Chapter 2 - The Whispers in the GalleryWithin forty-eight hours of Milana moving into the Hastings mansion, high-society circles across Boston and New York were rife with cruel rumors.

At a charity luncheon hosted by Edward’s aunt, Victoria Hastings, at the Metropolitan Club, wealthy socialites leaned across linen tablecloths, whispering behind crystal champagne flutes.

“Have you seen Edward’s new bride?” a woman named Caroline sneered, adjusting her pearls. “She wears a veil indoors! People are saying she was disfigured in an accident back home.”

“Or perhaps she’s simply too plain to stand beside a Hastings,” another socialite snickered. “Edward was tricked by his father’s old-fashioned sentimentality.”

Milana walked into the dining gallery wearing an immaculate emerald-green kaftan dress, her matching silk veil pinned neatly with a gold brooch. She heard every whisper. She felt every judging gaze. Yet her chin remained lifted, her spine straight as steel.

She sat at the end of the table, ordering sparkling water, completely unbothered by the hostility around her.

When Caroline turned to her with a patronizing smile, asking, “Is it comfortable eating through cloth, my dear?” Milana merely looked her in the eye.

“Simplicity is always comfortable, Caroline,” Milana replied softly. “It is the burden of constant judgment that must be exhausting for you.”

The surrounding women went quiet, several choking on their drinks.

That evening, Edward returned home from a grueling twelve-hour day at the office to find his household operating with unprecedented precision. The estate staff, who had previously been disorganized and overpaid under his uncle’s management, were calm and efficient.

His head butler, Thomas, approached Edward in the foyer, handing him a binder.

“What is this, Thomas?” Edward asked, unbuttoning his vest.

“Mrs. Hastings reviewed the estate’s operational ledgers yesterday, sir,” Thomas reported with deep respect. “She discovered that our third-party catering and security vendors were overcharging the estate by nearly thirty percent. She renegotiated the contracts this afternoon, saving the household two hundred thousand dollars annually.”

Edward stared at the binder, genuinely astonished. “She did that in one afternoon?”

May you like

Waitress Whispered “Run!” to the Mafia Boss—What Happened Next Shocked E...

My husband laughed when I asked for a divorce, certain I would never rea...

THE MAFIA BOSS NEEDED A WIFE FOR ONE WEEKEND—SHE CHANGED HIS FAMILY FORE...

“Mrs. Hastings has a degree in international economics from Oxford, sir,” Thomas smiled discreetly. “She is a remarkable woman.”

Edward looked toward the grand staircase, watching as a shadow moved past the second-floor balcony. His curiosity about the woman behind the veil began to shift from frustration to profound intrigue.