Elma POV
I pulled the torn edges of my gown tight against my chest. My cheeks burned with a scorching, humiliating heat.
Five minutes. That’s all it took. Five minutes for him to completely shatter my resolve, piece me back together with his mouth, and then toss me out like absolute rubbish the second another woman’s name was spoken.
I turned the corner, desperate to avoid the patrolling guards and duck into the servant’s stairwell.
That’s when I heard the giggling.
"I'm telling you, it’s absolutely brilliant timing," a high-pitched voice echoed from the adjacent corridor.
I froze, pressing my spine flat against the wall.
"Did you see the carriage?" another voice replied, accompanied by the clinking of silver trays. "Lady Anna is completely fit. Three years negotiating trade in the
