"Will you not grant me entry, dear sister?" Isabella's voice held a plaintive note as she stood beyond the gate, her gaze fixed firmly on her sibling.
"What brings you here, Isabella?" Her voice was tinged with suspicion.
Isabella took a step closer, her eyes softening as she beheld her sister. "I've longed to have a conversation with you, to meet my nephew and niece," she admitted, her gaze drifting to Ciela's gently swelling baby bump. "And it seems congratulations are in order—you're expecting your third child."
A subtle tension hung in the air, and Isabella's plea grew more urgent. "Sister, please, it's been too long. Will you deny me this chance to reconnect?"
"Madame Bonaparte," he ventured cautiously. "I'm not privy to the details of your discussion, but this chilly gateway hardly befits such an important conversation. Please, if you wouldn't mind, return inside the palace where it's warmer. Of course, along with her."
