My Wife, My Rules – 42. chapter FINAL

Later, when silence settled over the room again, Aiden slowly sat on the edge of the bed. Sunlight behind the curtains had risen higher, softer, warmer. He reached for his trousers and began to dress. Tess watched him from beneath the covers, her head resting on the pillow.

“Are you leaving?” she asked quietly.

“Guests will arrive shortly,” he said as he fastened his cuffs.

She looked at him with a hint of uncertainty. “If… since you didn’t sleep with Viktoria, why are you hosting the garden gathering for her?”

He paused for a moment. Then he turned to her with a look that couldn’t be fully read.

“It isn’t for her. At least not primarily. You’ll learn everything in time.”

He held her gaze a moment longer, then added much more quietly, with a slight smirk.

“I originally meant to tell you yesterday. But you don’t deserve it right now.”

Shortly after Aiden left, the house began to fill with life. Carriages arrived. Footsteps echoed in the entry hall. Voices and laughter carried through the air. Tables and small tables were set in the garden. Wicker chairs appeared. Flowers scented the space and wine was poured freely. Viktoria was impossible to miss, as always. She shone among the guests as if she were the sole reason for their presence. Loud. Charming. Smiling exactly where she should. She lied perfectly.

Tess sat in a room on the far side of the house. The door was closed, yet she heard the distant commotion through the window. It didn’t bother her. She sat in her chair and read. Only when the afternoon sun flooded the room did the door open. Aiden entered and walked straight to her without stopping. In that imperious, superior way of his, he extended his hand.

“Come!”

Tess rose without hesitation and placed her palm in his. He led her through an empty corridor and along the stairway to one of the many rooms she had never entered. This one had a balcony facing directly into the garden. The balcony doors stood open, letting the murmur of the guests drift inside. Tess grew nervous. Aiden turned her to face him and held her around the waist.

“Kitty, nothing that happens now is a punishment. I only want you to be here for a little while and listen. You don’t have to do anything at all. All right?”

He waited until fear left her eyes and trust replaced it.

Then he stepped onto the balcony alone. Tess remained inside, one hand still resting on her skirt. She heard his footsteps approach the railing, and moments later, everything below him began to grow quiet. Guests who had been laughing and drinking looked upward. Viktoria did too, with her sickly sweet smile.

Aiden rested his hands on the stone balustrade. His silhouette appeared calm, but his voice was firm.

“My friends… thank you for accepting my invitation. I know I haven’t been the one you knew these past weeks. I know rumors have spread. And today is the day to set the record straight.”

The silence that fell beneath the balcony felt almost sacred. Everyone looked up.

“The woman you have seen in this house and who presents herself as my wife is not my wife at all. My real wife has a sister, a twin. Sadly, she is not entirely mentally well and has wrongly convinced herself that I am her husband. And everything she has performed for you, everything she is still performing even now, is a lie. Deliberate. Calculated. From the very beginning.”

The crowd stirred. Faces turned toward Viktoria. She stood frozen, white as a sheet.

“Aiden!” she screamed furiously.

At that moment, carriage wheels sounded in the distance. A carriage approached without announcement, without ceremony. Dark and enclosed. Two men in long coats stepped out, followed by an older gentleman who looked like a doctor. They moved directly toward Viktoria without hesitation.

She froze for a heartbeat. When the men seized her by the shoulders, she erupted.

“What do you think you’re doing?! Let me go! Aiden! Tell these idiots to let me go right now!”

She writhed and screamed, her voice rising into hysteria. Guests stepped back. Whispers turned into open shock. Some ladies covered their mouths. The gentlemen stood silent, stunned.

Aiden didn’t look away. He stood firm and watched his nightmare end. He wondered whether there was any way Tess could fail to hear any of it. Then he felt a touch on his palm. Tess slipped her hand into his and stepped beside him. She said nothing. She simply held him and stared intently at the scene below. His heart tightened, not for the shame unfolding beneath them, but for the strength Tess showed at that moment.

Then the others noticed her too. The murmur swelled again. More shocked than before. Two identical women. And suddenly, all at once, everyone understood what was happening. Viktoria was still screaming, but the men held her fast. The doctor beside her lifted his gaze to Aiden on the balcony, and though he had all the information, the sight of Tess clearly took his breath away. The institution attendants dragged Viktoria between tables, glances, and whispers, until she vanished into the shadow of the house. And the carriage disappeared with her as calmly as it had arrived.

Aiden brushed his thumb across Tess’s palm. He watched the carriage for another moment, then asked softly,

“So, my wild little kitty, are you ready for lessons in proper behavior?”