CHAPTER 234: THE PAST

"you mean the Duke is not my father?" Anastasia asked after thinking of Grater"s words for a long time.

"Yes, you mother told only told me all this on her death bed. Before falling sick, you mother had gotten this courtyard hoping to find an opportunity to leave the Duke residence. She wanted to use the duchess to leave but she had fallen sick. Worried that you would be alone if she died, she stayed back," Grater said as she cleaned the tears running down her eyes.

"Then, why have you not told me all this while?" Anastasia asked. She was shaken by this information. The Duke had always been indifferent to her which made her wonder if she was not his daughter but this had only been a thought in the passing. She had never believed it.

Now hearing it was the truth she was not sure how to handle the information.

"Your mother thought you were young and might not handle the news well. Her greatest wish was for you to live a good life. I was only allowed to say this when there is an unexpected situation," Grater said. She really thought that after Anastasia married the prince and become the queen she would live a good life, she never expected things to end this way.

Anastasia took a deep breath, she knew that her mother had aways wanted her to survive which is why she asked her to hide her brilliance.

All this years she learned everything the teacher taught the first time but she had to pretend to be stupid.

Her father had died saving the king but his twin brother had claimed merit. He pretended to care for her mother and unborn children but killed her brother. The more Anastasia thought about the situation the more angry she got.

"Why did you not tell me after I married into the royal family?" Anastasia asked. She felt that she had missed the opportunity to seek revenge for her brother and mother. If she had known, while she was a queen she should have destroy Duke Thompson household.

"You had become a queen, I thought you would always need their support. You been a queen bring benefits to the Duke, I thought that you mother’s greatest wish was for you to live a comfortable life so their was no need to say it," Grater said. She never expected things to develop this way.

She never thought Anastasia would divorce the king despite sitting firmly on the throne.

Anastasia also let her tears fall, she felt very helpless at this moment thinking of all her mother had endure to keep her alive.

....

Duke Thompson’s Study

The candle burned low on his writing desk, casting a weary glow across the scattered parchments and maps. Duke Thompson stood by the tall window, a goblet of dark wine in hand, yet untouched. His gaze drifted over the l gardens, now cloaked in midnight silence.

A deep sigh escaped his lips.

So much had changed.

He thought that since her death he had gradually forgotten about her,

Yet, tonight... the past returned like a ghost with cold hands on his neck.

He closed his eyes, and in that quiet, the memories came unbidden vivid and sharp.

---

FLASHBACK – Twenty - three Years Ago

Royal City, Festival Night

It had been the season of renewal, the royal city alive with music, banners, and the scent of roasted chestnuts. Thompson had been freshly entered the circle of the noble summoned by his uncle under the guise of family duty. In truth, he had come with one intention: to rise. To find a way to the king’s favor.

King George had just been crown at that time and everyone knew it was an opportunity to rise and he wanted to rise.

That night, he had slipped away from the noble procession to clear his mind, lingering near the courtyard garden when she appeared; like a vision from another world.

A woman in a modest but elegant blue gown had rushed toward him, joy sparkling in her eyes. "You came!" she exclaimed, reaching out and holding his arm. "I thought you said you never wanted to visit the royal city." She raised her brows a pleasant smile playing on her lips.

He had blinked, startled.

"Pardon?" he said, though his voice was soft. Her grip was light but familiar, almost... intimate.

And then she laughed, lightly slapping his chest. "Don’t tease me. You wore your fine coat, didn’t you? Look at you." Her eyes sparkled. "I’ve missed you,"

Only then had realization dawned.

She thought he was someone else.

Another man. A lover or promised groom.

He could have corrected her; should hav but instead, he had looked into her eyes and said, "I missed you too. I decided to visit the royal city because of you,"

He had never lied so easily in his life.

And in that moment, it didn’t matter if the heavens were watching. All he saw was her.

He thought his lie would be uncovered but they had spent the evening walking the street together. They said very little but he thought it was the best moment of his life.

He had fallen in love with her in those moments, even when he knew it was a mistake.

He wanted the mistake to last forever. After the evening together, he had tried to find her again almost turning the enire royal city inside out but he did not for almost a year.

---

PRESENT DAY

Duke Thompson opened his eyes slowly, setting the wine down untouched.

"She was never meant to be mine," he muttered, his voice hoarse with age and regret. "But fate opened a door... and I walked through it."

He stepped away from the window and picked up an old ribbon from his desk drawer faded blue, fraying at the edges. He had taken it from her that night, when she smiled at him. He thought he would use it to find her in the future.

His fingers tightened around it.

"What did you see in him that you never saw in me?" he whispered, bitterness curling in his throat. He could not understand why she would love a dead man and not him.

He had agreed to her becoming his official mistress, after all this would keep her under his watch, he thought with time she would come around.

He married Anita because it helped him break into a higher social status within the royal city.

Duke Thompson turned to look at his trusted Steward who had been accompanying him quietly.

"Do you think I was a bit harsh?" Duke Thompson asked Muman.

"Your grace did everything to survive," Steward Muman replied. He could not bring himself to tell him the truth after all no one understood Duke Thompson more than he did.

Duke Thompson nodded after hearing those words. "She is just as stubborn as her mother," he said in irritation. He had allot Duchess Anita step all over Maureen. He thought that when she suffered a lot she would realize that he was the only one that could help her. He wanted her to come back and beg.

Of course he would take care of her and pamper her. Anita had always thought that she got her way because the Duke feared and respected her father, in face he just wanted Lady Maureen to give in. Year after year, he watched her turned from a beauty into someone he could not recognize. She took the humiliation from Anita and swallowed it without a word.

Later she became sick, he was not aware, when he did, her sickness was already too serious the physician could do nothing about it.

Duke Thompson was anger at Duchess Anita for this, and when she died he stopped visiting her chamber. He really did not pay much attention to her. Duchess Anita feeling frustrated lose her temper on Anastasia. He did not care after all, the child was not his.

Lady Maureen was gone and even if Anastasia followed next he did not care, what he never expected was for the king to suddenly show interference in Anastasia.

He had already tested her a few times and knew she was not aware of her birth, so he was happy to support her as he brought him great benefits. Who knows she would be just like her mother, stubborn.

"Your grace, what do you intend to do?" Steward mumod asked. Now that Anastasia did not listen to the Duke would he miss out the chance to benefit.

Duke Thompson frown, the house Anastasia was currently staying had nothing to do with him. If something suddenly happens to Anastasia it would not do the king any good.

He fell deep in thought for a moment and finally came up with an idea. "Who said she is the only one that can speak, as her father as long as I come out to say a few words it would benefit the king," Duke Thompson said.

"Your grace... That will ruin her," Muman said. Although he also did not care about Anastasia he felt that the Duke as a father coming out to shame her would not be too good.

"Blame her for being too stubborn," Duke Thompson waved his hand. "Send a message to the palace, I must discuss my thoughts with the king and chancellor before taking action,"

Muman shook his head. Although he was not sure why he had a feeling that the Duke was about to make a mistake.