kinda hope the green haired girl also finds out that she was royalty and that violet’s manners are topnotch
Ohhhh I haven’t read the novel or the manhwa I just started reading the manhwa so who was inside Violet’s body?
Spoiler: Winter and Violet growing closer Sharon’s grandmother telling Violet about her belief that Winter loves her seems to lead Violet to ponder the matter seriously. By time she gets back to her mansion, Violet sees Winter waiting outside but since she wasn’t ready to face him, she direct her driver to drive through the garden. By time Winter, cursing, finds her, Violet is caught off guard in the gardens after she changed her clothes. She and Winter talk about his love confession. Remember she didn’t believe him and felt he confessed only because he was prompted to respond to her confession. In a nutshell, Winter says that the way they express their love is different. Why would he go through the trouble of getting this mansion with these extensive garden (including lake) if he didn’t love her. Basically, he’s pointing out that everything in the mansion was done solely for her pleasure. (It’s true because Violet loves flowers and the garden is really impressive. Her bedroom also has a terrace that leads to the gardens. Everything was designed with her pleasure in mind.) Violet couldn’t deny this. The two basically decide to accept each other love confession even though privately, both don’t seem to “completely” believe in each other’s love. Anyway, the time soon comes for our couple to head to the Heston succession ceremony in the north at Winter’s villa and Conic banquet venue. There are a few days before the ceremony but Violet and Winter leaves to take care of several things before the ceremony. In the large carriage there, Winter lies on Violet’s lap. Of course, Violet tries to scold him but she let it slide. They start to talk about Ash’s movement in political circles. Winter wants to know what Violet intends to do since she doesn’t want Ash to regain his royal title. Violet doesn’t say anything and Winter says he will wait to hear what she wants to do. Usually he’s very impatient but he tells Violet that he will wait for her to tell him. The couple arrives at the resort like place. Winter takes Violet for a boat ride. She absolutely loves the place and scenery. She asks Winter if she can row and he lets her do it for a little while and then takes back the oars. Violet observes that he’s really stronger with the way he easily rows the boat. The two then goes to the villa. Most of the servants and other guests (Winter’s executive employees) will arrive the following day. Therefore, the couple is basically alone in the villa except the caretaker does a few chores for them. The caretaker informs the couple that the bath is ready for Violet and then leaves. Violet starts to take off her blouse and Winter, startled, asks her what is she doing. lol Violet asks if he wants to take a bath with her. She says she’s trying some of what she read in the R19 books. Winter is so flabbergasted that Violet stops and starts to apologize for being presumptuous. Winter immediately stops her and tells her that he wants to take a bath with her. It’s just that he was so shocked by her actions. Winter starts to do things his way by attempting to strip and Violet says no, they must wear towels. Winter ignores her, scoots her into the bathroom. By time Violet leaves the bath and throws herself on the bed, she is very hot and red all over. She thinks that there was no part of her body that her husband didn’t touch with his mouth or hands. The next morning she wakes up late and finds herself alone in bed. Winter and her are staying in the same room at the villa. She feels drained and weak. She thinks that yesterday was the first time she came close to feeling euphoric. She basically gives the impression that Winter exhausted her with his lovemaking. She thinks that she wants to do something for him but then she thought that he was the one who made her feel so exhausted so she has a right to stay in bed. Winter soon enters the room with a tub of ice cream and that seems to be their breakfast. I guess the chefs hasn’t arrived yet. Later, the couple meet with the Conic executives to discuss titles and the southern businesses. Violet tells them that she finally came to a decision about Ash. She wants to block his political ambitions. The executives are surprised that she’s so adamant about thwarting her brother. She advises them to remove the Lawrence board members from a certain political committee that probably creates policy. Ash is currently involved in some tenant policy that will affect nobles who have tenants on their land. Violet wants to make him powerless. Winter and the executives are all for it and they intend to accomplish the removal of those who favor Ash by lobbying. The committee must represent the interests of the middle class or business men whose wealth is growing. Violet has always told Winter that he owns so much real estate and wealth that he should recognize how influential he is as a businessman. Winter encourages Violet to go to bed. He practically takes her there and cuddles her in his arms. Violet protests that she’s not a baby but she falls asleep almost immediately while Winter cradles here in his arms. He puts her to bed and wonders how in the world was he able to go to work and leave her alone for three years. In fact, he wants to crawl in the bed rather than leaving the room to go back to work. When Violet wakes up on another day, probably on day 3, she goes downstairs to find Winter sleeping on the couch with his jacket over his face and the other employees scattered all over the floor sleeping. Violet goes upstairs to bring their blanket to cover Winter and she instructs the servants to cover the other sleeping eemployees. Winter wakes up and is shy when he sees Violet tending to him. He’s still half asleep and tells Violet not to abandon him. Violet is surprised by his request wondering where that is coming from. She feels happy about it though. She tells Winter she won’t abandon him. She also wonders to herself if this is the way Winter lived for the three years they were first married. He and his employees has been working very long hours for