When Audrey appeared at breakfast the next morning, everyone turned to look at her.
Would she be broken? Would her perfect composure crack? Would the princess reveal that her father's decision to postpone her marriage had hurt her?
She entered wearing a simple blue dress, her jewellery simpler than usual. When she took her seat beside the king, she looked immaculate. She ate and talked to others as she always did. She was flawless.
But during the entire breakfast, she didn't look at Austin, not even once. Her gaze moved naturally around the room but the space where Austin sat didn't exist for her. She avoided him the way one avoids a piece of furniture that you intentionally ignore.
Austin noticed, and Alina saw the exact moment he did the subtle shift in his posture when he realized Audrey was ignoring him.
Alina lowered her gaze to her plate, watching the performance unfold.
This is what three years of patience looks like when it finally runs out.
