Chapter 268: The Masquerade Of Lies And Truth PT 2

Lydia walked calmly beside Anna as they left her chambers.

The closer they got to the ballroom, the louder the music became.

Or perhaps it only seemed louder because neither of them was saying anything.

Lydia held her black feathered mask in one hand. Her other hand rested by her side as she walked, her face calm even though her heart was anything but.

Tonight.

She kept reminding herself of those two words.

Tonight, she would tell Ivan.

No matter what happened after that, she would tell him.

She had already made the decision. She could not keep running away from it.

They left the living quarters and entered the long hallway that led toward the ballroom.

They had barely gone a few steps when Anna suddenly stopped.

Lydia looked up.

Ivan was walking toward them.

Boris was beside him.

Boris was talking about something with great excitement, while Ivan looked like he had stopped listening several minutes ago.

"And then I told him that if he wanted the horses moved, he should have told me before I had them all washed," Boris was saying. "But of course, nobody listens to me until something goes wrong."

Ivan gave him a tired look.

Boris continued as if he had not noticed.

"Although, to be fair, I probably should have known better."

Ivan sighed.

Lydia’s steps slowed.

Then her eyes met Ivan’s.

Everything else seemed to disappear.

The music.

The servants walking through the hall.

The sound of Boris talking.

Even Anna beside her.

For one brief moment, Lydia could only see Ivan.

He looked handsome in his black suit.

His dark hair had been neatly styled, and his clothes were far different from the ones he usually wore when working or training.

Lydia’s heart skipped.

Ivan felt it too.

His eyes remained on her.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Last night came back to both of them.

The rain.

Her tears.

His arms around her.

Her lips against his.

The promise he had made.

Neither knew what the other was thinking.

But the memory was there.

Then Boris noticed them.

"Your Highness!"

His cheerful voice broke the silence between them.

Lydia immediately looked away.

Anna also quickly bowed her head.

"Your Highness."

Ivan nodded.

"Anna."

Lydia forced herself to look at Boris instead.

"Why are you here?"

Boris smiled.

"I came to see my favourite Grand Duke, of course."

Lydia blinked.

Boris placed a hand over his chest as if he had been deeply offended.

"How could I possibly allow this grumpy loner to spend another day without his only friend?"

Ivan’s expression became flat.

"Boris."

"What?"

"You are embarrassing yourself."

"I’m embarrassing you, which is much more important."

Lydia could not help the small smile that touched her lips.

Boris noticed.

"See? Her Highness agrees with me."

Lydia looked away.

Boris laughed softly.

"I knew I could make you smile."

Ivan said nothing.

But his eyes remained on Lydia.

Boris seemed completely unaware of the quiet tension between them.

Or perhaps he simply chose not to mention it.

He looked at Lydia again.

"You look beautiful tonight, Your Highness."

Lydia looked at him.

"Thank you."

She glanced at his clothes.

"And you look handsome too."

Boris looked down at himself proudly.

"I knew this costume was the right choice."

Lydia studied him for a moment.

He was dressed as a pirate, complete with the clothes and accessories that made the costume clear.

"A pirate?"

Boris nodded.

"A very handsome pirate."

Lydia smiled politely.

"Why a pirate?"

Boris pointed toward Ivan.

"It’s from one of His Highness’s favourite books."

Lydia’s smile slowly faded.

She looked at Ivan.

Boris continued talking.

"He used to read that book all the time. I mean, all the time. I would visit him and there it was. I would come back another day and it was still there."

Ivan looked irritated.

"Boris."

"I’m telling the truth."

"You don’t have to tell her everything."

"Why not?"

Boris turned back to Lydia.

"Eventually, I became curious about what was so special about that book. So I read it too."

Lydia barely heard him.

Her eyes had already returned to Ivan.

She knew the book.

Very well.

It had once been her favourite too.

She remembered the days when she and Ivan had talked about it.

They had laughed about the characters.

They had argued about which one was better.

Sometimes they had even read parts of it together.

It was one of those small memories that had once meant nothing because they had so many of them.

Now it was enough to make her chest hurt.

Lydia quickly looked away.

She did not want to think about it.

She had already spent the entire day preparing herself for what she had to do.

She could not allow an old memory to make her lose her courage.

Not tonight.

Not when she was finally going to tell him about their baby.

But her heart was already beating faster.

She suddenly felt even more nervous than before.

Boris was still talking.

"I even started reading it because of him. At first, I thought it was going to be boring. Then I ended up staying awake half the night because I wanted to know what happened next."

Lydia nodded faintly.

"I see."

That was all she could manage.

Ivan noticed.

He had been watching her closely.

There was something wrong.

He could see it in her face.

She looked uneasy.

At first, he thought perhaps she was embarrassed about what had happened between them the night before.

He understood why she might feel awkward.

He did too.

But this seemed different.

She was not simply avoiding his eyes.

She looked nervous.

Almost afraid.

Ivan wondered what had happened.

Did someone say something to her?

Was she feeling unwell?

He wanted to ask if she was all right.

But with Boris and Anna standing there, he did not know how.

He also knew better than to force a conversation.

Lydia had made it clear that she did not want him too close.

So he remained silent.

Boris suddenly looked between the two of them.

"Come to think of it..."

He paused.

Lydia looked at him.

Ivan looked suspicious.

Boris smiled.

"You two matched."

Lydia looked down at her black dress.

Then she glanced at Ivan’s black suit.

She had not even noticed.

Boris laughed.

"Look at that. Both dressed in black."

Ivan gave him a warning look.

Boris ignored it.

"You could almost say it was planned."

"It wasn’t," Lydia said quickly.

Boris raised his hands.

"I didn’t say it was."

Lydia felt her face become warm.

Ivan looked away.

For a few seconds, nobody said anything.

The awkwardness returned.

Boris seemed to realize that he had said enough.

Thankfully, before he could make things worse, footsteps approached from behind them.

Katherine appeared.

She bowed slightly.

"Your Highnesses, the ball has begun."

Lydia nodded.

"Thank you, Katherine."

Katherine looked at the group and then at Lydia.

She noticed the slight tension on Lydia’s face but said nothing.

The music from the ballroom had grown louder.

Guests were already arriving.

Lydia tightened her grip around her mask.

This was it.

No more distractions.

She had spent too long preparing herself for this moment.

She looked briefly at Ivan.

Their eyes met again.

Her heart beat harder.

Ivan watched her silently.

There was something he wanted to ask her.

He could see that she was carrying something in her mind.

But before he could say anything, Lydia turned toward the ballroom.

She could not allow herself to lose courage now.

She took a slow breath.

No distraction.

She repeated the words in her head.

I have to tell him.

Whatever happened after that, she would face it.

If Ivan accepted her, she would accept it.

If he rejected her, she would survive it.

She had already spent three months carrying the truth alone.

She could not do it forever.

Lydia began walking toward the ballroom.

Anna followed beside her.

Ivan and Boris walked behind them.

Lydia could hear Ivan’s footsteps.

For some reason, that made her heart beat even faster.

She did not turn around.

Tonight, she would tell him.

No matter what.