So This is Love (Disney Twisted Tales) - Elizabeth Lim Page 0,94

speaking more to himself than to her.

“I gather from your encounter with Lady Tremaine that you have not had an easy life,” the duke went on, schooling his features into an expression that resembled sympathy. “I am not without pity, my child, and I certainly am not without reason. I am prepared to offer you a generous deal.”

At the flick of his wrist, the guard closest to her pulled her toward the table and yanked off her gag and bindings.

Ferdinand touched his finger to his lips, warning her not to scream. “Listen to what I have to say first: I’d like you to pen a note to Prince Charles, informing him that you have had second thoughts about marrying him, and that you never loved him.”

“Never.” Cinderella squirmed, trying to escape the guard’s hold, but he was too strong. “He wouldn’t believe it even if I did.”

“Young lady, you have known the prince for but a few days. I have known him all his life.” The duke pushed a pen into her hands, but she flung it away. The guard tightened his hold on her shoulders.

“In exchange,” he continued, ignoring her, “I will see to it that you are provided for. I will arrange for a generous estate in the southern region of Aurelais to be gifted to you, with a healthy annual reparation of ten thousand aurels. Surely, that would be more than enough to appease a young lady of your . . . upbringing.”

“No amount of money or jewels or land will make me change my mind. I don’t care about any of that.” Cinderella shook her head. “Go ahead and send me away. Charles will never stop looking for me.”

“Oh, young love,” said Ferdinand, shaking his head with a chuckle. “I take it you refuse my generous proposal?” He sighed. “Then we must move on to my alternative plan.”

Ferdinand seized Cinderella’s hand, and the guards held her firm so he could remove the ring that Charles had given her.

“A pretty bauble. Our beloved queen’s, I presume? Bless her soul.”

“Give that back!” cried Cinderella.

“Not another word,” Ferdinand warned, and one of the guards immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling her shouts.

The duke twirled the ring around his finger, watching the sapphire sparkle and catch the candlelight. “I think I shall include this with the message I have prepared for young Charles.”

He reached into his jacket pocket, fishing out a neatly folded note. “I had a feeling you’d decline my offer, so I went through the trouble of already preparing one.”

Alarm surged through Cinderella. “No!” she cried, but the sound was muffled. Desperately, she twisted and squirmed, trying to claw the guard’s hands away from her mouth, but he only tightened his grip.

The duke waved the note before her. “Let’s have this delivered to Prince Charles straightaway, shall we? Now I must hurry back to the ball before I am missed. Worry not, Cinderella, the prince will think of you fondly, though I regret that even he will forget you in time.”

Without missing a beat, Ferdinand deliberately dropped the ring into the envelope.

Then someone threw a sack over Cinderella’s head, and her world spiraled into darkness.

My dearest Charles,

I have had second thoughts about marrying you and becoming the princess of Aurelais. I must confess I only pretended to be in love with you to escape the dreary confines of my life with Lady Tremaine. Alas, I am overcome with guilt and cannot go on with the wedding. My mind will not be changed. Please don’t look for me.

Your Most Humble Servant,

Cinderella

Charles read the letter again and again, trying to make sense of the puzzle it presented.

There was no puzzle, really. The message was quite clear.

She didn’t love him. She didn’t want to marry him.

He was a mess of emotions. Every other time he reread the letter, he believed it.

“I have no one to blame but myself,” he murmured. He had told her, as honestly as he could, that life as the princess of Aurelais would not be easy. That if she changed her mind, he would respect it.

And yet . . . deep down, he couldn’t believe she’d left him. Couldn’t believe that this letter was from her. The words were formal and stilted, not at all like his beloved Cinderella.

But the greatest part of the puzzle was the ring. . . .

Tucked between the folds of the letter, it was the same ring he had given her the previous night. He rubbed the engraving inside the