"Is the food not to your liking, Ariana?"
She looks directly at her mother after hearing her worried voice, She then gently places the fork by the plate, and looks at her dear family,
"The food is delicious, Mother, it's just I don't have an appetite" she explained with a small smile,
"But you still need to eat, you're getting thinner" Her mother worriedly told her, "I will, but I don't have an appetite right now" she reasoned to her mother who was so keen on making her eat,
"But-"
"Joanna, she said that she doesn't have an appetite right now, Don't force the kid" her mother was cut off by her father's deep and cold voice,
"Alright"
She eyed her parents, as she took a small bite of lettuce,
'They act like this in public, but they're clingy to one another when alone' she thought, remembering how she wrote about the relationship between the two in her book,
'Wait... I think I have an idea for my next book' she thought as a small smirk crept on her face, not knowing that her eldest brother, Axel, noticed her expression,
"But it seemed that the wretched author's reputation had grown"
She heard Axel say, she turned to face him as he was casually eating in his place, "It's quite normal for Ria to be big as she is a great author, Is something wrong, Axel?" Joanna worriedly asked for her son,
"He still hadn't moved on from how the author made him the protagonist in her story 'Becoming The Duke's Spoiled Wife' and how he became the subject of gossip each time there's an event" Edward explained, as he took a huge chunk of meat in his mouth
Hearing her father's words, she then remembered how she constructed the Male Lead, and how she made it look identical to Axel,
"That man is not me, no matter how many times I read that book, it doesn't sound like me"
She sighed loudly grabbing everyone's attention, "But Brother, what if you have someone you love in the future, don't tell me you won't pamper her?" She remarked, Her words made everyone think for a moment and realize that she did have a point
"Tsk, I will get married, but for me to love my wife, is quite an impossible task, as I only thought marriage was a duty" Axel simply replied, retorting to her words,
"But what if you love someone you never thought that you'd love, as love can happen at the most unexpected time with the most unexpected person" As she said those words, she locked eyes with her brother, but after some time, she withdraw and continue to eat with a smile on her face,
"Even so, Duke Drexel, never loved his wife in the first place, he loved her after spending some time with her, You never know brother that it would happen to you, in the future" she added as she stood up from her seat,
"May I excuse myself first, Mother, Father?" She asks
"One question, before you leave Ariana," Edward said, as he wiped his face with the table napkin and faced his only daughter with a serious look,
She faced her father, waiting for whatever question he might give her,
"Do you love Prince Luke, Ariana?"Edward asked her with a serious tone, expecting to see some hint in his daughter's expression
"I don't know why you're asking me suddenly, but I don't Father, I don't know how you manage to think of me liking moreover loving Prince Luke, when it's the first time I've met him" She explained with a poker look, immediately denying that fact,
"He sent you roses, didn't he? What's that supposed to mean?"
"That has no meaning father, I simply asked for White Roses in the Imperial Garden, and he gave it to me, It's not a symbol of love whatsoever," she said, not showing any emotions,
"I see, you don't want to associate yourself with the royal family, Ariana" Edward told his daughter who only let out a small smile, "I already know that Father, may I excuse myself now?" She asked, as she saw her father giving her a slight nod, she smiled brightly and curtsied at them,
"I'll be going back to my room" She bid them goodbye, as she walked out of the dining room and went to her room,
She noticed there were only a few maids in the hallways, she then shrugs it off and continued to walk her way, not until she heard a maid's laugh from a distant corner,
She stealthily walks there, noticing that at least 5 maids are gossiping about something, she lets her back rest on the wall, eavesdropping on them
"Don't you think that Lady Ariana may be an illegitimate child of the Duke or Duchess?" One maid remarked,
"Of course, we've thought of that, but her face is a spitting image of the duchess, her elegance and posture are like the Duke, which made us doubt whether she's illegitimate or not" the second maid stated
Hearing their words, she silently scoffed and rolled her eyes, as she continued to eavesdrop on them,
"She's not illegitimate, she's the young lady of this house when I was new here, It was when the Duchess went to labor, and I could hear the gossip of how the young lady is supposedly cursed or anything, even the Pope said so, and advised them to sent the baby to a forest because she'll be the fall of this empire," the third maid said,
Hearing her words, she was intrigued, and a small laugh let out from her mouth, not too loud so she could continue to eavesdrop,
"But they just followed the advice of the pope? Didn't they feel that they need to stay with the young madam?"
"You know how devoted the dukedom is in the temple, no doubt that they'll follow whatever advice the Pope would give" another grumbled, as it seemed she was not a follower of the Pope,
"But why do you think they wanted her back?"
Hearing those words from a maid, she was alerted, she knew that the maids may know something about this,
"Haven't you heard? It's because-"
"What are you 5 doing here? Are you paid to gossip about your superiors during work hours!?" They were cut off by the head maid, who glared at them,
Ariana mentally cursed as she was about to hear the main reason, but only to be cut off by the head maid,
"We're sorry ma'am!"
The 5 maids then went to their respective area where they were assigned, she let out a loud sigh as she continued to go her way, as she walked pass to where the maids were gossiping,
She took a small glance and saw the head maid had let out a breath in relief as if she had noticed she was eavesdropping on their conversation,
"Tsk" she let out and walked back to her room locked the door, walked towards the table, and sat on the chair, She snapped her fingers twice as a pen and a piece of paper appeared in front of her,
As she began writing the first draft of her book,
'Never Mine'