the past couple days. Jen accompanies Violet outside to eat breakfast on the lake. Flip is rowing the boat while they chat and eat. More guests are there now because the succession ceremony is that night at midnight. All the great families will attend because succession ceremonies are infrequent and it’s been years since the last one. In another boat, Carson Row is singing and acting. I get the impression he has an audience. Violet wants to hide under her parasol but the man sees her. She notices that he’s wearing a gun. She thinks a drug addict like him shouldn’t have such a dangerous weapon. Carson Row comes up to her boat and asks why is she eating alone and where is her husband. Violet doesn’t think she’s eating alone because Jen is having breakfast with her but Jen and Flip are accustomed to the nobles treating them like air so they aren’t offended. Violet basically says her husband is doing something else. Carson says that her husband will continue to hurt her. Violet admonishes him about carrying a gun when he’s unstable since he might hurt himself. He tells her that she’s changed. She would have never said such a thing to him before. Instead she would have worried about others instead of himself. Flip rows Violet back to the lakeshore and Jen takes their stuff and goes into the villa. Before, Flip and Jen had asked Violet how does she change bodies but she tell them that it’s private and only her husband knows. Now that Flip is alone with her, he asks her and he kind of figures it out on his own because the old lady on the beach had told him about the gun she had. Violet confirms the truth since he had been the one looking out for her that day because he knew Ash and the Bloomings lock her in the closet. Well, while they are there, it doesn’t take long for Winter to storm out the villa. Jen told Winter what Carson Row said. Flip disappears and Violet asks Winter what’s wrong with him. He said he heard about Carson Row and he’s jealous. Violet assures him that he’s the only man that she thinks of in a special way. Winter is like a puppy as he’s satisfied with that statement of hers and grows happy. In her thoughts, Violet thinks and admits that she’s sexually attracted to Winter. With Carson, she doesn’t feel any strong emotion or sexual attraction. Late night, Winter and Violet get ready for the succession ceremony. By the time they get dressed and Violet meets Winter decked out in his tuxedo and pomade hair, Winter tells her that he just wants to go to bed with her and then go to the after party instead of the ceremony. Violet discourages him even though she also wants to go to bed with him and then go to the after party. Heh. The after party is suppose to last all night until morning. Anyway, on the way to the ceremony, Winter tells Violet that he wants to at least kiss her. Violet thinks that Jen will be upset if she disturb the lipstick on her lips. Instead, she takes off her gloves and Winter starts kissing her palm. lol Violet had to take her palm away from him. lol They arrive at the ceremony (remember it starts at midnight) and Ash is also there. He looks at the couple from afar and is annoyed how all the nobles run to suck up to the couple. When the ceremony is soon to begin, the matriarch of House Heston goes to our couple to escort them to their seat which was carefully chosen since Heston considers Winter the successor to the Bloomings and Violet the successor to house Lawrence. (Maybe this is why the couple and their kids are surnamed Blooming-Lawrence by the end of the story) Ash sees that he was directed not to sit until Violet sits first. This is a clear indication that House Heston recognizes Violet as successor and not him. All he can do is bang the chair arm with anger. Winter sees this, looks at him and laughs with mockery. Shameless James Blooming and his wife comes to greet Winter and Violet. (Oh, I forgot to mention that James was confronted by the Blooming clan after Winter started to make his business moves in the south. They were very irate with James and ordered him to comply with Winter’s demands or they will all suffer together to their own destruction. James had little clue how crucial Winter’s good graces were for the family. It’s disgraceful that he’s the head of the family and doesn’t even know the economic impact that will effected by Winter’s actions. The relatives gives him quite a tongue lashing because lazy James and his wife simply relied on Winter not knowing they put the entire clan at Winter’s mercy) James want to introduce Winter to someone. Winter goes with him and he introduces Winter to the Heston lord. Winter, as usual, having no filter, casually says to the man that he must be the one who wanted to take his wife from him. lol Violet has told him many times not to act that way but Winter is Winter. The nobleman is embarrassed but thankfully things don’t escalate. Meanwhile, Catherine Blooming is over there asking Violet if she’s satisfied now that they agreed Winter will be the successor. She tells Violet that she had to persuade her maternal family so that they would agree to the Bloomings giving Winter the title. She and Violet have hostile words to the point where Violet ends up telling her that she will never forgive her and she will make sure that she doesn’t get her husband’s money. She tells Catherine that things aren’t the same now because her husband listens to her. Violet gets a little embarrassed about this because she has begun to realize that indeed it’s like she’s the one who has power over Winter. Winter soon arrives at the table to support his wife and Catherine parrots off every embarrassing thing that Violet just said as though she (Violet) has power over Winter. Winter basically backs up everything he was told that Violet says and sends Catherine away from them. I wrote all of the above from memory so there might be things I forgot to mention. Oh, here’s one I just remembered. One of the reasons Carson bothers Winter is because Violet and Carson’s family were actually in talks about their marriage and then the country abruptly went bankrupt. All talks of the marriage halted and then Violet was made to marry Winter in a sudden move. So, to Winter, Violet was forced to marry him because of the debt.
