Chapter 23 Postpartum
The next two weeks were worse. Celeste emerged from her chambers occasionally, always at unpredictable times, always to find Lila in the nursery with Theo. Each time her expression grew harder, her comments sharper.
"Still playing mother?" She'd say, watching Lila change Theo's diaper. "Don't you think it's time you stopped pretending?"
"I'm helping." Lila would answer carefully. "Theo needs care."
"Theo needs his actual mother. Not his aunt playing dress-up."
But Celeste never stayed. Never took the baby from Lila's arms. Never tried to feed or change or comfort him herself. She just stood in the doorway making bitter observations before retreating to her chambers.
The healers diagnosed postpartum melancholy officially. They prescribed rest, gentle exercise, herbal teas meant to lift mood and restore balance. Nothing worked. Celeste sank deeper into resentment and depression, taking out her pain on everyone around her.
Especially Lila.
"You saved my life so you could steal my family." Celeste said one afternoon, her voice carrying across the nursery. "How noble. How convenient."
"That's not what happened." Lila kept her voice steady. "I helped because you're my sister. Because I didn't want you to die."
"You helped because Adrian asked you to. Because your precious mate needed you." Celeste's eyes blazed. "Don't pretend this is about sisterly love. Everything you do is about him."
The words cut because they held truth. Lila had helped during the birth because Adrian's panic through the bond had been unbearable. She spent hours in the nursery partly because she loved Theo but also because it let her be near Adrian. Every choice she made revolved around the mate bond, even when she pretended otherwise.
Lord Garrett's presence increased as Celeste's mental state deteriorated. He spent hours in her chambers, emerged looking satisfied while Celeste looked momentarily less hollow. The palace stopped pretending not to notice. The Queen had a lover. The King had his wife's sister. Everyone existed in complicated dysfunction.
Adrian avoided Celeste completely now. He fulfilled his royal duties, attended council meetings, appeared at formal events. But he never visited his wife's chambers. Never checked on her recovery. He poured all his attention into Theo and, by extension, into Lila.
"You're making it worse." Maya warned one evening. "The more time you spend in that nursery, the more Celeste spirals. Can't you see what this is doing to her?"
"What am I supposed to do? Leave Theo alone?" Lila fed the baby from a bottle, watching his tiny mouth work. "Let him cry in an empty room while his mother suffers and his father rules?"
"No. But maybe be less obvious about playing family with the King." Maya's voice was gentle but firm. "People are talking. About how you and Adrian move around each other. How comfortable you are together. How Theo reaches for you instead of his mother."
"That's not my fault."
"It doesn't matter whose fault it is. It matters what it looks like." Maya sat beside her. "You're giving Celeste ammunition. Giving the court reasons to whisper. Giving Margot exactly what she needs to destroy you both."
Margot. Lila had almost forgotten about her. The woman had been eerily quiet since Theo's birth, watching but not acting. That silence felt more dangerous than her usual venom.
That night, Lila woke to raised voices. Not in her chambers. Somewhere distant. She followed the sound through empty corridors to a rarely used sitting room. Celeste and Garrett stood inside, their argument carrying through the partially open door.
"When are you leaving him?" Garrett demanded. "You said after the baby was born. Well, the baby is here. When do we leave?"
"It's not that simple." Celeste's voice was strained. "I can't just abandon the kingdom. Abandon my title."
"You can and you will. You promised." Garrett grabbed her arms. "I didn't become your lover to play second place to a husband who doesn't want you. We agreed. After the birth, we'd go south together. Start fresh."
"I need leverage first." Celeste pulled away from him. "Something that ensures Adrian gives me what I want. Money. Status. Guarantees for Theo's future."
"What leverage?" Garrett's voice sharpened. "What are you planning?"
"I have proof." Celeste's voice dropped. "Of Adrian and Lila's bond. Real proof. Not suspicions or observations. Actual evidence that they're mates."
Lila's blood went cold. How could Celeste have proof? They'd been so careful.
"What kind of proof?" Garrett asked.
"Letters. Between Adrian and the healer Miriam. Discussing the mate bond. Discussing how to keep Lila alive without claiming her." Celeste's voice carried triumph. "I found them in Adrian's study. Hidden, but not well enough."
"And you're using this leverage for what? Money?"
"Money. Independence. Custody rights for Theo that can't be challenged." Celeste moved toward the window. "Adrian will give me anything to keep those letters secret. Anything to prevent the council from learning the truth."
"When?" Garrett pressed. "When do you use this leverage?"
"Soon." Celeste's voice hardened. "When I have everything arranged. When I'm ready to leave and never look back." She turned to face him. "One month. Maybe two. Then we disappear, and Adrian can have his precious mate without me in the way."
Lila backed away from the door carefully, her heart hammering. Celeste had evidence. Real proof of the mate bond. Evidence that could destroy Adrian's rule, invalidate Theo's claim to the throne, tear the kingdom apart.
And she was planning to use it as blackmail.
Lila had to warn Adrian. Had to tell him about the letters, about Celeste's plans, about the danger they were all in. But approaching him directly would only fuel more gossip, give Celeste more ammunition.
She needed time to think. To plan. To figure out how to protect everyone from the disaster that was coming.
But time was running out. And Celeste held all the cards.