The east garden felt colder the next morning. The cutting table was covered with bolts of fabric, and the air filled with the familiar sounds of the sewing circle. But something felt off.

Two of the newer members, Lily and Beth, kept glancing nervously at Alina.

Marguerite noticed them immediately and set her scissors down.

"What’s going on?" she asked.

Lily’s hands trembled as she gripped her needle.

"The king’s investigation...people are saying that if the king finds His Grace and Alina guilty...the sewing circle could be shut down." Her voice cracked. "Some of them are suggesting that we should distance ourselves to stay safe."

The entire circle fell silent.

Alina slowly set down the fabric in her lap and looked around the women who had now become her family.

"They’re right to be afraid," she said.

Marguerite turned to her immediately.

"Alina..."

"They are right," Alina continued. "The king is furious. The investigation could change everything for all of us. I won’t pretend I can protect you from the consequences because none of us know what’s coming."

From the far corner, Evelyn spoke up.

"Some of the kitchen staff are talking about distancing themselves too because they’re terrified of what the king might do."

"I understand their fear," Alina said.

"But I’m not stepping back," Evelyn announced. "I’m not letting fear make me abandon you."

The garden fell so quiet that even a bird’s chirp sounded loud.

"I can’t promise you safety," Alina said. "But I promise you that I will fight with everything I have to protect what we’ve built here together."

Beth, the youngest among them, set down the collar she had been stitching and spoke.

"My mother was also a seamstress. When the shop she worked in closed, she couldn’t find work for years. We nearly lost our home," she said, looking at Alina. "This workshop is the first place I’ve ever felt respected."

She picked up her needle again with quiet resolve.

"I’m staying."

Lily stared at her in disbelief.

"Beth..."

"I’m staying," Beth repeated, louder this time.

Then Marguerite picked up her scissors as well.

One by one, every woman in the circle returned to her work. Alina’s eyes brimmed with tears but she didn’t bother wiping them away.

"Thank you," she whispered.

No one spoke in reply. They just continued working.

The work continued throughout the afternoon.

But the weight of the day stayed with Alina long after the workshop emptied.

That night, neither she nor Austin could sleep. They lay beside each other in silence for nearly an hour before he finally sighed.

"Want to eat something?" he asked.

Alina turned to him and nodded.

He took her hand and led her through the servants’ stairs into the kitchen. The air inside still carried the scents of baked bread, dried herbs, and the remnants of dinner.

They were about to go to the shelf when they heard a meow behind them. They turned and found Harwick at the kitchen door.

"Did he follow us?" Alina asked, surprised.

"I think so."

Harwick then jumped and sat like a king on the main table, his tail curled around his paws, and eyes blinking lazily in the dim light.

"Pest control," Austin said dryly.

"Who is very dedicated to you," Alina smiled.

Harwick meowed in approval. Austin opened the pantry and returned with a plate of gingerbread.

"They are stale," Austin said as he took the first bite.

"But edible," Alina replied.

"Barely."

He took a large bite and covered his shirt in crumbs. Alina laughed softly and brushed them off his shirt. But he caught her hands and pulled her in for a slow, gingerbread- flavoured kiss.

Harwick meowed, louder this time, shattering the moment. They pulled apart, startled. The cat stared at them, looking offended at being excluded.

Austin chuckled and fed a piece of gingerbread to him and he accepted it like a royal. When he was full, he jumped down and vanished through the door, leaving both of them alone in the kitchen, sharing food and stealing kisses.

They didn’t know at that time, the next few days were going to change everything around them.

When Alina entered his room the next night, she immediately knew something was wrong.

Austin was sitting on the edge of the bed, still half-dressed, sleeves rolled to his elbows with a stack of unread reports beside him. Normally, he would already be reading them on his desk. But tonight he was just sitting idly on the bed.

"You haven’t moved for ten minutes," she said softly as she walked to the bed.

"You noticed?"

"Yes."

She climbed onto the bed beside him, folding one leg beneath herself and for a moment neither of them spoke. Then Austin rubbed a hand over his face and finally broke the silence.

"Rowan told me the king is trying to find out how much support I still have."

"What?"

"Moreover... if I’m proven guilty," he stared at the floor for a second before looking at her. "I could lose everything connected to Ravenmoor. Maybe even the duchy itself. The king is exploring this option."

"You could lose Ravenmoor?" she asked, shocked.

He nodded.

"The crown gave my family the duchy. The crown can take it back."

Alina looked down at their hands resting between them on the blankets. The man she loved could lose everything because he had chosen her.

"Austin....this is my fault."

His head snapped up.

"No."

"If I hadn’t come here... If you’d bought some other girl instead of me, none of this would be happening."

He stared at her as if her words really hurt him.

"If I’d bought someone else," he said, "I would’ve married Audrey by now. I’d still be sitting through dinners I hated and waking up every morning to a life that felt like duty instead of living. I would’ve been miserable, Alina."

"But the consequences..."

He leaned closer to her.

"Do you think I care more about titles than I care about you?"

"You should," she replied.

"I don’t."

"Austin..."

"No." He held her hands tightly between his own. "Listen to me for once instead of trying to make yourself smaller so everyone else can stay comfortable. I have told you before, and I’m telling you again, I chose you knowing there would be consequences. I chose you anyway."

Tears brimmed in her eyes.

"You make it sound easy."

"It’s not easy," he let out a hollow laugh. "I’m terrified, actually," he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. "I just hide it better than you do."

His honesty touched something deep inside her. She moved closer to him and rested her forehead on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.

The future still waited for them with the possibility of losing everything.

But here, in the room, with his steady heartbeat under her cheek, Alina realized something important.

His fear had not made him regret choosing her.

And despite everything that was coming, she did not regret choosing him either.