Spoiler: Ash, the trash brother The Heston succession ceremony starts at midnight and Violet looks at the priest who is officiating the ceremony. She then turns to look at Ash who is practically raging at her through his eyes. This is because if his plan had succeeded in marrying off Violet to the 47 years old Heston lord, he would have been the one officiating the ceremony instead of the priest. Violet smiles at him with satisfaction when she sees him looking at her in rage. lol It’s the first time she has ever won against him. Only when she sees her mother sitting behind Ash and dabbing her eyes with sadness did her smile vanish. She’s obviously still soft towards her mother. Winter sees his wife distracted and turns to look. He sees Ash and he also smiles at him. He hugs Violet around her waist and ever etiquette-compliant, Violet tries to remove his hand but fails. The hall is dark during this part of the ceremony but the lights could be turned up any moment. Violet complains to Winter almost like she’ll cry. Winter sneakily kisses her neck and then releases her waist just in time because the lights started coming on. Violet looks at Winter and sees that he had glitter dust on his lips. That’s because he kissed her neck and Jen had put glitter dust on her back, shoulders and neck. She takes her handkerchief out and begins to wipe Winter’s lips. Winter smiles at her but feels someone’s eyes on them. He turns to look and it seems like it was Carson Row but he had just turned away to avoid being caught looking at them. Violet sees Winter looking at Carson Row and she tells him that Carson brought a gun. Winter says his employees also brought their guns. Violet asks if any of his employees are unstable like Carson. Winter assures her that no employee of his can be a junkie. He frowns as though he’s troubled by the information that Carson Row has a gun. The ceremony ends at 2am. Violet and the Hestons has determined that they would open all the windows and doors of the auditorium to add the moonlight ambience. It seems to be a good decision because the moonlight shining on the lake created a beautiful mood. The band was also outside and many couples began to dance outdoor. Ash, with an irritated look, tries to make his way over to the couple but another person got there first. It’s a 16 year old girl who would have been Violet’s stepdaughter if she was indeed married off to the Hestons. The girl wants to make a deal with Winter regarding the forests. Winter won’t do anything without benefitting from it. The girl tells the couple that she will find proof that Ash allows Carson, her idol, to purchase drugs illegally. In other words, Ash facilitates the ease by which Carson can get his hands on drugs. Violet thinks that the girl was probably more than a fan and had marriage talks with Carson’s family. Nevertheless, Winter seems to like the idea of finding Ash’s weakness so he agrees with the girl and is willing to make the deal. The girl says they should have it in writing. Winter says there’s no need since his wife heard everything. The girl said that her brother was right when he said that if Winter’s wife wanted the moon, he would probably try to get it for her. lol Violet tells the girl they exaggerate. The girl says of course getting the moon is physically impossible but a businessman would find a way. She then leaves to carry out her goal and Winter and Violet leaves the hall to walk in the gardens where the music is heard and couples are dancing. Winter says he didn’t expect such a large crowd. Violet says it’s because succession ceremonies are infrequent. Carson Row begins to sing and Violet thinks his voice still sounds good but it was clear to her that he was avoiding high notes. She thinks his voice is probably not what it used to be because of his current lifestyle. Flashback: Carson’s father was in charge of all music that was played in the palace. His father would bring him to the palace and that’s how he and Violet became friends especially since they were the same age. When she was 10 years old, her older brother Wayne died and she wouldn’t leave her room for days as she cried and mourned for her brother. One day Carson cane to visit her with a big basket of flowers. He asks her in she wants to go see flowers outside. That didn’t stop her from crying. He suddenly asks her if she wants to hear a song. He tells her that all the adults complimented him for his singing voice. Violet seems interest so he gets off the bed, drags a chair near it and stands on it. He begins to sing an opera song and it was the first time Violet stopped crying after Wayne’s death.
Quick question, the timeline is completely messed up for me but I assume all this is what leads up to Winter being shot by Carson right?
I suspect it is though I think I read before that the shooting took place in a theater. Currently everyone is in the north attending the succession ceremony but I think it will happen soon in the timeline. My understanding is that it was Violet who was on the scene first and then Winter and Hayell enters the scene.
I think the FL should have barred her mother from seeing the grandkids. She did nothing to help or console Violet while she was being used as a pawn and scapegoat by the brother and in fact enabled the brother's terrible behavior due to favoritism. When the FL began to stand up for herself and not be used for her brother's benefit the mother would confront the FL over this, while ignoring the pain and suffering she endured because of Ash's schemes. Ffs, she would have been dead by suicide had it not been for the "switch".
Spoiler: Violet and her mother Winter and Violet are still at the after party. She sees her mom and tells Winter that she will go to talk to her since the last time they spoke they argued and parted on bad terms. The mother meets Violet’s gaze and comes to greet her. She also looks at Winter and there’s clear disdain in her eyes for him because he’s an outlander (Why in the world would Winter let Theo see this woman? After all, Theo looks like Winter so he probably looks like an outlander. I can’t see her prejudice just disappearing without a lot of self reflection) Anyway, Winter isn’t really bothered by the woman’s disdain since he’s used to that kind of gaze and he also acknowledges that the woman is his MIL. Winter leaves Violet to join his employees and Violet watches as he walks away. She thinks there’s no man there who is as tall as him and has a beautiful face like him. She even sees the ladies who were enjoying Carson’s song turn to look at her husband. She feels jealous. Violet tells her mother that she’s sorry for not getting in touch with her but she was angered by the way she supported the marriage with House Heston. The mother guiltily says it’s okay because in hindsight she realizes she wasn’t doing the right thing by Violet. Violet takes her mother on one of the boats to sail on the lake. Flip joins them to row the boat. Violet tells her mother that she wants to get the three Lawrence members that support Ash off of the country’s committee that make decisions on policy. Surprisingly, the mother agrees to hold a family meeting about this matter because she doesn’t agree with Ash trying to overturn her husband’s policy that he sacrificed his health to pass. For supporting this move, she wants to ask a