Bastian

“Thank you for keeping you promise,” Odette said, revealing her true feelings at the end of dinner.

   Bastian set down his cutlery and looked up at her, locking eyes with Odette who had abandoned any pretence and dropped her fake smile. Her manner betrayed a radically new attitude from that of the dutiful wife.

   “Thanks to your generosity, Tira graduated successfully,” Odette said, keeping as calm as she could.

   Generosity. 

An empty smile played across his lips. Despite witnessing her pitiful display of unappealing dignity, Bastian made the decision to overlook it for now. His curiosity piqued, he resolved to simply observe the effectiveness of any contingency plan that he might need to call upon.

   Bastian continued eating. The emptied dinning room rang with the rhythmic clinking of his cutlery as they danced over the plate. It left an unsettling harmony in Odette’s heart, like an ominous ticking clock.

   Odette watched him stiffly, as he fed the last morsel of meat into his mouth, leaving behind nothing but a streak of bloodied gravy on his plate. It felt like a punishment in itself, to have to watch him eat. Once the he swallowed the last mouthful, he took up the wine glass.

   “I do not wish to be greedy any more,” Odette said meekly. 

   “What’s you’re point, ma’am?” Bastian said, raising an eyebrow as he sipped at his wine.

   “Well, I understand that it was a condition of the contract from the Emperor, that we were to keep this marriage until Princess Isabelle had safely ascended to the position of Princess of Belov, and gives birth to her first heir.”

   “So?”

   “Well, her first child was born last spring and, well, Countess Lenart’s divorce was finalised.”

   “Do you think I don’t know any of this?” Bastian said with a sneer. Odette felt her face heating up and tried to remain calm.

   “Well, it means we are reaching the end of our arrangement, so I will be accepting your divorce now.” Odette bowed her head.

   Bastian stared at the woman acting like a martyr before him and emptied his wine glass. He had not expected this forwardness from a woman who had spent the last two years in penance, she was still as shameful as ever, to act so brashly as this. But she was right to ask for a divorce, he was just not expecting her to be so open about it.

   Odette drew up as Bastian put down the empty wine glass and for some reason, he saw her as the meek little woman at the chapel. The widower and his young daughter that sat with Odette, they looked like they had already formed a family. It would be a scandal if the public were to find out, it could be a good enough reason to divorce.

   Bastian nodded, pouring himself some more wine. Odette’s recklessness was finally becoming clear, acting like she was already divorced and trying to secure a position as the next Countess Xanders, she must be eager to liberate herself from the burdens of this deceitful marriage as swiftly as possible.

Maximin von Xanders represented the brightest future she could hope for. It was an astute decision, one that couldn’t be denied. If their contract had ended on its own, he would have also endorsed that decision. 

However, circumstances have changed.

   Bastian near gulped down the entire contents of the wine glass and wiped his lips on the back of his hand. Odette looked at him despite her fear, she couldn’t muster the strength to look away.

   “You know, you’re so lucky,” Bastian said, looking at Odette through narrowed eyes. “You’re father died just in time for you to pay for your crimes. Its almost like a noble sacrifice to save his daughter.”

   “What do you mean?”

   “Since the body remained intact, the technique couldn’t have been the same as before,  did you use poison this time?” Bastian’s tone was remarkably polite.

   Odette let out a groan as she finally grasped what Bastian was getting at. A wash of humiliation over came her and felt like her body was being consumed by an icy chill, numbing her to the core.

   “Congratulations, Lady Odette,” Bastian raised his near empty wine glass. All Odette could do was breath hard and try to hold back the tears. “Considering the circumstances, divorce would definitely be the most suitable resolution. Well, divorce was always inevitable from the start, but adding a few scandalous affairs and the murder of your farther along the way…”

   “Bastian…” Odette snapped.

   She wanted to let Bastian know that she had every intention to keep her promise. She was not planning on doing anything stupid, she would take her punishment, but this was going too far. Of course, she only had Tira in mind.

   Odette needed to make sure that Tira’s wedding took place before the news of the divorce spread, the sooner the better. Her intention was never to avoid responsibility, if she ever intended to, she would have just fled the mansion 2 years ago when Bastian went to Trosa. 

