Chapter 270: Maybe Love Is Not Enough

Lydia stood up from her seat when she heard footsteps.

Her heart immediately started beating faster.

"Ivan?"

There was no answer.

She waited for a moment.

The footsteps continued.

Lydia took a few steps forward, looking toward the dark path ahead of her. A figure was walking in her direction.

At first, she could barely make out who it was.

The person came closer.

Then his face became clearer.

Lydia let out a quiet breath when she recognized him.

"Damir."

Damir stopped when he saw her.

"Lydia?"

She placed a hand over her chest.

"You scared me."

"I’m sorry." He looked around. "I didn’t know you’d be here. Is everything all right?"

Lydia nodded.

"I’m fine."

Damir looked at her for a moment as if he was not completely convinced.

"Then what are you doing here?"

Lydia glanced toward the path.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Damir gave a small smile.

"I came with my mother."

Lydia looked surprised.

"Godmother Irina is here?"

He nodded.

"Yes. She came for the ball."

Lydia smiled faintly.

"I haven’t seen her yet."

"You probably will later."

Damir put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette.

"I actually came out here to smoke."

Lydia looked at him.

"Smoke?"

"Yes."

He sighed.

"My mother absolutely hates it when I smoke. If she catches me, I’ll never hear the end of it."

Lydia did not reply.

Her eyes had already moved back toward the pathway.

She was waiting.

She did not even know how long she had been standing there.

She was waiting for Ivan.

Damir noticed where she was looking.

"Lydia."

She looked at him.

He hesitated before speaking.

"To be honest, I didn’t only come out here to smoke."

Lydia frowned slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"I came to see you."

She looked surprised.

"Me?"

Damir nodded.

"I’ve been worried about you since our last conversation."

Lydia lowered her eyes.

"I’m sorry about that."

"You don’t have to apologize."

"I wasn’t feeling well that day."

"I know."

Damir studied her face.

"But I still wanted to talk to you."

Lydia was quiet for a moment.

Then she asked softly, "What did you want to tell me?"

Damir’s expression changed.

The joking look disappeared from his face.

"Lydia, tell me something."

She waited.

"Are you happy?"

Lydia blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I asked."

He took a slow breath.

"Are you happy?"

Lydia did not know how to answer.

Damir had known her for most of her life.

He had known her before she became the Grand Duchess.

Before she had learned to hide her feelings.

Before everything that happened to her.

"I’ve known you since we were little," he continued. "You were always cheerful. You smiled all the time. You were sweet, curious, and always asking questions."

A sad smile appeared on his face.

"Your eyes were always full of hope."

Lydia’s lips parted slightly.

Damir looked directly at her.

"But now..."

He paused.

"When I look at you, I don’t see that girl anymore."

Lydia looked away.

"Your eyes are empty."

She swallowed.

Damir continued quietly.

"I know you were forced to marry the Grand Duke. I know you didn’t choose any of this."

Lydia remained silent.

"But I don’t understand why you came back."

She looked at him.

"After everything he did to you, why would you return to him?"

Lydia’s eyes began to sting.

Damir shook his head.

"You were abandoned. You were left alone with your child."

Lydia’s expression changed immediately.

"Who told you about that?"

Damir looked at her sadly.

"I’m sorry."

"Who told you?"

"I heard it from the servants."

Lydia looked away.

She suddenly felt exposed.

She had spent so much time trying to hide her pregnancy and the pain she carried with it.

Now someone else knew.

Damir stepped closer.

"I didn’t want to hear it from them. I wanted to ask you myself."

Lydia wiped at the corner of her eye.

"You shouldn’t worry about me."

"How can I not?"

His voice was gentle.

"I can’t sit back and watch you suffer."

Lydia shook her head.

"I’m fine."

"No, you’re not."

She looked at him.

"You don’t have to pretend with me."

Those words broke something inside her.

Damir’s eyes softened.

"I made a promise to your parents."

Lydia froze.

"Your father and mother asked me to protect you."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"I promised them I would."

Damir’s voice became quieter.

"Seeing you suffer like this would break their hearts."

Lydia’s lips trembled.

She tried to hold herself together.

She really did.

But she couldn’t.

A tear escaped her eyes.

Then another.

And another.

Before she could control it, she was already crying.

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

For one painful moment, she imagined her parents standing beside her.

If they were still alive, would her life have been different?

Would she have suffered so much during the last three years?

Would she have had to face everything alone?

Maybe her father would have protected her.

Maybe her mother would have held her when she cried.

Maybe she would not have felt so alone.

Her tears began falling freely.

"If they were here..." she whispered.

Damir moved closer.

"Lydia."

"If they were alive, maybe everything would be different."

She could barely speak.

"Maybe I wouldn’t have..."

Her voice broke.

Damir immediately pulled her into his arms.

"I’m sorry."

Lydia cried against him.

He held her carefully.

"You don’t have to apologize for crying."

She gripped the front of his clothes.

For a moment, she allowed herself to be comforted.

Damir gently rubbed her back.

"I’ll do anything to protect you, Lydia."

She closed her eyes.

"Anything."

He pulled back slightly and looked at her.

"Because I care about you."

Lydia stared at him through her tears.

Damir took a breath.

There was something else he needed to say.

Something he had probably been thinking about for a long time.

"Lydia..."

She waited.

"Can you leave him?"

She froze.

Damir continued.

"Leave the Grand Duke and come to me."

Lydia’s eyes widened.

"Damir..."

"Let me take care of you."

His voice was sincere.

"Let me protect you."

He looked at her with a softness she had known since they were young.

"Let’s get married, Lydia."

Everything around her seemed to become quiet.

Lydia could not speak.

She did not know what to say.

She had never expected those words from him.

But there was someone else who had heard every word.

Not far away, hidden behind the bushes, Ivan stood completely still.

He had been carrying a glass of water in his hand.

He had come looking for Lydia.

He had wanted to make sure she was all right.

He had not expected to hear this.

His fingers tightened around the glass.

For a moment, he could not move.

He looked at Lydia.

She was crying.

Damir was holding her.

And then Ivan heard the words again in his mind.

Let’s get married, Lydia.

His heart dropped.

No.

He wasn’t jealous.

At least, that was what he told himself.

He simply felt defeated.

Because perhaps Damir was right.

Lydia had suffered because of him.

From the moment she met him, her life had changed.

She had lost her happiness.

She had cried because of him.

She had spent years carrying pain that he had caused.

Even the rain had become something she was afraid of because of him.

She loved him but he repaid her with endless suffering.

Ivan remembered finding her terrified in his room the night before.

He remembered holding her while she cried.

He remembered her asking him not to leave her.

His chest hurt.

If she stayed with him, would she ever truly be happy?

He looked down.

Maybe Damir could give her what he couldn’t.

Maybe Lydia could smile again if she was with someone else.

Maybe she could live without constantly being afraid that the person she loved would hurt her again.

Ivan’s eyes became wet.

He did not want to hear anymore.

He slowly turned around.

The glass was still in his hand.

He walked away from the bushes without making a sound.

He did not look back.

He headed deeper into another part of the maze, needing somewhere quiet to think.

Behind him, Lydia remained unaware that he had been there.

She was still standing in front of Damir, trying to understand what he had just asked her.

Ivan kept walking.

He did not want to hear the rest of their conversation.

Not tonight.

Not when he already knew what he believed the truth was.

Perhaps Lydia would be happier without him.