favor of Violet. Violet says sure. The mother (Ella) says that she feels sorry for Ash and there’s a reason why he does the things he does...after all, he was supposed to become king and now he has nothing. Violet tells Ella that if she’s asking for money from her husband she should reconsider. (These people have absolutely no shame. He paid off the country’s damn debt on their behalf and they’re still looking for more handouts while even scorning the man?) Shameless Ella tells Violet there’s no need for her husband to find out that she gave them money behind his back. She adds that she heard that part of the royal castle’s land is in her possession. She asks Violet to give that land to Ash since it was supposed to be his in the first place. So, Ella sees Flip listening and looking at them and “high and mighty” Ella asks him where does he think he’s looking. Flip apologizes but sees the sadness on Violet’s face and it hurts him. Consequently, Violet tells Flip he doesn’t have to be worried about her. He says how could he not after the conversation they had the morning before (suicide attempt). Violet reminds him it’s a secret. Ella wants to know what secret. Violet says it’s nothing. The woman tells Flip to speak since Violet won’t confide in her. Flip tells her that Violet was locked up before in a closet by His Highness’s order. The woman immediately accuses him of telling lies. Flip says all the servants were there and saw it. The mistress was locked up in the closet until she fainted. Ella asks Violet if it’s true and why did she never tell her since she’s her mother. The woman looks confused. Violet tells her that she didn’t want to shock her and adds that Ella loves Ash and she didn’t want to hurt her by telling her what he did. The woman starts to say that she loves Violet just as much but Violet cuts her off with a sharp, “No, that is not true.” The woman recovers her noble composure and says that her son must have had his reasons to do that. She asks Violet what they were. Violet said the guy didn’t like her seeking a divorce because it would create problems for him. She also reveals that the guy was embezzling money from her land. Ella says that he must have been struggling since he resorted to something like that. Violet laughs despite herself. She tells Ella that she’s always been this way. She’s always told her to give her things to Ash if he wanted them and this is why Ash thinks it’s perfectly normal to take things away from her and her husband. The woman begins to protest asking when did she ever say that but then shuts up as she realizes that she had just effectively told Violet to give the land at the royal castle to Ash. Violet tells her that she will no longer let Ash take her stuff away no matter what she says. After a long silence, Ella encourages Violet to do as she says about no longer letting Ash take her stuff. She tells Violet that she will still hold the family meeting to get the Lawrence members off the committee. Violet thanks her and then the woman lapse into silence again. When they return to the lakeshore, the woman leaves for the lake house where she’s staying. Violet looks for Winter but the garden is crowded and noisy as the fireworks display begins. The string of pearls around her waist comes loose and she bends down to retrieve one of the pearls and another rolled behind the building. She follows it to retrieve it only to discover that someone else had picked it up. It’s Carson. He smells strongly of alcohol and drugs and Violet instinctively backs away from him. He grabs Violet’s arm and tries to give her the pearl. The pressure of his hold is too much so Violet tells him that he’s hurting her and to let go of her arm. She speaks calmly to him in order not to incite him. His hands are shaking severely and his eyes are shaking as well. He asks Violet to help him. He thinks he will die. He adds that he used to be able to control himself at first but not anymore. Violet says okay. Carson tells her that only she can save him. (Major eye roll) He pushes her against the wall. His eyes are hazy and completely overwhelmed by the drugs.
Her mother really pisses me off. When you realise just how badly Violet was abused by Winter's "family" following his schemes to the point she tried to commit suicide her mother's attitude is just disgusting by with the constant gaslighting that Ash is the real victim. Ella should realise reason Ash isn't a King is because HE made the decision to disband the monarchy to get out taking responsibility that the Crown owed but make himself look like a "hero" and to humiliate Winter into being tricked by paying off the Royal family's debts without getting anything in return that was promised . I love how she looks down on and treats Winter with disdain yet still is shameless enough to ask her daughter to basically steal from her husband to get his money and help her precious son. Fuck her.
Spoiler: Carson shoots Winter This happened sooner than I thought. After Carson pushes Violet against the wall, there is a flashback of him visiting Violet with a large basket of flowers after his performances. He goes to see her each time because after he finishes performing, a sense of emptiness always overcomes him. That emptiness is remedied when he visits Violet. This time, however, Violet tells him that she intends to accept the marriage with the Bloomings and she will move to the south. Carson wants to know why she would marry an illegitimate lowly bastard. Violet says she has to take responsibility for her father’s mess. Carson tells her to marry him instead. If she does, she won’t have to worry about taking any responsibility. She refuses. An emptiness rushes into his entire being and not only his heart. He feels like he’s being sucked into a void. He wonders who can he turn to now after his performances. What is he supposed to do now that she’ll marry another man? Back to the after party, he looks at Violet. At first he started to use sleeping pills to numb the emptiness and now he’s using hallucinogenic drugs to numb the emptiness. Violet is trembling with fear but the drugged up Carson doesn’t seem to realize it. He tells Violet, “You hate him, don’t you?” Violet asks who. The guy says Winter Blooming. He continues and tells Violet that she hates Winter, that she had no choice in the matter, that she had no choice but to marry him out of a deep sense of responsibility, isn’t that right? Violet is very afraid and since the fireworks drown out everything else, she finds it hard to calm down. When she doesn’t answer Carson, he aims the gun at her face. He demands that she answer him and tell him that she hates Winter. Violet begs him to calm down. He caresses her cheek with his free hand and tells her she’s been deceived...she’s easy to fool...she’s under the delusion that she loves that man when in reality she hates that man, isn’t that right? Violet knows she can appease him by saying what he demands but she just can’t bring herself to say it. Carson says that she’s with him when he’s under the influence but when he’s not, she’s gone. He asks how can he end this cycle. Violet thinks if he was sober, he would never hurt a woman. She vows to find and bring down the drug dealers who enable him even if Ash is involved. Carson puts the gun against her neck. Winter, who was looking for his