The Duchess's Secret Heir

bright and unrestrained, as he chased a butterfly across the small garden. Isabella watched him from the doorway, her hands wrapped around a

Edward, the small patch of earth behind their cottage was a kingdom, the sunlit fields beyond it an endless adventure. His caref

r clutched in his tiny fist. He ran toward her, his

and brushing a stray curl from his forehead. She took the flower

around her neck. In that moment, Isabella felt the weight of her s

ave spent their days in sprawling manors or bustling towns, Edward's days were filled with the simple joys of vil

and endless questions. Mrs. Whitby, the local baker, often slipped him a small bi

y said one afternoon as Edward sat on a barrel, happil

well with pride, though they also reminded her of the delicate balance she had to maintain. The mor

o turn, their fiery colors carpeting the ground in reds and golds. Edward darted ahead, his tiny boots crunc

ey're tired, Mama?" Edward asked, pausin

Perhaps they do, sweetheart. But maybe they fall

oughtfully. "So they're l

lla said, ruffling his curls.

g him, Isabella felt a pang of both pride and sorrow. She had worked so hard to give him th

e had died down and the cottage was bathed in soft moonlight, Isabella would sit by his bed, rea

night again, Mama," Edward would s

dward," Isabella replied with a l

o a dark forest to rescue a lost princess. Edward listened with rapt

t one day?" he asked one eveni

d, her voice catching slightly. She kissed his forehead, l

s that

nd," she said. "A true knight p

drifting off to sleep, his s

bella faced. He had seen her hands blistered from tending the gard

small stream behind their cottage, Edward

so hard?" he asked, h

down and cupped his face in her hands. "Because I love you, E

ed, his voice filled with the

but she blinked them away. "I a

ace, Isabella felt her resolve strengthen. No matter ho

es, a life crafted with intention and love. She had traded a gilded cage for f

ttled in her chest. She knew this innocence, this happiness, came at a cost. Adrian's shadow loome

why she had risked everything. She could only hope that when the day came to face the pas