Annalise watched as Lord Valerius took the letter from Mr. Warren and silently read through the content. She couldn't deny that she was really curious to know what the letter was about but she tried her best to appear as calm as possible.
"You can leave." The words were directed at Mr. Warren who bowed his head before leaving the four of them alone.
"What is it?" Lord Damien questioned when Lord Valerius was done reading the letter. The latter's eyes landed on Annalise and it made her feel more anxious. Were they waiting for her to leave so that they could discuss about the letter and whatever it said?
The realization made her stand up from her seat but before she could have said anything, she felt Lord Kenric's hand taking a hold of her arm as he made her sit down. She looked at her husband in confusion and found him looking back at her with warm eyes.
She didn't even notice when he changed seats with Lord Damien because as far as she could tell, Lord Damien was still sitting beside her a couple of seconds ago but now it was Lord Kenric sitting there on his seat.
"Where are you going?" He asked as if he had no idea about why she was leaving.
"I... I was leaving so that My Lords can discuss about the letter..." Annalise mumbled as she quickly glanced at Lord Valerius and Lord Damien. The other two lords had their attention pointed at her and Lord Kenric.
She heard a sigh leaving Kenric's lips and it made her return her attention to him. "What are we going to do with you, my silly little bird." It wasn't really a question but Annalise was too distracted by his 'my silly little bird' to pay attention to anything else.
"You don't have to leave. Unless we specifically tell you to leave a place, you don't have to leave if you don't want to. The letter is from the Palace and you have the right to know what it says unless it's mentioned otherwise in the letter." Kenric tried to get some sense inside her head that was too muddled with the teachings of 'How to be a perfect wife and a modest woman'.
She felt a warm touch on the back of her head which made her turn her attention towards her other side where Lord Valerius was sitting. He had one of his hands placed at the back of her head as he spoke, "I hope we aren't asking too much from you, but can you try to not be so closed off, Annalise? We want to see the real you, the one that you are hiding under the weight of the rules and regulations that you have been taught to follow ever since you were a child."
"This is not the Palace, nor the Grand Duke's mansion. This is your home where you can live just the way you want. No one here is going to judge you or question your choices, not even us. So please, don't try to be someone who isn't you. I want to meet my real wife, the real Annalise."
Annalise felt her eyes getting blurry as unshed tears filled them. No one had ever told her to be who she wanted without any care for others' thoughts. Though she had been brought up with so much love and respect from her parents, it never changed the reality that she was a noble lady and had to follow the rules and regulations of a noble lady all her life.
And here, she was being told to no longer worry about those so-called rules by none other than her husbands.
"Did you make her cry?" She heard Lord Damien's accusing voice that was aimed at Lord Valerius and if she hadn't been on the verge of crying and overwhelmed by so many emotions, she would probably have chuckled.
"I... I wasn't... that wasn't the plan. I didn't know that she..." Lord Valerius seemed just as distressed as the other two Lords. After all, he too wasn't expecting Annalise to start crying at his words.
"I told you that you suck at these types of things. You should have let me handle it." This time, it was Lord Kenric who pointed his accusing tone at Lord Valerius.
"Thank you." Her words created silence around her as her husbands looked at her with confusion filling their eyes. "Thank you..."
She couldn't muster more words to leave her mouth so she tried her best to put all her gratitude into these two words as she passed a quick look in the direction of the three lords.
She wasn't sure what she was expecting but the warm back hug that she received from Lord Kenric was definitely not on her list. But she wasn't complaining at all. His arms wrapped around her waist made her feel like she belonged there and as if it was the safest place in the world for her.
Lord Valerius patted the back of her head softly before he moved closer to place a soft feathery kiss against her temple. When he pulled away a few seconds later, she was sure that she saw the same fire in his Ice-blue eyes that she had noticed a couple of times before.
Her eyes moved towards Lord Damien when she felt a slight tug on her Moon Thread. She wasn't sure how she knew that it was him but he was the one who got her attention. The Lord didnt move, nor did he say anything, but the rare warm look in his eyes spoke the exact words that she wanted to hear.
Annalise felt a smile blooming on her lips as she felt warmth filling her heart and soul. Her Moon Thread was shining brightly and she noticed the same thing happening to the ones her husbands wore.
However, her smile froze soon when she heard the words Lord Kenric whispered next to her ear, "I'm going to stay with you tonight..."