wife, happens upon the scene. He isn’t carrying a gun because it won’t fit in his tuxedo. He tells Carson to confront him since he’s the one who beat him up and stole Violet. In a trembling voice, Violet asks Winter what is he doing [riling up the guy]. Carson backs away and walks towards Winter aiming for his heart. Winter puts his arms up and tells Carson that he’s an idiot for trying to kill the woman he likes. Carson tells Winter to shut up but Winter taunts him. Violet is terrified and begs Carson to put down the gun before he does something he regrets. Carson tells her that he’s wants her to be unfortunate. He wanted her to be unhappy. Violet begs him to stop but he shoots Winter and then a second shot is heard as Hayell comes running and shoots Carson in the arm. Winter is shot in the stomach, collapses to the ground and doesn’t even groan. Carson is shot in the arm and is groaning on the ground. Violet is shocked and deathly pale. She rejects the help of others and goes to Winter who is lying on the ground with his eyes closed. Violet remembers that Winter told her that when she shot herself in front of him, it was worse than the time his mother abandoned him. Now she understands what Winter meant. In his hazy state, Winter is experiencing a scene flash before him of a year after his marriage with Violet. She asks about plays but because Winter is ignorant about that kind of entertainment, he doesn’t want Violet to know so he says he doesn’t like plays. In hindsight now, he finally realizes that Violet was asking him on a date and not for information on the south. Winter collapses onto the grass at that moment but not before seeing Carson collapse from Hayell’s bullet. He wonders if this is what people mean when they say their life flash before their eyes before dying. His vision is fading but he looks for Violet to make sure she’s safe. He grips his abdomen and he feels the blood flowing out. He thinks the princess will cry and he curses. He tries to keep his eyes open fearing that if they close, they will never open again. He wants to tell Violet that she was his world. He wants to tell her he loves her. These are things he has always known in his head but never said. He wants to apologize for not answering her date. He wants to take her on a tour of the south. Despite his determination to live, his eyes are closing. Hayell instructs the servants to tear the seat from the carriage so they can carry Winter into the carriage lying down. There’s always a doctor with them so he’s trying to stop the blood loss with wet towels after Winter is put in the carriage. The doctor tells Violet to try to keep Winter conscious. Violet holds Winter’s hand and talks to him. Winter is in a lot of pain and his eyes are bloodshot. He sees Violet forcing a smile despite her gaze of endless sadness. He thinks it’s the same expression she wore when she asked him about plays which he now realizes was her way of asking him on a date. He thinks to himself that he’s trash and a terrible husband. He wonders how could she like/love (he uses both) a man like him. He thinks it’s because she’s innocent. She hasn’t lived with any other man so that’s why she’s satisfied with him. He wanted to tell her all of these things but the only words he has the strength to say is that he’s okay. Almost immediately he regrets saying those words instead of confessing his love. Violet jokingly tells him that what kind of idiot riles up a man with a gun. She tells him she feels strange loving a man like him. But then she tells him that when she was in Chiron, she used to have visions of him accompanying her. (I think some of these were depicted in the manhwa already) She admits that sometimes she would wait for him before having her meals while wondering when he will come. She confesses that he is her first love and he will be her last. Winter thinks that if he’s reborn, she is the only thing he would remember. His face has broken out in cold sweat. He grips her hand strongly and musters up his strength to tell her one last thing. “Princess, I love you....I mean it.” Then he closes his eyes as he begins to feel his life ebbing away. Violet whispers in his ears the story of her taking his heart trouble when they were kids. She tells him to take whatever he needs from her to stay alive. In his mind, Winter wonders what does she mean while his consciousness fades away completely.
Spoiler: Violet’s Tears Due to the noise of the fireworks, the majority of people at the after party didn’t find out about the commotion of the shooting. However, there were reporters onsite who noticed an incident had occurred. Fortunately, Hayell was able to block them by assuring them that he will provide information to them later about the incident. Hayell then finds Yanis, the son of the Heston lord, and informs him of the incident and the current situation. He asks Yanis to help in covering up the area where the incident occurred. Yanis agrees to help too since it wouldn’t be good for the incident to overshadow the succession celebration. Hayell leaves it to Yanis who goes with his servants to the site. He sees where Carson must have been shot and there’s not much blood. However, when he gets to the spot where Winter was shot, there’s a lot of blood. In fact, he felt quite sure that Winter would die of shock on the way to the hospital. While he didn’t like Winter, he feels sorry for Violet. He prays for Winter to survive if only for the sake of his wife. He takes the shovel from his protesting servants and begins to dig up the earth to cover Winter’s blood himself. At the hospital, Violet has been sitting on the cold floor for several hours now in a trance. Poor Flip and Jen have been trying to get her off the cold floor but she wouldn’t budge. It’s probably because of the fear she feels about Winter’s critical condition. Doctors from nearby hospitals had to be summoned to work on him. Jen calls out to Violet and tells her that Lord Winter is stronger than most men. This wakes Violet from her trance. She’s encouraged by Jen’s confidence. Jen puts a cup of warm milk in Violet’s hand and gets her to sip some. Violet starts to think again of Winter. At some point she had begun to feel nervous about him because he has never taken his life seriously...not even once. She remembers when she was leaving him and she pulled out a gun, he unhesitatingly pointed at his chest for her to aim the gun. She once wanted to die but now she loves living with a passion. Yet, she hated Winter who willingly stepped in front of a gun for her sake. She remembers his love confession which was clearly from the bottom of his heart. She thinks he probably thought he was dying and wanted to let her know his love. She thinks that he probably didn’t believe in her love. He probably thinks what she loved was the huge garden and not him. (She uses the garden because when Winter confessed several chapters ago, he told her he wouldn’t have searched for a garden like this for her pleasure if he didn’t love her) When Violet thinks that he could die without believing in her love for him, she starts to cry/bawl like a child. She resents all the people who raised him to be the man he is today who doesn’t trust in others loving him simply for who he is. She thinks those are the same people who tormented her and isolated her in the south. Flip