- Warning! Depictions of PTSD, victim-blaming and gaslighting! -

(Italics are parts of a flashback.)

.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.

Angletonia, April 1926

"Cal!" Olivia waved her gloved hand at him as he came to pick her up at a hotel near the station. She had returned from her visit home, and her parents would be arriving in the capital within a week.

"My darling." He swept her into a corner and pulled her into a deep kiss. He considered the rule about avoiding public displays of affection honestly pretty lame. "How I've missed you."

It had been over a month since that strange night, but Cal never made any attempts to confront Olivia about it. He was too scared to find out the truth. For now, he would just convince himself that he had, in fact, slept with Olivia and his fiance had been gone in the morning long enough for Isleen to take advantage of the situation; making it look like she was the one sleeping with him.

Since that incident, Cal had limited his interactions with the Southern girl and preferred to stay silent if she was in the room. Strangely enough, Isleen had also stopped trying to approach him, so it was easier for him to sweep the whole thing under a rug.

"So how do you like my new hairstyle? I plan to keep it for our wedding." Olivia ran her fingers over her newly cut straight bob; a style that had been popularized by the elite socialites in the past few years. Knowing Olivia, he was sure that she could try any hairstyles and still look beautiful.

"Gorgeous. Come on; Mother has been looking forward to seeing you."

Estelle had invited her over to have dinner at the palace upon her arrival. She was determined to help Cal make Olivia feel welcomed in the imperial family, despite Callisto still insisting on his choice of Isleen. He was officially engaged to Olivia after all, and there was no turning back.

If only his father knew what happened behind his back.

As they arrived in the gallery, Cal was taken aback to see Isleen already there. Olivia wasn't aware of who she was aside from being someone from a supposedly fallen noble family of the Southern Isles; so she paid her no mind and Cal had no intention to change that. The only time she gave her the slightest attention was when she ran a condescending look over her from top to bottom; analyzing her hair and wardrobe which had been obviously out of season for a few decades.

Isleen, however, remained calm as she sat perfectly poised like a porcelain doll. Perhaps, that' was why his father liked her.

"How do you like my new hair, Maman?" Olivia twirled, showing off her new bob to his mother after their initial greetings, to which the latter responded fondly.

Trying to distance himself from such thoughts for the moment he wandered to the corner to get a drink when Isleen approached him.

"Feel this," she suddenly said, grabbing his hand and putting it over her belly. "This is your child."

As if zapped by lightning, Cal withdrew his hand instantly. "What the devil?"

Isleen simpered like she didn't just shake his world. "That night you made love to me, you got me with child." Her smile changed into an amused one, "Are you surprised?"

What? What is this? Another trick?

Cal's hands tightened their grip around his glass before they started to shake. For that split second, everything felt surreal, like one of his nightmares had come true. He should've slapped her, screaming for his mother to expose her lies and threats. But his stupid body remained frozen as he said, "That's bollocks. I never slept with you."

She smiled even wider, unnerving him further, but that horrifying moment was interrupted as the pageboy announced the arrival of the Emperor and the start of their dinner. His father scoffed as he spotted their family heirloom resting snugly around Olivia's neck.

"So, Olivia, it's only weeks to go before the wedding. I hope you aren't too nervous," Estelle said.

"I am very excited! In a few weeks Cal and I will be spending the rest of our lives together!" Olivia leaned into him, caressing his shoulder. Cal could only reply with a faint smile, what Isleen had said to him earlier had shaken him to bits. He could barely taste the food on his plate.

"Everyone wants to be royal, but forget the responsibility that comes with the privilege," Callisto mocked, though his expression remained friendly. "I genuinely wish that our family is nothing of the like."

"Why, I don't mind helping," Estelle added. "I could assign one of my ladies to help Olivia familiarize herself with the life after the wedding. Like your mother did for me, dear."

But Olivia confidently replied, "Don't concern yourself, Maman. Cal has told me everything that I need to know. Everything I should know about this life, he's telling me."

"Sounds like you know a great deal on what to expect from this, Olivia," jabbed Callisto, but not before he exchanged a look with Estelle saying, 'I told you so'.

