I ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED A DUNGEON

Sabrina stood waiting outside her room. After ten minutes of shouting across the walls before the door to Edwardo’s room opened and Helen appeared, looking angry, with Joshua following behind her. She gave Sabrina a look of sheer irritation before she headed downstairs.

Sabrina could do no more than offer her a weak smile before looking past her at Edwardo standing by the door to his room. For a moment, their eyes met, before he turned around and went back into his room with the door still open. Sabrina laid a hand over her heart, before she found the courage to approach it.

I just have to speak the truth.

She walked into the room and closed the door after herself. Edwardo was sitting by the side of the bed, staring at her.

"That must have been hard for you, wasn’t it?"

"No." She shook her head. "Rebecca did it. She put the nails in Joshua’s food."

His gaze narrowed. "Then bring her to me."

"She is gone. I told her to go away." Sabrina stood at the end of the bed. "She was not herself when she did it."

"And you expect me to believe this?" He stood up. "You expect me to believe that a servant tried to murder my son and that you simply let her get away with that?"

"I’ve told you that she was not herself. It was... an accident." Her voice cracked on the last word.

"Sabrina." He approached her and held her by her shoulders. "You remember what Helen told me? She accused you of trying to murder Joshua. But I know that you would never do such a thing, and I made it very clear to her."

He shook her shoulders slightly. "Look at me. Helen wants me to choose between them and you. And don’t you ever mistake yourself into thinking that I would ever let my children go. So tell me why would you let Rebecca walk away, if you want to live inside this house."

"She did it for me," Sabrina whispered.

"Say it clearly."

"Rebecca did this because she didn’t want to watch me struggle for nothing anymore. Because everything I’ve been doing, trying to hold this family together, trying to reach those children, felt like it was going to waste."

Her eyes filled with tears. "She said they’re not my children."

Edwardo relaxed his grip.

"You’re barely home. You don’t know how hard it’s been for me here. I’ve yet to have a proper conversation with them since I’ve gotten here. I can’t understand what I’m doing wrong. And even when I tried to be like Georgia and fit in, even that wasn’t enough."

Her voice became weak. "But Rebecca saw all of this. And she did what she did alone because of it. What could I possibly do to punish her for such loving care?"

Edwardo was silent for some time, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "I understand why you did it. You’re too kind. Even though her reasons were good, you should have punished her for her actions." His voice changed tone slightly. "And I realize that I was partially at fault for this as well. I should have paid more attention to you."

"No. You’re already doing too much." Sabrina said.

"So are you." He wiped at her tears slowly. "Yona reports everything to me, but maybe she made a mistake of her own, not telling me how alone you’ve been feeling here. She calls you Lady Aldric, I noticed."

"I am, though." Her breathing started to calm down.

"I never said you weren’t." He gave her a warm smile. "Still, you need to be more careful. I don’t need another accident happening under this roof."

"It won’t." Sabrina answered quickly. "I promise."

"And Helen." He nodded to himself. "I’ll speak with her."

"But I—"

"No. She’s been getting away with far too much lately. She isn’t a child anymore, not so young that her behavior can be overlooked."

"You don’t need to be so hard on her. She was only trying her best."

"I’ll see to it tomorrow." He brushed a hand through her hair. "And you, stop trying to become like Georgia. I married Sabrina, not another Georgia."

"Wait, wait, wait." Felix spoke up suddenly. "I have a question. A very important one."

"Ask quickly," Helen replied impatiently.

"Did Georgia have blond hair and green eyes?"

"No. She had black hair and brown eyes." Helen frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. Let’s continue." Felix let out a soft breath. So that was Sabrina.

A whole year went by, and Sabrina spent all her days at work between her chores and the pressure that came with the business. In the past three months, she was attending party after party along with Edwardo in the noble households, getting familiar with their ways, understanding their language and silences. They even made one trip to the capital for a meeting with the royalty, and returned from it knowing a dozen of faces and knowing how to behave at such parties.

She sat at the dinner tables with the business acquaintances of her husband, saying nothing herself, but only listening and watching. She would then tell Edwardo her observations and most of the time they turned out to be important. The debt that hung above the household for many years was repaid. Their finances started to stabilize after many years since Georgia died.

Joshua was becoming more and more open with her as well, little things at first, such as a scrape on his knee, or one of his school stories, and then, when Helen wasn’t there to hear him tell it, he referred to her as "mother." Each and every time, Sabrina needed to look away and rub her eyes until it was over.

Sabrina’s relationship with Helen hadn’t progressed much past the initial year of being cold and distant; however, at least Helen acknowledged her presence in the house at all now, and that was almost a form of progress in itself.

I have to keep trying.