On a hot summer day, I opened my bedroom window... I must have fallen asleep, unlike usual.

"Tana!! Tana" I heard a scream from downstairs.

I went downstairs to see what my mother wanted this time.

Maybe she will ask me to sell one of my grandfather's old gifts, or maybe it was another marriage

proposal from the nobles who now think I'm an easy prey after our family lost its fortune.

"My dear, God has answered my prayers" she said with a cheerful expression.

"What's the matter this time, mother?" I said sarcastically as I sat next to her.

"My dear, this letter is actually a marriage proposal from the Duke of Barton".

"Nonsense... Maybe someone is joking with us because they know how desperate you are to return to high society" I said to her.

"No, it came with a seal... Even the carriage that delivered it had the Barton House symbol on it... No doubt it's real" she added.

This strange proposal puzzled me... Isn't he the one who got married a few months ago?

I remember that his love story with his childhood friend was known to everyone in the capital, nobles and commoners alike.

I even remember seeing them ride in a carriage around the city on their wedding day after they got permission from the royal family.

From a distance, he looked like a handsome young man with brown hair, but why would he ask me to be his second wife? We had never met face to face and we had never spoken at fancy parties when my family was still in power.

Many thoughts were running through my mind all day.

Is he making fun of us? No, it can't be because everyone knows he's a good man, while other nobles have mistresses and go to brothels, he kept his reputation clean.

He was one of the few nobles who married for love and remained faithful throughout their engagement.

I didn't want to think about it any further because I would have rejected his proposal anyway or so I thought.

"Tana, my dear, your father and I think we should go ahead with the marriage as soon as possible before the duke changes his mind" My mother said as I was having breakfast.

"What? What do you mean I didn't agree to anything" I said to her, raising my tone with every word that came out of my mouth.

"My daughter, you don't understand. Maybe he had a fight with his wife or something… We need to come to an agreement as soon as possible before he backs out of the offer". She said to me as she held my hand trying to convince me.

"Mother! You said you would let me choose my own marriage partner like you did! And look at you now trying to sell me out" I said to her after she stood up immediately.

"It's different!!!" She raised her voice… then paused for a moment and continued but this time in a calm tone "It's different now… Back then our family was rich, but look at us now, the other nobles are making fun of us… Please, my little one, you are our only hope".

I couldn't listen to her anymore, so I left the room.

"Tana!! Come back, we're not done talking!" My mother shouted from downstairs. But I ignored her and locked myself in my room.

I thought everything was over...but the next day, three carts with the Barton family logo on them arrived at our house.

We weren't like this in the past, I remember that before my grandfather died, laughter filled our house.

My mother was kind and caring, and my father took us on family trips and spent a lot of time with us, but I think that happiness was bought with money.

For three generations, the Reis family was made up of wealthy merchants, we weren't nobles in the past, but even the nobles envied our wealth.

When I was young, my grandfather took me on trips around the world to expand his business.

We would return to Asia every summer because it was my favorite place in the world, I loved the food, the culture, and most importantly the clothes.

The nobles would stare at me when I would wear Qing clothing and walk around the city. But I didn't care at all because no one dared to make fun of our family.

All that happiness ended when my grandfather died and his successors couldn't manage things properly, so our wealth gradually disappeared.

At that time I offered to help many times, but no one listened to me, they thought that I was too young to even help them, and that led to our family’s ruin.

Now we live in a small house on the outskirts of the capital because my mother refuses to leave.

She hoped there was a way to get back into high society, and it seemed she wasn't entirely wrong.

The day after the marriage proposal speech, three carriages filled with silks and luxury goods arrived at our house.

My mother was delighted because this meant that the Duke was serious about the proposal.

My mother accepted the gifts immediately even though we hadn't formally responded to his request.

I thought I could object or decline as I always do when a marriage proposal arrives, but the Duke added fuel to the fire.

Because I knew my mother would pressure me even more now.

After our family lost its fortune, my mother was the most affected.

Although we all loved the luxurious lifestyle, when the harsh reality hit us we tried to adapt, and my father found a job as an accountant for a count in the capital.

My little brother began training to become a knight, and I taught languages ​​to other noble ladies whenever I could.

But my mother stayed in the past and refused to change.

She couldn't understand that she could no longer host weekly tea parties.

Or she could no longer afford silk dresses.

She first started selling my grandfather's gifts one by one to buy herself more time in high society, but that didn't last long.

"Tana, I know you're listening" My mother said as she stood behind my bedroom door.

"I sent our reply with the cart... We have accepted the offer, it's for your benefit and the benefit of our family" Then she left.

The sound of her loud footsteps going down the stairs made my heart sink in sadness.

After that day, I stopped talking to my family and treated them coldly.

My father seemed worried and tried to talk to me several times, saying that the Duke was a good man, trying to convince me that they did it for me.

My mother would always go out and brag to her friends that our family would be related to the Duke.

The only person who was really worried about me was my little brother who apologized for not being able to convince our parents to back down from their decision.

But what could a 17-year-old boy do in a situation like this.

I know that deep down, my mother is not a bad person, but her obsession with attracting attention led to this terrible moment.

Our only maid came to inform me of the wedding date, which was only a few weeks away.

Normally, planning a noble wedding takes six months, but my wedding was quick and would take place in the royal chapel.

Making a normal dress for nobles takes about one to three months, so due to the time constraints, the Duke sent me a wedding dress and I only had to modify it to fit my size.

(Even my dress was chosen for me) I thought to myself as I held the dress in my hand.

The night before the wedding, I put on the dress and looked at myself in the mirror of my room, and began to cry silently.

I had always been proud of my appearance, my emerald eyes were rare and my long black hair attracted attention wherever I went.

Although I was much taller than the type preferred by the nobles in the capital, they still followed me like bees.

Back then, I had constantly rejected them, believing that I had the power to choose who I wanted, and now I was faced with the reality that my family had sold me out for the highest price.

I, who had always thought that I would marry for love and live happily, would now become the second wife of a man who might think of marrying me to anger his lover.

Or may he got board of his current wife and he needs a new toy to play with. After all nobles look at their wife and lovers like a trophy.

a beautiful doll to showcase to others, to make others envious.

Or like a tool to bare them childrens, after all since the old time until now the most valuable asset of a woman is her womb.

At twelve o'clock noon in the year 1828, my wedding was held in front of all the powerful families in the country.

I walked with my head held high and waited for my groom to face another harsh reality.

The Duke did not come to our wedding in person, but sent a proxy instead.

As if my wedding wasn’t missrable enough. this last hit was like putting salt on a new wound.