and Jen are beside themselves. This is the first time they’ve seen the little mistress lose her composure. They don’t know what to do as they watch Violet crying like a child but one of the doctors come just then. He says he doesn’t understand what happened. He looks at Violet’s face wet with tears and he says that he was sure that Winter would have died from the shock of losing too much blood. He looks at Violet’s pale face and neck. Her blue veins are clearly seen. The doctor said it’s almost like magic. Hayell arrives on the scene and interrupts the doctor. He asks about Winter’s condition. The doctor says the blood loss wasn’t as bad as he expected (probably because of the hint of Violet’s very pale complexion). He says that the bullet was removed but he cannot say for certain if Winter will be okay but all he needs to do is wake up. Hayell is relieved. Even though he always took Violet’s side, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have affection for Winter. After all, Winter was his savior. Hayell hands the doctor a note on what to say to reporters. He warns the doctor not to talk any nonsense about magic. Meanwhile, Jen hugs Violet and tells her that Winter will be okay. Violet agrees. She tries to stand up but is overcome by extreme dizziness. It feels like the blood is gone from her veins. She remembers the feeling. It’s the same feeling she had when she took on Winter’s illness as kids. She feels fortunate that she was able to do this for him because there were others that she wanted to do that for but was unable to. (Probably her older brother Wayne). Flip, Jen and Hayell are all concerned for her as she collapses to the floor. Hayell asks her if she’s okay and if she’ll be able to make a statement. Violet is determined to give her statement while her memory is fresh. She asks Hayell where is Carson. He tells her that he’s in a different building since the perpetrator and victim can’t stay in the same hospital. Hayell knows that Violet is the type to advocate punishment by the law but is surprised to see the look of vengeance on her face. Violet tells Hayell that Ash will probably try to cover up the truth because Carson was drugged up when this happened and once the constables start to investigate, Ash would probably intervene. Hayell is upset. He asks if Carson will get away scotfree. Violet thinks he will probably be exiled at the most. This novel is never boring for me. There’s always something interesting happening. It’s a pity that a lot of readers on here didn’t give it a chance because I find it amazing sometimes to read how much the dynamics in Winter and Violet’s relationship have changed. Then there is the fact that there are so many underlying complexities to who they are as individuals. I was really moved to tears in this chapter when Violet realized how damaging Winter’s upbringing was to his trust or even ignorance about “true” affection. She actually cried like a child for the first time in years when she thought Winter would die not believing in the sincerity of her love for him. It takes me back to the time when Winter realized that his mother had truly abandoned him at the restaurant when he was five years old. It was clear that he still had some belief that she didn’t purely abandon him out of self-interest. But when she came to him years later solely for money, and didn’t even look back once she got the money, it’s not hard to see why his understanding of affection is so messed up. Everybody in his family only wanted something materialistic from him even as a kid. And it’s really something how he had invested in various properties in his mother’s name to give to her once he found her. Only, he finds out later that his mother abandoned him and then raised a family of her own as if he didn’t exist.
Spoiler: Violet stands up for herself Hayell takes Violet to Carson’s hospital room. There are constables there watching over Carson. He’s sober now and lying on the bed trembling probably from the withdrawal that accompanies prolonged drug use after going “cold turkey”. Violet takes up a scissors and everyone grows alarmed. Hayell quickly whispers to her that there are other ways that they can deal with Carson if he gets away. Flip gently takes the scissors from Violet without touching her hand. Violet tells the constables that she wants to talk with Carson alone. They still treat her like the princess so they easily obey her wishes. Hayell remains in the room to protect Violet since Violet and Carson’s positions are technically victim and perpetrator, respectively. Violet coaxes Carson into divulging Ash’s part in enabling his drug use. At first, Carson denies Ash’s involvement. It’s like he’s truly afraid of Ash and he also knows how much Ash sincerely hates Violet even when they were younger. After Wayne died, Ash was elated that he would become king but Violet was always more noble and befitting of a king than Ash. So Ash hated her because her values and thoughts more aptly resembled that of their ancestors than him. Violet does get Carson to admit that the rental money he got from her land (the one Winter gave her as dowry) was all pocketed by Ash. By Carson acting as the cover for Ash, Ash in turn facilitated the ease by which Carson can get his hands on drugs. Ash used Carson’s name because it was important that there’s no paper trail of him getting financial assistance. He had to keep up the “noble” appearance that he’s doing farming after dissolving the monarchy. If it gets out that he was stealing his sister’s money, it would be a blow to the reputation he’s trying to build to restore his position in the political world. Violet wants proof of Ash’s involvement in the matter involving him siphoning off her money. Carson tells her that he hid documents that can serve as evidence in the floor boards at their main theater. Violet tasks Hayell with retrieving them later. Carson knows that Violet won’t forgive him. He thinks that the only man that Violet has broken this ironclad principle for is Winter Blooming. Hayell purchases a brand new luxury bed for Violet to sleep on. The hospital doesn’t mind because Violet intends to donate it after they leave the hospital. Violet hardly sleeps over the next three days since Winter isn’t waking up. She sits by his bedside a lot and begins to get anxious after several days have passed. Meanwhile, the Bloomings and their social circle are still at the Heston succession parties. I guess these people are celebrating for several days. The Bloomings sent a man to the hospital to find out Winter’s condition but he’s still unconscious. Secretly, Catherine Blooming is elated. Now she doesn’t have to pass the title to Winter. She hopes he never recovers. She changes her expression to cover up her happiness though because James Blooming is “a little” sad by the news that Winter hasn’t woken up yet. Catherine declares she’ll visit the hospital to see “her son” so that the other southern nobles would hear and sympathize with her grief as a mother. She wonders out loud if Violet will let her see her son. The man she sent informed her that Violet said they don’t need to visit. Catherine, as usual, achieves her goal of engaging the southern nobles in taking her side and they start to speak badly of Violet. At the hospital, Violet is resting in Winter’s room. She hears a