CHAPTER 135: THE WHISPERS OF REGRET

The carriage kept moving, the wheels turning slowly along the quiet roads. The sun was falling behind the hills, its warm glow fading. The sky had turned orange and soft pink. Night was coming.

The coachman turned and said, "Your Highnesses, I will stop at the next town. We can rest there for the night."

Ivan looked outside the window and said, "Alright."

Lydia didn’t say anything. Her eyes were still on the book in her lap. Her expression didn’t change.

After a while, the carriage stopped in front of a small inn. Ivan and Lydia were still inside. Lydia hadn’t moved. Her book was still open in her hands.

A knock came at the door of the carriage. It was Katherine. She said gently, "Your Highnesses, the rooms are ready."

Lydia finally closed her book. The sound was loud in the quiet carriage. She opened the door and stepped down. Katherine helped her gently. Lydia didn’t say a word. Her face looked calm, but it was cold. Like she was far away in her mind.

Ivan came down too. He said nothing, but his eyes were following Lydia like they always did now. He watched her walk towards the inn. Her steps were slow, graceful, but there was something missing. Something lost.

From the second carriage, Tatiana came down with Yelena. She saw how Ivan was looking at Lydia. Like he had no control over it. Like he couldn’t stop his heart from reaching out to her. Tatiana felt her stomach twist. It hurt. She hated the way it made her feel. She bit her lips and looked away.

Inside the inn, it was warm. The smell of food filled the air. The innkeeper bowed low, welcoming them politely. He showed them to their rooms.

Lydia didn’t speak. She just walked straight to the room she was given and closed the door behind her without looking at anyone.

Ivan was about to go into his own room when Tatiana suddenly held his hand. Her grip was tight, desperate.

She said, "Your Highness, please... you haven’t said anything since yesterday."

Her voice was shaking.

"It was our wedding day," she continued, trying to hold back her tears. "You promised me you wouldn’t leave me. You said you wouldn’t abandon our child. What happens now? She’s back. What happens to me?"

Ivan looked at her with tired eyes. His voice was low.

"I’m tired, Tatiana. We’ll talk later."

He pulled his hand away gently and entered his room, closing the door behind him.

Tatiana stood there in the corridor, crying softly. Her shoulders shook as she looked at the door Lydia had gone into. Her heart felt broken. Like everything was slipping out of her hands.

Yelena came closer and whispered, "My lady, please... you need to rest. For the baby."

Tatiana wiped her tears and slowly nodded.

In Lydia’s room, it was quiet. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her maroon dress still on. The feathers in her hair had started to fall out. Her face was pale but calm. Almost too calm.

A knock came at her door. It was Katherine again. She walked in with a tray of food and a soft nightdress in her arms.

"I brought you something to eat, Your Highness," Katherine said gently. "And I thought you might want to change into something more comfortable."

She helped Lydia out of the dress and into the nightdress. Lydia didn’t say anything. Her body moved, but her eyes stayed distant.

Katherine placed the tray on the table and said softly, "Please eat something. And get some rest."

Lydia gave a small nod. Katherine bowed and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Lydia sat by the small wooden table. She slowly picked at the food, eating little by little. She wasn’t hungry, but she ate because she knew her body needed it.

When she finished, she walked over to the window. The night sky was beautiful. The stars were bright, and the moon was full. It looked peaceful.

But Lydia didn’t feel peace. She felt nothing.

She touched the window glass with her fingertips. It was cold. Just like her heart.

After a while, she went to the bed and laid down. Her eyes stared at the ceiling. Blank.

There were no memories in her mind. No pain. No joy. Just emptiness. She had felt too much pain for too long. Her heart had grown numb.

And with that emptiness, she fell asleep. For once, sleep came easily. Because she had nothing left to fight in her mind.

In Ivan’s room, the silence was loud. He laid on the bed, his eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling.

But he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t even close his eyes for long.

Every time he did, he saw her.

He saw the moment she had cried and begged him not to leave. Her arms around him, shaking. Her knees on the floor. Her tears soaking his chest.

He remembered how she had said, "Please, I’m sorry. I’ll do anything. Just don’t leave me."

And he had looked at her like she meant nothing. Like her pain didn’t matter.

He remembered how her hands trembled when she took the parchment. How her tears had fallen on the paper as she signed it.

And when she gave it back to him, how she sobbed, holding her chest, whispering, "You’re hurting me."

But he acted like didn’t care then. He had looked away. He had told himself it was for the best.

Now he knew he was wrong. So very wrong.

He had killed something inside her.

In the church the day before, she hadn’t looked angry. She hadn’t looked proud. She looked empty. Like someone who didn’t want to live anymore.

He knew that look. Because he had worn it once. Before she came into his life.

And now, he had made her wear it too.

Tears filled his eyes. He wiped them, but they came back. He turned on the bed. Then he turned again. Nothing helped.

He sat up, his hands in his hair.

He had broken her.

He had turned the girl who once smiled brightly and loved with her whole heart into a shadow. Into a stranger.

And the worst part?

She still made his heart ache. She still made his hands reach out without thinking. She still made his eyes search for her, even when he didn’t want to.

But she didn’t look at him anymore. Not even once.

He wanted to go to her door. Knock. Apologize. Tell her he was wrong.

But what would he say? What could he say that would ever fix it?

So he sat there, alone in the dark room. His heart full of guilt. His soul heavy.

And while everyone else in the inn slept peacefully, Ivan could not. Because his heart was no longer whole.

He had given it to someone. And now, it beat only when she looked at him.

But she didn’t.

Not anymore.