After leaving Quinn’s side, Belle returned to her room, where Mia was eagerly awaiting her.
"Congratulations on going to war!" Mia cheered the mont Belle stepped inside, twirling around in excitent.
Belle, despite her sour mood, couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Mia’s enthusiasm. Anyone who saw her in such high spirits would think she had personally initiated the war.
"What of my maids?" She inquired, wondering if they had retired for the day. She parted with them at the side hall and had not seen them since then.
"I sent them away, now back to our war discussion!" Mia said, changing the topic.
"This is the first ti I have seen soone thrilled about going to battle," Belle remarked, shaking her head as she walked toward her closet.
"What do you an, ’first ti’? You have no idea how exhilarating war is! It’s the perfect place to be your true self," Mia declared, daydreaming about the battlefield as though it were a grand adventure. She had dreamt about the day her combat skills would finally be revealed to the world, it seed like her ti had finally co.
Belle’s smile only grew. If not for Mia, she might have succumbed to despair long ago. It was a relief to have soone who could montarily lighten her burdens and let her forget reality, if only for a little while.
"Dying doesn’t sound particularly adventurous," Belle said dryly as she sifted through her clothes, sorting what she would take with her.
"It’s all part of it! I wouldn’t mind dying for a noble cause," Mia declared, pressing a hand to her chest as if pledging her loyalty.
Belle froze at a particular word in her sentence. Narrowing her eyes, she turned to face her.
"Wait...you? Don’t tell it’s what I think it is." Her suspicion was evident in her tone.
"It is," Mia admitted, her gaze darting around the room, avoiding Belle’s.
"Mia," Belle said, stepping closer, her voice firm. "This is my fight. Why would you follow ? You could get injured or worse, killed. And then I would have no family left."
"I know," Mia responded, her voice softer now, "but I wouldn’t be able to sleep without you for even a day. I would be restless, constantly worrying about you. Besides, I am a better fighter than you are! The enemy should be the one afraid of ." She tried to joke, hoping to lighten the mood.
But Belle didn’t laugh. Instead, she sighed and walked over to the chair in front of her mirror, sinking into it as she lowered her head. She had been pushing the weight of reality to the back of her mind, but now, it ca rushing forward all at once.
Mia, sensing sothing was wrong, moved closer. "Belle, what happened?" She asked gently.
Belle hesitated for a mont before eting Mia’s gaze. "I saw my father before coming here... I—I am not his daughter, Mia. I was born from another man. A bastard."
The revelation left Mia speechless. Her mouth fell open in shock.
"Wha... what?" She stamred, unable to process what she had just heard.
Disbelieving, she pinched her own cheek, only to yelp in pain when she realized she wasn’t dreaming.
"How is that possible?!" She exclaid, scoffing at the very thought. The idea that Belle’s mother had cheated on Clifford was absurd. The woman barely had the courage to run away from an abusive lover, how could she have found the nerve to betray Clifford?
Besides, everyone knew the story: Clifford had t Belle’s mother after he was already married to his wife. So how could this be true? Even if Mia’s mother had been unfaithful, why would Clifford bring her into his ho when he already had a wife? If anything, he was the one who had cheated, taking Mia’s mother in after his marriage.
"I don’t know either, Mia. I don’t want to believe him, but thinking about how much he despised his own daughter to the point that he..." Belle trailed off, unable to voice the word that haunted her most.
Sensing where the conversation was headed, Mia quickly intervened. "Shh, calm down. Don’t get agitated. Even if it’s true, we should be happy. At least now we can get our revenge with a clean conscience, it’s practically a cause for celebration," she encouraged, winking playfully.
Belle couldn’t help but smile.
"I am happy," she admitted, "I just don’t want to believe my mother cheated on him. What if everything we know is a lie?"
Mia nodded, already entertaining the sa thought. None of it quite added up.
"Then let’s uncover the truth ourselves. I know soone who’s skilled at digging into the past," she suggested, instantly grabbing Belle’s attention. "But now that we are going to war, there’s a bit of a problem."
"If there’s one thing I know about illegal workers, it’s that they will do anything for the right price. We will pay him whatever he demands," Belle said, determined.
Mia waved her hands repeatedly in front of her, causing Belle to frown in confusion.
"Is it money he charges?" She asked, staring blankly at her.
"That’s not the problem," Mia clarified, pouting. "He’s one of Quinn’s n, their source of information. And he’s going to war too. That’s what I ant."
Belle’s expression instantly darkened. "Quinn’s man? No. Let’s find soone else. I want nothing to do with that scoundrel." Her disgust was evident.
Mia raised her eyebrows, wondering if she had misread Belle’s reaction. Wasn’t it just yesterday that the two of them had been caught up in each other? What had changed in a matter of hours?
"Did you two fight again?" She asked, nearly rolling her eyes at their endless cycle of misunderstandings. Would they ever go a day without one? They wanted each other so badly, yet they could barely last without conflict. What a toxic relationship! Mia shuddered at the thought.
"No, we didn’t..." Belle paused, catching the tone in Mia’s voice. "Fight again? Why do you sound like that? Weren’t you always against him?"
"I am tired of pretending I don’t see what’s going on between you two," Mia replied nonchalantly. "So, I have decided to stop interfering in your love life. Love is a risk."
Belle blinked in surprise at her unexpected shift in attitude.
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