commotion outside the door. She’s really tired but she decides to go out since she hears Catherine Blooming’s voice. She knows she shouldn’t leave it to the servants to handle the overbearing woman. Flip is blocking the door from the outside until Violet opens the door. She confronts Catherine who is there with a few southern noble women. Violet is painfully aware that they’re not truly there with Winter’s well being in mind. When she sees the wolves in noble clothing (her words) before her, she’s sadden by the fact that her husband grew up surrounded by these sort of people who were looking to get another bite out of their prey. Catherine insists on seeing Winter. Violet refuses. She tells the woman to wait until Winter wakes up. Catherine tries to make Violet cower just like she used to when Violet lived in the south but Violet is completely unmoved by her antics. Instead she stands calm and unbending. She tells Catherine to go back. The woman keeps protesting claiming that Violet is heartless. Violet reminds her that she threatened to cut Winter out of the family. The woman slaps Violet when she openly declares this information that she didn’t want the southern nobles to hear. She tells Violet how dare she say such a thing to a mother. Violet slaps her right back. (Yes) Everybody is stunned when she does this. Catherine is more shocked than angry that Violet slapped her back. It’s clear that she thought Violet was still the Violet that lived under her harassment/abuse for three years. Winter, in cold sweat and painful agony, opens the hospital room door. He had woken up when he heard the slap Catherine gave his wife. He can barely stand up so he leans against the doorframe. Crocodile tears pour out of Catherine Blooming’s eyes and she hugs him. Before, Winter was usually weak to this lady’s fake warmth and comfort but he turns away from it this time and asks Flip if somebody slapped someone. Flip tells Winter that the madam slapped the little mistress and the little mistress slapped her back. Winter is shocked and tells Flip that he’s lying because he can’t believe the princess used violence. lol Flip confirms that Violet really did slap the lady back. Winter says he must have really died and woken up in a different world. He pushes Catherine aside and sinks to the floor. He grabs Violet’s rigid hand and asks if her hand hurts. He says he has to fire all the servants for letting her get hurt. Winter’s veins in his hand are prominent because of the agony of his injury. Violet tells him he’s an asshxxe. (Winter is clearly rubbing off on her) Winter snickers and says again that he must really be dead [since Violet is using swear words]. Violet who has been standing like a statue all this time, begins to tremble. She glares at him. She tells him he’s a terrible, terrible man. He’s the worst villain. He’s so selfish and all he thinks of is himself. In the middle of her reprimand, Violet runs out of bad things to say. Winter laughs mischievously but his breathing becomes labored since he really shouldn’t be up and walking. Violet suddenly remembers this and asks Jen to go get the doctor. Violet tells Catherine and her cohorts that they need to leave. She points out that her husband needs to rest. The women tell her that she was extremely rude to Catherine, Winter’s mother. They accuse her of not being able to suffer discipline (slap from Catherine). Winter scowls as he overhears them from his hospital bed. He’s in so much pain that he can’t even prop himself up. He’s disgusted by them and wishes he could go deal with them himself. This is the first time he has witnessed the way they treat Violet. (The other times Winter’s body wasn’t physically there when they did it even if Winter was in Violet’s body) The fact that they didn’t care about tormenting his wife in front of him meant that they assumed he would die. He feels a wave of disgust. He wished he had the strength to beat them up and throw them all out. Violet listens as the southern nobles claim that she can’t endure discipline. She points out to them that she was an adult when she married into the Blooming family and her lesson of discipline was complete at the time. She asks them if they’re trying to say that the southern nobles way of discipline is better than the discipline of House Lawrence, the highest noble house in Lacrouñd. They’re all rendered speechless as they feel the weight of her point. Violet looks at each of them as though memorizing their faces. Catherine calls out to her but Violet tells them goodbye. Surrounded by her servants, she enters the hospital room. The southern nobles then come to their senses and begin to loudly criticize her. Violet couldn’t care less because there was something more important at hand. Winter is still conscious. He was given opiates for the pain so he feels much better. Jen reads the room and ushers the servants out of the room. There is a wall of heavy silence as only Winter and Violet are left in the room. Winter stretches out his hand and tells Violet to come closer. He wants to see if her cheek is okay where “that woman” slapped her. In his thoughts, Winter acknowledges that he has begun to think of Violet as his only family member. He thinks that having her is like having the whole world at his back. Winter tells her that he doesn’t care if she swears at him or hit him. All he wants is for her to come closer. Violet tells him that he’s the one who tried to leave her so what use is it for her to be close to him. Winter asks her when did he try to leave her. She tells him twice that he could have died. He says but he didn’t die. Violet shouts but what if he had died. She asks him why did he do that. Winter says that the guy was too drugged up to see reason. Therefore, he had to distract the guy. Violet tells him that even so, how could he do that in front of her and how could he confess his love with his last breath. What was she supposed to do after that? She balls her hands into fists and glares at him. Fuming, she asks him what if he had never woken up. She accuses him of being selfish and wayward. Winter manages to get up from the bed and he goes to her and hugs her tightly. He says, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He realizes that Violet is very hurt by what he did and his heart aches. She tries to push him away but Winter hugs her tighter. He tells her to please understand him. He says when he thought he was dying, he could not stop himself from telling her his heart. Violet asks if he’s talking back to her right now. lol Winter says, “I’m not. I’m sorry.” Winter has never seen Violet this angry before so he had to immediately concede to her. He thinks that Violet is so enraged that it’s like her rage is supporting her strength especially since she looks quite pale. Violet calms down and drags Winter back to the bed. Winter grabs her wrist as she makes to leave. He asks her where is she going. She said she wants to take a walk. Winter could no longer struggle to keep her there because the medication is making him drowsy. Moreover, standing moments ago really took a toll on his endurance. Violet heads outside and sits on a bench near a stone lamp post. She says thank you so much as she begins to cry. She cries for a long time with her face in her lap while thanking the gods including the comic gods for saving Winter.
