Adele finally opened her father’s letters.

She brought all of them. They were six in total. She brought them to the small table beside the window. The morning light had shifted now. It was softer, and warmer, spilling across the wood and catching faintly on the wax seals.

The letter already looked unforgiving.

Her father’s crest stamped into each one looked like a reminder she had delayed long enough.

Adele stood there for a moment before sitting.

Her fingers hovered over the first letter. She paused, then pressed down.

The seal broke with a soft, clean crack.

Her chest tightened. She unfolded it, finally ready to know what he had to say.

Her eyes barely skimmed the first line when she heard a knock on her door. The knock seemed timed.

Adele stilled.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the paper.

"Come in," she said, her voice controlled.

The maid by the door moved immediately, stepping forward to open it.

Adele didn’t look up at first and then, she let that weird pretending presence. That calculated patience.

That... intent. And that stinking scent of too much lavender.

Bile immediately rose in her throat when she figured out who it was.

Mabel.

Her smile was already in place, soft, polite, and perfectly as she stood by the door.

Adele’s grip on the letter tightened.

Mabel stepped in without hesitation, her dress gliding behind her as though the room had been prepared for her arrival.

"Thank you," she said gently to the maid.

Adele didn’t bother masking her irritation this time. "What do you want?" she asked.

Mabel’s gaze flickered briefly to the maid. Then back to Adele.b"You’ll want to send your maid away for a moment," she said, smiling.

Adele didn’t respond immediately.

Her eyes lingered on Mabel for a second longer.

Then, she folded the letter carefully, placed it back on the table, and arranged the rest with deliberate precision.

After she pushed them slightly aside, only then did she turn.

"You can leave," she told the maid. "Go for a walk."

The maid hesitated for half a second, then nodded, and left.

The door closed behind her.

Mabel didn’t move immediately.

She took a few steps further into the room instead, her gaze drifting casually over the space.

She took it in, memorised to, and claimed it in her own quiet way.

Adele didn’t sit.

She remained standing beside the table, watching her.

"Speak," Adele said.

Mabel turned slowly. That smile still there.

"You’re not very welcoming," she noted lightly.

Adele didn’t entertain it."You didn’t come here to be welcomed. Speak."

Mabel’s smile deepened slightly. "No," she admitted. "I didn’t."

She walked closer. Her eyes flickered briefly to the letters on the table.

"Ah," she said softly. "You finally decided to face him."

Adele’s expression didn’t change. "They’re none of your concern."

"Everything here is my concern," Mabel replied smoothly.

Adele’s jaw tightened. "Be careful not to overstep."

Mabel tilted her head. "Overstep?" she echoed. "Or uncover something you’d rather keep hidden?"

Adele didn’t answer.

Mabel took another step. Her gaze returned to Adele, sharp now and focused. "You’re very good at pretending," she said.

Adele let out a quiet breath. "I don’t pretend."

"No?" Mabel corrected softly. "You conceal."

A beat passed between them.

"Torak MacKenzie." Mabel said the name with a smile. She dropped the name into the room like something deliberate.

Adele didn’t flinch this time.

Mabel watched her closely, waiting for a reaction.

"For someone who claims rumors are meaningless," Mabel continued, "you seem to inspire quite a few."

Adele crossed her arms lightly. "If you have something to say, say it."

Mabel smiled. "I already have."

"That wasn’t saying anything."

Mabel stepped closer. "I saw you," she said quietly.

Adele held her gaze. "Then you should know better than to rely on what you think you saw." She replied, moving around the corner, just like her father had taught her.

Mabel’s eyes gleamed. "Oh, I don’t rely on what I think I saw," she said. "I rely on patterns."

Adele didn’t respond this time, but something in her chest shifted.

Mabel leaned slightly closer.

"Your movements," she continued softly. "Your absences. The way your attention strays when his name is mentioned."

Adele’s expression remained still. But her pulse? Not so much.

"It’s subtle," Mabel added. "Very subtle." she chuckled. "But not invisible."

Silence stretched between them.

Adele uncrossed her arms slowly.

"You’ve built quite a story," she said calmly.

Mabel smiled. "I’m only at the beginning."

Adele’s gaze hardened slightly. "Then I suggest you stop before you reach an ending you won’t like."

Mabel let out a soft laugh. "There it is," she said. "That edge."

Adele didn’t move.

"You hide it well," Mabel continued. "But it’s there."

Adele stepped closer, closing the distance this time. "I suggest.." she said quietly, "you leave tight now."

Mabel didn’t step back. "I enjoy risk," she replied, her voice relaxed, and high pitched.

Adele held her gaze. "So do I."

They held each other gaze in silence.

Mabel shifted, but not enough to break the tension without losing control of it.

"There’s a ball in four days," she said casually.

Adele didn’t respond.

"You will attend," Mabel continued.

Adele’s lips pressed together.

"You’ll be presented properly by your father," Mabel added. "Before everyone."

Adele’s gaze flickered.

Mabel caught it. "Your father will be there," she said softly. "Wouldn’t he?"

Adele’s chest tightened slightly.

"He arrives in a day or two," Mabel continued.

Adele’s fingers curled faintly at her side.

"You should prepare yourself." She added like an advise.

Adele finally spoke. "I don’t need preparation."

Mabel smiled. "No?" she asked gently. "Not even for him?"

Adele’s jaw tightened. "That is not your concern."

"Everything about you is my concern now," Mabel said, reminding her.

Adele’s eyes snapped to hers, sharp and cold. "And why is that?"

Mabel’s smile softened, almost kind. "Because you’re becoming... interesting. I’ve always thought you were just a mere bug by the side."

Adele didn’t like that. Not one bit.

"I wasn’t aware I needed your attention."

"You don’t," Mabel said. "But you have it."

Adele stepped back slightly. "You should be careful," she advised.

Mabel’s brows lifted faintly. Her smile didn’t drop. "Of what?"

Adele’s gaze didn’t waver.

"Of watching too closely," she said. "You might see something that forces you to act."

Mabel’s smile turned sharper. "And you think I won’t?"

Adele held her stare. "I think," she said slowly, "you don’t yet understand what you’re involving yourself in."

Mabel laughed.

"Oh, Adele," she said, her voice almost fond.

That was new.

"I understand perfectly."

Adele didn’t believe her.

Mabel stepped back, smoothing her dress lightly. She was composed, and polished again immediately after.

"As I said," she continued, "four days." Her gaze flickered to the letters. "And one or two before your father arrives."

Adele’s chest tightened again.

"You might want to decide," Mabel added, "whether you’ll disappoint him in person..." She paused, then smiled. "...or give him something worth watching."

Adele didn’t respond.

Mabel turned toward the door, then paused. "Oh," she said lightly, glancing back. "If I were you..."

Adele didn’t move.

"I’d be very careful who I’m seen with," Mabel finished.

The door closed softly behind her after she left.