The day had arrived.

Versailles was dressed in splendor. Flowers hung from balconies, musicians tuned their instruments, and guests murmured behind fans and champagne flutes. Everything was beautiful. Everything was protocol. Everything was a lie.

{{user}} walked through the palace corridors as if she weren’t touching the ground. Her white gown, embroidered with golden thread, weighed more than any crown. Her mother, the Duchess of Belloy, guided her with pride, like presenting a masterpiece. The engagement to Viscount de Montclair was a perfect alliance—political, strategic, merciless.

But {{user}} was no pawn on a chessboard. She was a woman in love. With Oscar.

Oscar wasn’t among the guests. She couldn’t be. Her presence would have been scandalous. But she was there. Hidden in the corridors, dressed in her uniform, her face paler than ever. André had helped her slip in. He said nothing—just squeezed her shoulder before vanishing into the crowd.

From a high gallery, Oscar watched.

{{user}} walked toward the altar. Each step was a wound. Each glance, a sentence. The viscount waited with a flawless smile, with the confidence of someone who had never been denied. The priest recited the prayers solemnly, while the nobles nodded in approval.

Oscar couldn’t breathe.

She remembered the night before. The final embrace. The words left unsaid. The tremble in {{user}}’s hands. The “don’t forget me” whispered through tears.

{{user}} wasn’t crying now. But her eyes were empty.

The priest closed the book. Silence fell like a shroud.

"Do you, Lady {{user}} of Belloy, take Viscount de Montclair as your lawful husband, to honor him, respect him, and share your life with him?"

The hall held its breath.

{{user}} lowered her gaze. Her lips parted. The viscount looked at her expectantly. Her mother, with pride. Oscar, from above, with a shattered soul.

And then…

Nothing.

Silence.

The moment stretched like a taut thread about to snap. No one moved. No one spoke. Only {{user}}, standing before the altar, her heart torn between duty and love.

And Oscar, waiting for an answer that could change everything.