"To start a family. Cal has told me that he cannot wait to become a father."

Cal felt another jolt of electricity running through his body, crippling him as he glared down at his plate. What if Isleen was correct? What if...

Callisto let out a scornful chuckle. "A child is a tough responsibility. What if you postpone the wedding, for a year perhaps? You are both still young. You still have a long way ahead of you. Let's see for a year if maybe you can find better options?"

Now there was no mistaking it.

"Better options?" Olivia repeated, tone raised.

"I'm sorry, but the wedding must happen," Isleen blurted all of a sudden, alerting Cal and everyone else at the table. "The sooner the better."

Olivia smiled at her for the first time since she entered the palace. "Finally, someone who understands."

"Isleen, what are you talking about?" inquired Callisto.

Isleen blinked calmly as the whole table's attention was directed at her. "Funny, isn't it? How one meticulously planned a lavish wedding but failed to pay attention to the groom. The Prince must marry soon, Your Majesty, but not to Miss Gold. That is if he desires to keep the pride of the Imperial Family."

"What on earth?" The tension was visible in Olivia's voice, but she managed to calm herself as she turned to him. "Cal, darling, what is she on about?"

Looking at his fiancee' puzzled expression, before gliding his eyes toward his mother and father, avoiding Isleen before settling back on Olivia. "I—"

"Why don't you tell your parents that I'm pregnant, my Prince?" announced Isleen, loud and clear.

Cal's heart almost stopped there and then. His stomach twisted, and his chest got heavier as his hands were becoming cold as ice. Shooting Isleen a sharp glare, he found himself unable to bear the look of his parents or Olivia and lowered his gaze. Everything seemed to have slowed down between those two seconds; even their servants at the dinner were holding their breaths.

"Enceinte?" he heard his mother's voice. "Why does it have something to do with Cal?"

"When Miss Gold went away, the Prince laid with me and got me pregnant."

"Lies!" Bursting out of his chair, Cal wasn't willing to tolerate this any longer. "Mother, this is a misunderstanding... I have never lain with her!" He shakingly turned to Olivia. "Truthfully, I was with Olivia! Correct? The night before you were gone, you came here! I was with you!"

Olivia flashed him a look of betrayal. "I never came here, Cal. I left early in the evening."

"But you were there!" he hollered, as she continued to shake her head no.

"Cal...?" Estelle looked at him with concern. "What happened?"

"The Prince got himself drunk so he might have mistaken me for Miss Gold," Isleen added. "...Or not, it doesn't matter. I love him; that's why I gave myself to him."

"Is this true?" Callisto asked sharply, followed by Olivia giving him an inquisitive stare.

Though he wanted so badly to deny these accusations, which didn't at all match the truth as far as he remembered it; Cal was tongue-tied. His arms supported him limply on top of the table. His head ran a rapid series of calculations; of any possible witnesses or proofs that he could present to the table. But he found himself stuck at nothing. Even his mother was left gawking, unable to help him at this point.

His lack of defence appeared to have confirmed the answer for Olivia, as she gasped, eyes watering. It had also struck him how she'd never believed him. That she was so ready to assume he'd cheat on her at any given time.

"See?" Isleen impassively drank from her glass. "He can't even deny it. You wouldn't lie with him so he came to me instead. That's all your fiance thinks about. Your relationship is that shallow."

Olivia stood, throwing her napkins on top of the table.

"Someone is destined to be by his side, but it wouldn't be you." Isleen continued. "The one who will marry him and very soon birth his heir... will be me."

Those words stopped Olivia in her tracks; eyes burning with angry tears as she stormed at Isleen, landing a blow on her head. "Are you insane?!" she screamed, raising her fist to launch another attack at her. "You fucking whore!"

"Stop this at once!" Callisto hollered.

Olivia ran her fingers through her golden mane, wailing as she wept alone in a corner.

***

All hell broke loose. Cal's last hope was that the integrity of the Imperial Family wouldn't fall to the mere claims of a foreigner, but it later turned out that Isleen was one, no, five steps ahead of him.