Brief spoiler summaries: Spoiler: Violet threatens Ash Violet and Winter spends a full month in the hospital. Violet decides to stay that long to prevent Winter from ignoring the doctor’s orders about resting. Violet herself needed the rest from her stress and weakened state. Violet avoids and treats Winter coldly for the month Upon their release from the hospital, Winter begs Violet to forgive him. Violet makes it clear to him that she values his life and never wants him to die for her. Violet tells Winter she loves him again. Winter is happy to hear her love confession again. He can’t get enough. In the carriage home, Winter won’t leave Violet alone. He keeps trying to get close especially after she punished him coldly for a month Their employees welcome them home and prepare food and baths for them Winter goes to sleep with Violet and the two are awkward after being estranged for a month. Violet tells Winter to go back to his room since both can’t sleep because of the awkwardness between them. Winter refuses and hugs her. He says she must sleep in his arms. They both eventually fall asleep. Winter wakes up first. He watches Violet sleep. He still can’t believe she loves him. He wants her to reassure him. He thinks it’s sad that he still feels anxious even after she has told him a few times that she loves him. He comes up with a solution to this problem. When Violet wakes up, he tells her that they should say, “I love you” every morning. Violet wants to know since when did he become so romantic. She agrees with his suggestion and tells him that she loves him. Winter buries his head under the sheets. Violet tells him it’s his turn. Winter says he feels like he’s going to cry. Violet uncovers the sheets and his face and neck are red and he really sounds like he will cry. Violet finds him cute and wants to tease him. Violet gets dressed to attend the Lawerence family monthly lunch. Winter watches Violet dress and thinks he used to be so impatient waiting for her but now that he’s watching Jen dress her, he’s jealous of Jen for getting the chance to touch his wife and interact with her so much. He suggests to Violet to wear the ruby earrings and Violet is glad with the choice after Jen finishes dressing her in everything. Winter escorts Violet to her carriage and reminds her that he will pick her up for their date later. Violet enters the Lawrence lunch and makes it known that she wants them to give up their seats on the council. Two of the members agree since they felt uncomfortable with being on the council after the royal family disbanded. Those who oppose tell Violet that she is no longer a Lawrence so she has no say. One of the council members who is a woman tells the person who brought this up that his comment would disqualify her too since she’s married to another family. That shuts up the person. Ash quietly eats while disregarding Violet as though she’s not even worth the effort of disagreement. Jen knocks on the door and Violet opens it. Jen has a box that contain newspapers about Ash’s embezzlement of her money. Ash claims that the land was royal land. Violet reminds him that he created a false image that he was living humbly and here is evidence that he was taking a large lump sum of tenancy fees each month. Ash face darkens. Violet says her goodbye, Ash and one of her family members who support Ash follow her out the door. Ash tells her that people won’t care about the embezzlement story. She must know only a handful of nobles rule Lacround. Violet reminds him that there are people who cooled their anger because they believed in his sincerity. She also threatens the family member who came out to support Ash. Violet tells Ash that she’s married to a businessman and she no longer wants to lose but profit. Ash wants to kill Violet. He thinks he needs to get rid of her. Just when he’s contemplating on these thoughts and Violet feels his menacing demeanor, here comes Jen with ten burly bodyguards. Winter had previously informed Jen that he will send several of his hotel security guards to Violet because she’s fighting against many people. One of the bodyguards is the fighter whom Violet betted on that time Winter took her to a fight game as a date. Ash and the other man are intimidated by the big men. Violet asks what is this. Jen informs her that they’re her bodyguards. Violet finishes speaking with Ash and the other family member and the body guards line up on each side as Violet passes through then follow her. Violet is very pleased with Winter’s move. Usually she’s uncomfortable with his overprotection but this time she’s grateful. She decides to take Jen to lunch elsewhere. The fighter guy is her permanent bodyguard as of that day. Ash is upset and turns to go back into the room where the Lawrences are eating. He notices that the eyes of the servers are colder now that they’ve seen the newspaper. Winter wants to give his employees gifts for their concern over him at the hospital. This is mainly because Violet reprimanded him about his attitude on this matter. So he’s following his wife advice to send “thank you” cards. He gets one of the Conic kids who came to work at his hotel from the mining place to write the thank you notes. Hayell is surprised by Winter’s intention to thank and reward his employees. Winter admits it’s because of his wife’s advice. Hayell tells him this is why he likes the little mistress. Hayell also tells Winter that Violet cried and prayed for a long time while sitting on a bench outside the hospital. Winter thought she simply went for a walk. Winter is in awe that she pours so much love on him when he’s never received love before in his life. Spoiler: Other tidbit Violet wants to start looking into getting pregnant because now Winter only has her as family. She wants Winter to have other family members so for her, the answer is kids. Hayell tells Violet that the Alika tribe doesn’t allow outsiders. Violet is regretful. Meanwhile, Winter wants Hayell to get in touch with Harlin to tell him he wants to see him. This is because Winter doesn’t want to ask Violet what she meant when she said she will take on his pain just like she did when they were young. It’s a touchy subject for them after Violet became cold with him for taking his life for granted so he wants to ask Harlin about the possibility that Violet really took on his heart issues when they were kids.