Chapter 1 (The Bastard )

"He can't stay here!"

The Duchess voice whipped through the grand foyer while She paced the polished marble floor, her expensive silk skirts rustling violently with every frantic turn.

"What the hell were you even thinking, bringing him here?!"

she shrieked, turning her fury directly on her husband.

The Duke didn't move.

He stood near the grand fireplace, his back straight, his expression completely unreadable as he stared into the flames.

His silence only stoked her anger.

"Why are you not answering? Answer me!"

she demanded, her voice cracking under the weight of her indignation.

Finally, the Duke  turned. His gaze bypassed his wife completely, landing for a brief, cold second on Adrian before fixing back on the Duchess.

“He will stay here,” the Duke replied with finality in his voice.

"He is my son."

"An illegitimate son!"

she spat back, the word echoing off the high, vaulted ceilings.

"You can't bring him here. What about our child? What impression will it have on him?"

The Duke brows knit in dark annoyance.

"What impression? They are brothers."

"No, they are not! They are not brothers!"

The Duchess voice cracked, a mix of pure rage and deep humiliation is all she felt.

"You cannot bring him here. What will people say? Please! Let's just send him somewhere else. Why does he need to stay here?!"

"I already told you that he will stay here," The Duke repeated, annoyance dripping in his tone.

"He is my son. I don't want to listen to anything else or anyone else."

A few paces away, Adrian stood completely frozen, looking down at his own feet. His heart was hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird, a loud, terrifying thumping that seemed to fill his ears. He was so incredibly scared. He didn't know what to do, where to look, or how to breathe without drawing their fury.

The dirt from his mother's fresh grave was practically still under his fingernails. The moment the funeral had ended, his father had brought him to this cold, hostile estate.

Adrian's throat tightened, a burning ache rising in his chest. He missed his mother so desperately and wanted to go home, to shrink back into his old life, and bury his face safely in his mother's warm, familiar arms. But those arms were gone, and he was left entirely alone.

---

#writon