every lingering doubt about Sadie’s calligraphy dissolving into shared amusement.
Daisy pressed her lips together; clarity seeped back into her eyes as she quelled the surge of competitiveness. There will be other days. Sadie has no idea what price awaits a girl who defies her father and brothers. When they rise to glory and the Francis name blazes with honor, she will choke on regret for the choices she made today.
“Adonis, let’s go,” Daisy whispered, giving his sleeve a gentle tug.
“Hold it right there!” Alexander stepped in front of them, yanking at the gold necklace around his neck with
Chapter 36 Unanswered Pleas
cavaller flair. “You slandered my sister and haven’t offered so much as an apology.
Oliver barked a derisive laugh. “Apologize? Since when does an elder brother ask forgiveness from a younger sister? Even if I could stomach it, could she bear it?”
“I can,” Sadic replied, her voice sweet and bell–clear, a gentle counterpoint to the underlying chill. The sound invited the easy illusion that she was harmless.
Sadie lifted her round eyes and met Oliver’s stare head–on. “I’m not afraid,” she said, voice steady. After everything she had forfeited in the life that never was, they meant nothing to her now.
Oliver’s face paled. He clenched his fist and let each word fall like a blow. “Sadie…”
Adonis eased between them with forced cheer. “Enough,” he said, striving for diplomacy. “Sadie, we misunderstood you. We apologize. Yet you have studied calligraphy with Lord Zephyr for months and told us nothing. Are we strangers? Do not repeat this.”
He disguised reproach as apology, gathered his siblings, and retreated before more dignity could be lost.
Alexander clicked his tongue and spat into the dust. “What a pack of fools.”
“Sadie remained silent. She asked Alexander to check how Katy and the others were faring at their stall, then
turned toward Zephyr, words gathering but refusing to cross her lips.
Gregory, catching the unspoken tension, smoothed his moustache and gave a dry chuckle. “I appear to be in the way, Miss Francis. Commander Gates, I will wait ahead.” With that, he left.
Once they were gone, Sadie sank into a deep curtsey. “Thank you, Lord Zephyr, for today.”
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