: The Broken Cup
4
The outside world saw the union of the Sterling and Valerius families as a marriage alliance.
And in essence, that wasn't far from the truth. Both families gained significant benefits from it.
In the spirit of getting along,
When Ian Valerius came home from business dinners, I would make him a cup of honey water.
When he got drunk, I would drive to pick him up.
Our life was quiet, but it was fine.
Of course, it was no surprise when arguments inevitably broke out.
I accidentally broke a cup. It was rather ugly and didn't look like anything important.
I gathered the broken pieces and casually mentioned it to Ian Valerius.
To my surprise, Ian Valerius flew into a rage.
"Next time, don't just touch other people's things."
His words left me standing there, at a complete loss.
"I'm sorry. I thought it was just a regular cup. I didn't realize it was so important to you."
Ian Valerius ignored me, snatched the shards, and went back to his study.
It was from that annoying butler that I learned Ian Valerius had made it with Rowan Harrow back in high school.
When he'd first brought it home, he had even made a point of finding a special place to display it.
Breaking the cup was my fault, yes.
'But shouldn't a cup from his White Moonlight be kept safely in his private study?'
'Left out in the open, how was anyone supposed to know it wasn't just some ugly, ordinary decoration?'
We gave each other the silent treatment.
The evidence was in the "Good mornings" that vanished from our daily routine.
For an entire month, we didn't say a single word to each other.
Then, the butler audaciously came to "enlighten" me.
"Madam Valerius, Mr. Valerius is not an unreasonable man. Though you were in the wrong this time, if you just lower your head and admit your mistake, I'm sure he will forgive you."
"It would be best for you not to be so proud, Madam Valerius. There's no need to fight for first place. After all, Miss Rowan Harrow and Mr. Valerius were childhood sweethearts."
Listening to the butler's long-winded, antiquated lecture, I couldn't take it anymore.
"You're a servant. Don't overstep your bounds."
"I didn't beg to marry him, nor am I some dependent living off his monthly allowance."
I fired that butler shortly after. I had been putting up with him for a very long time.
From that day on, the other servants in the villa became much more well-behaved.
Ian Valerius and I still weren't speaking to each other.
Unexpectedly, the first one to give in was Ian Valerius.
It just took a while. So long, in fact, that I'd almost forgotten we were fighting.
My life in this house was the same, with or without him.
I rarely went out, as I worked from home online.
The day Ian Valerius came home, he brought back a puppy to keep me company.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I went too far before."
I wasn't that angry with him anymore.
"It's fine."
And just like that, we had reconciled, though we still didn't talk much.
Just when I thought life could go on muddling through like this...
...Rowan Harrow was coming back to the country.