   “Bastian, I…” Odette swallowed the painful lump in her throat. There was no emotion left in her icy eyes as she looked at Bastian.

   “What would you actually lose if we got divorced?” Bastian aimed to quash the birth of the happy Xanders family. The more he thought about it, the more it lit a fire in his heart. “You are set to gain everything, while I lose everything, doesn’t feel very fair, does it?”

   “Then what’s your price?” Odette blinked back the tears.

   “Well,” Bastian rang the service bell. “What more do you have to lose to make the deal fair?”

   As he softly spoke the question, the doors silently opened up to let the servants into the room. For a moment, Odette felt lost, but she quickly regained her composure, putting on her signature smile of a pleasant hostess.

   The dinner that was supposed to celebrate their reunion after two years, turned out to be a something entirely bitter and distasteful. Bastian ate it up, every last bite.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

As the painful nausea subsided, the sound of a flushing toilet echoed out. Odette came from the toilet, struggling to maintain her composure and made her way to the washstand. She thoroughly rinsed her hands and face.

   It was already her third time vomiting and believed she could no longer endure any more of this agony, she had emptied out all that she had eaten, and then some.

   “Are you alright ma’am, shall I call the doctors?” Dora said as Odette left the bathroom.

   “No, its nothing, don’t worry yourself,” Odette said. Margrethe bounded around her legs as she headed for the dressing table. Dora followed after her also.

   “The master is in the study. He will be going to bed shortly, once he is finished with the rest of his work,” Dora said as she started to brush Odette’s hair. “He said he would be using the master suite, so that he can get a good nights rest.”

   “I see.”

   “You’re so beautiful, ma’am,” Dora said, her face reflecting in the mirror of the dressing table. All Odette could do was smile in reply.

   Dora carefully began removing the jewels Odette had been wearing and then neatly removed her dress, brushed it down and hung it up. Odette watched her in silence, an unexpected wave of shame coming over her, causing her cheeks to flush.

   It had barely been a week since her fathers passing and already she was dressing herself in splendid attire, a bid to win favour with Bastian, and despite her efforts, she suspected it had not been as fruitful as she had hoped.

   “Good night then, ma’am,” Dora said, once her tasks were done, she left with a polite greeting.

   As soon as the sound of the maids footsteps faded, Odette silently slipped out of the bedroom. Fortunately, Margrethe’s mournful whimpers were not too loud.

   With vigilance, Odette hastened to her small study. She locked the door, then recovered the safe she kept in the drawer of the desk.

   Dinner had felt like punishment to her and so she resolved to tend to Tira’s affairs with out any further delay. Bastian might have spoken about a fair deal with a cold logic that sent shivers up her spine, fearing the cold mentality behind it, but he had to understand that there was no way he could be financially compensated. He also didn’t seem to have any intentions of dumping her in prison. Then there was only one card left for Bastian to play, Tira. Odette believed he would not harm her, but its what she didn’t know he would do that scared her.

   Determined, Odette counted out the money very carefully. A husband, a child, Tira and herself, it would be a tight fit, but it would have to do.

  After counting out the money, Odette carefully put it all back into the safe. Odette sat at the desk and penned a letter to Tira. As she sealed the envelope, the thought of the phone crept into her mind. The phone in this room was broken, leaving the only other option being the phone in Bastian’s study. Odette struggled with the decision for a moment, but eventually made up her mind and turned toward the opposite end of the corridor, away from her bedroom.

   There was still a faint glow coming from under the door, so Odette concealed herself in the shadows at the end of the corridor and waited. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long until Bastian finally retired for the night.

   Just as Odette felt relief that she was going to be able to speak to Tira directly, the phone rang and Bastian was forced to turn back around and return to his study. Odette waited with bated breath as Bastian disappeared back into his study to answer the phone.

   It was a hard decision, but Odette decided to abandon her quest and took advantage of Bastian’s distraction to return to her room, but as she passed the study, she could hear Bastian.

   “Long time no see, Lady Laviere.”

   Odette could hear the smile in his words.