Chapter 181: The anniversary plan

"I thought you knew her truth, so how can you forgive her?" he asked as he looked at the horse Killian was riding.

It could have been all three of us riding together, yet it all was ruined. 

"Killian still trusts Isabella, and she is trying to be pitiful in front of him, to get back to us, or shall I say to get back to you." i said as i waved at Killian with a smile when he looked at me.

"I told you i do not like her, do you not believe me?" he asked, a bit displeased as his voice came through gritted teeth. 

"I do, I saw that you do not like her. But there are many rumours in the empire. Since we don't attend the invitations together and you spent more time with the Wiltshire family than Essendson.

I am not complaining, there was a time I felt bad about it but not anymore. And my parents never cared, at least they said that to me. But the rumours can affect your image and soon it will affect Killian too" i said with a sigh, she was so good at her acts and the rumours and the closeness they both had affected my thinking too.

"So, you want to improve the rumours by forgiving her" his voice turned colder.

"Why, all your life you act like you are in a good relationship with the Wiltshire family, when I was friend with Isabella first, you never stopped me, then why are you so displeased now?" I asked as the humid waves of air after a good rain touched my face. 

The ground was still wet and the soft smell of wet soil was mixed in the air.

"It is because you have already tricked them many times, they will try to take revenge. Marianne.." he stopped, in mid sentence and i turned towards him to see what happened, when i saw he was looking hesitantly at me. "Things aren't that simple as you see, Isabella, can be vicious and threatening when cornered."

"What made you think that i did not know that, she had tried to blame me for feeding poison to her in the court of duke, then she tried to accuse me for slapping her in my own party, she tried to slap me in the town and then again accused me to beat her in my own palace in the dungeon." i asked and his face hardened,

"Still you are ready to forgive her, there is a limit to naivety." i chuckled at his statement, i am not a heroin but a villain, why would i be kind! 

"It would not have happened if you would have cut ties with the family after knowing her intentions. She had created her roots deeper than we thought, and now if you would try to cut them suddenly then it would create resentment in Killian's mind.

He would think i have forced you to do so, though i highly doubt it but even i am curious how did your behaviour change so much towards Isabella?"

"It is as you thought, it is. Because of you, the frictions you both were having these days, I needed to choose one, so I chose you over her." he said nonchalantly but my cheeks burned and I looked back at Killian to hide my embarrassment.

"I am not a fool to forgive her, I have a plan that will either show her reality or help us in ending the rumours and maybe she will also get married in the end.

Well, it will end with everyone's benefit, so i am not harming Isabella in any way, unless she tried to harm us.'' I replied as the smirk formed on my lips.

"What is your plan?" 

"Well, as Killian said, his aunt Isabella is kind and she is apologetic towards her past behaviour, so as an apology, she can clear the rumours on our anniversary and accept that you never liked her or there was nothing between you and her ever"

"You want to create a dramatic show there?"

"No, it will just be an apology from her side, though I will be honest with you. I had planned to dramatize that she is trying to ruin our marriage by changing her gift with the letters she had written to you." 

He raised a brow as he looked at me, "I wonder, is that what I am thinking ?" I rolled my eyes at his roundabout manner.

"I would have stolen her gifts then changed her with a beautiful pearly heart shaped crate. And then slowly i would have opened all the gifts as Roselia would have urged me to do so, and then in her gift, there would have been all the letters she had written to you, i would have opened one in confusion and then would have cried. She would have said that it was not her gift, but then there would have been a seal of her family and her handwriting that many nobles of her group would have recognised.

Her name would have been smeared, and the rumours that you like her would have been turned into she is obsessed with you, since she even had the courage to write letters of confession on our wedding anniversary"

"So that was why you were asking for letter like a dumb woman that day!!" 

"What did you say, did you just call me dumb!!" here i was trying every possible way to save him and his dukedom and he was calling me dumb!

"You did behave like one, that day"

"Ha"

"Alright, so you are not going to do this drama anymore, right?" 

"I am. Just the ending is changed, when the drama will end, i will ask Killian to recognise her writing and then he would be the one to ask Isabella to apologise and clear the rumours, and if things went well, he would even ask her to marry with someone else"

"You seem overconfident here. Never underestimate the enemy, Marianne" 

"So they are enemies now, tell me, your highness, why are you bearing with them when they are enemies? Just because they are your wife's family?"