Surviving Husband's Betrayal

The East Wing had become my prison. Four walls of opulence that might as well have been cell bars. I spent my days pacing the Persian rugs, staring out windows I couldn't open, talking to myself because there was no one else to listen.

Except Luna. My beautiful white cat was the only creature who didn't look at me with pity or suspicion. She curled against my legs at night when the loneliness became too much to bear. She purred when I cried, as if she understood the weight crushing my chest.

"You're all I have left," I whispered, stroking her soft fur as she stretched across my lap. "Just you and me against the world."

Luna blinked her amber eyes, tail twitching as if in agreement. Sometimes I wondered if she was the only one who truly saw me—not as the fragile princess or the barren wife, but simply as Meadow.

The knock at my bathroom door startled me from my bath. I'd been soaking for nearly an hour, trying to ease the constant ache in my chest.

"Who is it?" I called, wrapping myself in a towel.

"It's just me," came Camryn's honeyed voice. "I was passing by and thought I'd check on you."

My stomach clenched. Camryn never "just checked" on anyone. Everything she did was calculated.

"I'm fine," I replied, quickly dressing. "You shouldn't be in this wing. Adrian said—"

"Oh, I know what Adrian said." Her voice dripped with false sweetness. "But we're practically family now, aren't we? I thought we could bond."

I emerged from the bathroom to find her sitting primly on my bed, stroking Luna. My cat was unusually still, allowing Camryn's touch despite her normally wary nature.

"What are you doing?" I asked, moving toward them.

"Just being friendly," Camryn smiled, holding something small between her fingers. "I brought her a little treat. Animals love me."

As I stepped closer, Luna suddenly jerked away from Camryn's hand. Her body went rigid, then began to convulse. A terrible yowling sound tore from her throat as she thrashed across the bedspread.

"Luna!" I screamed, lunging forward. "What did you do?"

Camryn stood, smoothing her dress. "Nothing. Cats get sick all the time."

Luna's eyes rolled back, showing only whites. Her body twisted in agony as I gathered her into my arms.

"She's just playing," Camryn said with a shrug. "You're so dramatic."

I cradled Luna against my chest, feeling her small body seize with pain. "Help me! She needs help!"

Camryn backed toward the door. "I should go. You seem... unstable."

Luna's convulsions grew weaker as I ran my fingers through her fur, trying to soothe her. Her amber eyes found mine, filled with a trust that broke my heart.

"Stay with me," I begged, tears streaming down my face. "Please, Luna. Stay with me."

But her body went limp in my arms, her final breath a soft whisper against my wrist.

---

"She poisoned her!" I screamed, running through the palace halls with Luna's lifeless body clutched to my chest. "Camryn killed Luna!"

Staff scattered from my path as I raced toward Adrian's study. My bare feet slapped against the marble floors, my hair wild around my face.

Adrian looked up as I burst through the door, his expression shifting from surprise to alarm.

"Meadow, what are you—"

"Look!" I thrust Luna toward him. "Look what she did!"

Adrian's eyes widened at the sight of the dead cat. Before he could respond, Camryn appeared in the doorway behind me, her face streaked with tears.

"I didn't mean to," she sobbed, her hand protectively cradling her barely-visible bump. "I just wanted to be nice to her cat. I had no idea..."

"Stop lying!" I whirled to face her. "You fed her rat poison. I saw you!"

Camryn's tears flowed freely now. "I would never hurt an animal. You're having another episode, Meadow. The doctor warned us about your hysteria."

Adrian moved between us, his face tight with exhaustion. "This has gone far enough."

"Far enough?" My voice cracked. "She killed Luna! My Luna!"

"Perhaps you should lie down," Adrian said, his tone clinical. "You're clearly not well."

"I'm not well?" I laughed hysterically. "Your mistress murdered my cat, and you're worried about my mental state?"

Adrian's jaw tightened. He pressed a button on his desk, summoning the guards. "Remove... that," he gestured to Luna's body. "And call Dr. Morris. He should sedate Her Highness."

---

"I saw her do it!"

Rose's voice echoed through the hallway as she stormed into Adrian's study without knocking. Her normally composed face was flushed with anger, her eyes blazing.

"How dare you!" she shouted, pointing at Camryn who had remained in the room. "How dare you murder an innocent creature and blame it on my lady!"

Adrian rose slowly from his desk, his authority challenged. "You forget yourself, Rose."

"No, Your Highness," Rose stood her ground, chin lifted. "I forget nothing. I saw this woman enter the East Wing. I saw her with the poison from the garden shed."

Camryn's face paled. "You're lying!"

"I know the truth," Rose continued, her voice steady despite the risk she was taking. "And so does everyone who isn't blinded by your manipulations."

Adrian's face darkened to a dangerous shade. "You question my judgment?"

"I question your heart," Rose replied, her loyalty to me overriding all else. "The man who would let his wife suffer such cruelty is no man at all."

The silence that followed was deafening. Adrian's hands curled into fists at his sides, his eyes cold with a rage I had never seen before.