She had collected no less than three witnesses; a maid who had been her personal attendant ever since she arrived in Angletonia who gave her words that Isleen had not lain with another man besides him, a footman who unwillingly testified to seeing Cal entering the room with her, and a housekeeper who admitted to spotting them leaving the same room the next day.

While Cal only had Adejola to testify for his innocence.

"So, was he drunk?" Callisto asked Adejola. "And if you are found lying I would report you straight to your brother the King."

"No," Adejola glanced at Cal. "I mean we drank together, but he wasn't drunk."

"How can be so sure that he's not, you two have been drinking your asses the whole time," Callisto mocked.

"No, I believe he wasn't! Because he saw Olivia before he left."

"But did you see her? Did you see Olivia with your own eyes?"

Adejola froze, staring at the Emperor and back at his best friend, who stared at him, pleading. Begging. Knowing that his testimony might be the only thing that could spare him. The N'thandan prince finally answered, "...No."

Callisto smiled, as he'd concluded the whole story. "So no one saw Olivia in the palace aside from Cal?"

His parents even summoned a doctor to perform pregnancy tests on Isleen, making sure of her claims and that the timing of the pregnancy matched with the date where they allegedly spent the night together. And in all of those investigations, Isleen complied readily, remaining calm and confident as Cal was trapped in an endless cycle of questioning his own reality with all the evidence stacked against him. Did he, or didn't he?

Olivia herself seemed determined to make it worse for him. Cal needn't guess what would happen after the dinner. Not only had she denied being present at the night of the incident, but she also refused to listen to his words, distanced herself from him, and refused to take his messages 'until everything's been cleared up'.

"How is it?" Callisto asked the doctor once he was back with her reports. "Is she pregnant?"

"My examination concludes that Lady Isleen shows symptoms which matches the first trimester of pregnancy."

Callisto clenched his jaw. "And how far along is she?"

"My estimation goes about six to eight weeks, around early February."

Cal glared at his feet as his mother palmed his hand sympathetically. So the hopes that Isleen had been faking her pregnancy had been thrown out the window. Could she be having someone else's child? The maid could be lying, but that wouldn't explain the footman and the housekeeper's testimony. Either they were all lying, or it was he that had gone crazy. Perhaps he was that drunk.

No, that couldn't be true. The memories of Olivia that night were so vivid. So real.

It was only possible if... Isleen had disguised herself as Olivia? Could it be? But they looked nothing alike! Disguise could only go so far, and one couldn't mimic someone else's voice, or scent.

"So," Callisto stood up and approached him as the three of them were alone. "I'm going to ask one more time. Have you lain with her?"

Honestly? He didn't know. Not when he couldn't trust his own memory.

Cal looked up to his father, eyes glimmered in fear. "...I'm afraid I might have."

Lunging forward, Callisto launched his fist at him; but he stopped halfway. Losing his balance, Cal fell backwards as his mother reached them, slumping at the floor beneath them. His father might be harsh with words, but he had never hit him before.

"Damn you," Callisto gritted his teeth.

"Non!" Estelle shrieked, pulling her husband back. "Would you have hit him?"

"I should've! He deserves it. Look what he's done to this family!" He clenched his fists, voice shaking with anger as he pointed his finger at Cal's face. "I've been too easy on you! I let you mingle with those vulgar people, living your life exactly as you pleased! On your word, that you'd always be responsible!"

Cal bit his tongue, trying to appear as solid as he could. He could no longer comprehend anything that was happening around him. Everything felt unreal.

"Is this a jab at me? Are you trying to mock me for trying to set you up with the girl, so you'd show me what you can do?" He grimaced menacingly, and Cal shook his head frightfully. "Answer me!"

"No," he whispered voicelessly, fighting the urge to tear up since it would make him look even more pathetic. "I never meant to— I don't know how it happened."

Faintly he could hear his mother, still trying to smooth things out. But deep down he knew, it was no use.

"Words will get out soon. We cannot have the heir impregnate a young helpless girl and just do away with her and her child!" Callisto turned back toward him. "You are going to marry Isleen."

.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.