As she felt the many hands of empathetic women cradle her, she felt the wrenching feeling of what Armaan left for her to handle on her own.
Perhaps he was the one that could've kissed away her loneliness, that he'd be the one they would grow old and raise kids together.
He'd make her feel like a natural woman.
The image of what being a woman was like, the reality she saw Vivianne lived out—this was supposed to be it.
Coraline had already concluded that the contract marriage was out of a give-and-take relationship. But Armaan had indulged in her, walked away wedded and respected. The same was to be given to her, yet emptiness spread throughout her body as it came from her naked ring finger.
Although various women briefly comforted her, she knew their warmth was temporary. They'd soon hear what the press had to say about her and leave her be like everyone else had. It was a short-lived understanding they had for her.
Like everybody else did.
'Nothing ever stays the same.'
She felt her chest heaved as the three women lifted her back to her feet.
Amidst the crowd, she saw Mama, who was giving a longing look at her. It was in that instance that she remembered Armaan learning much about her through Mama. Who told him quite a bit about who she was.
Yet before Vivianne introduced the two, Coraline had not been aware of who Mama was nor the underground tavern she secretly hid out from common society.
They had never encountered one another before, and yet Coraline's twisted upbringing was disclosed in full including its location. Armaan even knew how to get there despite being a foreigner to the Sangriles.
Her blood began to pump quickly through her head and legs.
"Honey, you don't need to raise to your feet so suddenly!"
The woman that crowded her began to harden their grip on her wrists.
Coraline shouted out to Mama's distant figure, "Mama!"
In a flash, she could see Mama receding from the scene and she lost her close look at her face from before. Unable to tell if the look she gave Coraline was genuine or a sick joke.
She began to thrash herself free from the woman's arms, groans and hysteric sobs reflected on her face as she was drenched in sweat and tears.
A mess is what she looked like to the crowd of people on the dock to see their friends, families, and lovers off.
After Mama was gone from her line of sight the woman let go of her as such. Coraline fell to her knees once more, no use chasing after a lost cause.
Her memory dwindled back to Armaan, reassuring herself there was no love meant for their marriage, and in the end, it was business. Like everybody else. This wasn't her big break; it was her saving, Sapphire Greens.
She wiped away the stains left from her face and massaged out her wrists before returning to her feet once more. The end of her dress and stockings were dirtied and torn by the gravel.
Coraline began to recollect back to her normal state, this wasn't going to leave a dent in her.
When she looked back for the woman that soothed her earlier, they all disappeared from her side.
Soon the crowd had too, each person glancing at her as if pleasing their thoughts of wanting to see what she 'deserved.'
She turned back to her walk home; it was clear she'd seek Mama once more. To uncover the true reason for helping her out. It was apparent that no things came for free, and after today neither was her marriage.
If Mama dug up all she could on her, there was a cause for that and pairing her with Armaan out of all the men that resided in the kingdom.
It'd been some time before she could open up about the events from that day to Vivianne, Coraline heard from her friend herself—Mama was like a guardian angel to Vivi.
Once she arrived, she slipped her dress off and stuffed it into the trash of her small flat, strands of her hair stuck to her forehead like gum.
Cold air had built up from the window that was left open near her kitchen.
'Did Armaan open that?'
She shut the window shut then pulled the curtains from any lousy people who were keen to see how she lived her life behind closed doors.
She took one of the bottles with a new design from the floor and rolled it over in her left hand before falling back on her mattress.
As if the world was toying with her, her bed's aroma was identical to her husband, Armaan. Her necklace hung awkwardly by her collarbone maybe it was a blessing in disguise she was never the man who gave her it.
It would've been best if she didn't have to acquaint with Armaan as well, leaving their strings loose. It was clear he wasn't her soulmate.
They were placeholders in each other's lives, benefiting from a contract.
With her right hand, Coraline tried to reach out for something to distract her mind.
There were more important things to stay focused on like...
A shriek came from her, "The black envelopes!"
She jumped from her bed frantically checking through her belongings she had hidden them from Armaan discreetly, but there was a chance he could've discovered them while roaming around while Coraline was asleep.
'How could I have been so stupid,' her breath became haggard as she checked the hiding spot. If Armaan got his hands on those, he could put a golden bounty over her head.
How convenient would it be for the people who wanted to see her fall to have this opportunity drop in their laps?
She didn't have any blood ties to someone important, it'd be easy to have her behind bars or in a ward locked away for life.
They could have her exiled.
This could've been Mama's big plan, the instigator of the kingdom, she probably could have the information reach the ears of the Bijou's family.
Despite their son raising havoc whenever he left his room, they'd for sure have Coraline's head for conspiracy of his death.
"Where is it!"
Anxiety riddled fear replaced Coraline's disappointment in her marriage.
Her feet paced from the bathroom to the kitchen, then back to Coraline's desk. She tore her it inside out and under her bed. Pulling out the cases of her misplaced bottles, documents, and photographs.
She lifted her bed sheets and mattress examining the bed frame, 'Nothing.'
Curses spewed from her mouth as Armaan's image began to melt from anything good, she had left to say about him.
'That spy. I can't believe it, me! Me! Coraline Hugues, losing everything to a man!'
Her business was already sinking but to have the last of it being pushed off by a man who had never lived in Sangriles enraged her.
A kingdom that was a hideaway from the world and held grim stories within its walls and mountainside. If its people knew how Sangriles managed to be interconnected to overseas businesses and the fabrication of the hard times the people experienced was a calculated move.
There was chance Mama convinced his naive attitude to spin it into grim daggers at the woman who ran an acholic business that was a front for something more gravity shifting.
Everything Coraline worked for, was neatly written in the letters.
From the plan to the events leading up to it, and the outcome.
All she had to do was keep the envelopes safe from an outsider's eyes and in an organized formation it'd all fall into place.
Her head began to feel light as she did the last search, it could only be inside the bottom drawer of her desk. She hadn't open it since she was adopted.
Coraline's fingers reached for it and slowly pulled it out until her eyes caught sight of the color red stamped envelopes.
"No way," her eyes welled with horror.
Who was the man that she signed to be wedded with?
He played her like she was a beginner. Every time it was Coraline, her ability to manipulated men into sharing their deepest secrets was no easy feat—yet she was unable to do so with Armaan?
She took the envelopes one by one counting to make sure none were missing, simultaneously while being unattentively to the turned over papers that had aged with time.
None of it made sense.
Her heart slowed, Coraline brought the envelopes to her chest relieved Armaan didn't take them as evidence to her death.
Her eyes looked up, was it worth leaving her room now?
In the time she had been home, everyone in town could've got word of her crime, guards stationed ready to ransack her room, and Bijou could be waiting for her himself.
Her hands began to tremble as it gripped the letters.
If she was to be met with the outcomes she quickly concluded to, then she couldn't be convicted looking guilty. One more reason for people to have their matches ready, ready to burn down her safe place.
'If I'm going down then so is everyone else.'