1 | The Encounter
Lydia sat alone on a couch in the farthest corner of the ballroom, her eyes fixed on the large clock, tracking when she could leave the party. It had been a challenging evening, as she hadn’t been invited to such a crowded event in a long time. She had nibbled on a few appetizers and barely sipped any champagne.
This was all she could manage. Socializing or dancing with other guests was never an option. And no one seemed inclined to do so with her anyway.
There could be many reasons for this.
Lydia had lost her family in a car accident when she was twelve. While she had to stay home with a broken leg, her family, rather than staying with Lydia due to an invitation they couldn’t refuse from the royalty, had gone to the city, and the accident had happened there.
Of course, the tragic aspect of the accident was not the reason she was kept away from society.
When her father’s inheritance was contested by a distant male relative, Lydia was left penniless and without her estate. To be accepted in society and find a husband, a penniless noble girl had to be more cheerful, pleasant, and flattering to everyone than she was. However, Lydia, with her dark clothing and unhappy face, still showed that she was in mourning.
Even if she were to ignore her pain, she knew she could not make herself accepted. Because she had a bigger flaw: Lydia was ugly.
Her mother, despite coming from a lower family, was so beautiful and docile that she could enchant everyone. Her brother also had many of the same qualities and beauty as her mother. Lydia resembled her father. Of course, no one could openly say this to her due to her father’s power and wealth. Only some servants gossiped behind her back about Lydia’s oddity and ugliness.
However, with the loss of her family, this truth had come to light.
Fortunately, Lydia had gotten used to some things. Thanks to her father’s wonderful foresight, she had a perfectly normal life in the small house he had built on her mother’s property. It wasn’t difficult for her to make a living by selling the jewelry left by her mother. As long as she didn’t make the kind of expenses that every young girl in society would consider normal, like expensive clothes and jewelry, she could maintain this routine.
Of course, mandatory invitations from the royalty disrupted her peace. They confronted her with the things she had run away from.
Lydia glanced at the clock again. There were only a few minutes left. Then she would leave immediately.
Just then, the ballroom came alive with the entrance of a new arrival. Damian Darrington, of course, was late for the ball held in his honor, but no one in the room, including the old heir to the throne sitting on his throne, would see it as disrespectful.
Because Damian Darrington was the opposite of Lydia.
He was handsome, even more than that. Those around him couldn’t help but examine the shine of his chestnut hair and skin when they talked to him. Anyone his green eyes touched immediately paid attention to him. His tall stature, broad shoulders, and other parts of his body had long been the subject of gossip among women in society.
Since childhood, he had known he had the ability to impress people, so he was quite arrogant and selfish.
However, in society, this only increased his attractiveness.
Having been abroad for the past two years on a diplomatic mission, had left society very hungry for him. Even Lydia, though far from everyone, was aware of most of the gossip about him. His love affair with one of the princesses in the country he had visited was currently the most popular and seemed to be talked about for a long time.
Although Damian was greeted with great enthusiasm in the ballroom, only a few people could approach him directly, and the remaining admirers were content to form a crowd around him.
So Lydia would have to wait for the crowd to calm down to leave.
She was already bored with this.
Suddenly, she started at the sound of the orchestra playing a waltz. With the start of the dance, she became even more bored. She had never thought of staying at the party for so long. She needed to hurry.
She was about to get up and approach the hostess she had set her eyes on to say goodbye when something terrible happened.
Damian’s eyes had wandered to the corner where she was.
When Lydia noticed this, she immediately looked away. She didn’t know how she could be so foolish. Of course, the hostess would be near her favorite guest. How had she not thought of this?
Since she couldn’t go back to her old place, she was looking for a new one away from the eyes. She heard footsteps approaching from behind at this moment.
Had the noise in the hall suddenly decreased, or was it just her?
Trying to suppress the noise of her heart, she hoped she was mistaken and quickened her steps.
“Miss Lockhart,”
The male voice catching up with her shattered all her hopes of getting through the ball smoothly.
Damian Darrington, along with all his exceptional qualities, was also Lydia’s childhood “friend” and the first person to tell her to her face that she was ugly.
