EVERYONE FEARED THE DUKE’S DAUGHTER… BECAUSE NO ONE HAD EVER TOLD HER “NO” UNTIL THIS HAPPENED

Chapter 3

The Duke ordered feasts that stretched the length of the great hall. Roasted pheasants, honey-glazed hams, fresh breads, imported wines — the tables groaned under the weight of abundance. For three days, the estate celebrated the birth of the heir everyone had been waiting for.

And from that moment on, Victoria never wanted for anything.

If she cried, someone rushed to comfort her. If she pointed at something, it was given to her. If she wanted a toy, she received ten. If she made a mistake, somebody else was blamed. The pattern was so consistent, so absolute, that Victoria never had a reason to question it. This was simply how the world worked. She asked, and the world delivered.

The servants discovered quickly that the easiest way to keep peace was to give her whatever she wanted before she demanded it. By the age of ten, Victoria had become accustomed to ordering people twice her age around the estate. By sixteen, she was feared throughout the county.

Not respected. Feared.

There was a difference, though nobody had ever bothered to explain it to her.

Duchess Anne watched her daughter’s transformation with growing unease. She remembered the day Victoria had humiliated the old gardener. He had been carrying a basket of roses, and he had accidentally stepped into her path as she crossed the garden. Victoria had stopped cold.

“Watch where you’re going.”

The old man had bowed immediately. “My apologies, my lady.”

The apology should have ended the matter. Victoria had not let it.

“You nearly ruined my dress,” she had said, though he had not touched her. “Perhaps my uncle was right. Some people are simply too old to work.”

The old man’s face had fallen. Victoria had turned away without a second glance.

That evening, Duchess Anne had raised the matter with her husband.

“Edward, this cannot continue.”

The Duke had looked up from his dinner. “What cannot continue?”

“Our daughter’s behavior. She humiliated an elderly gardener today. She threatened his position because he accidentally stepped in her path.”

“She was upset.”

“She is always upset, Edward. And when she is upset, she hurts people. That is not a strong personality. That is cruelty.”

The Duke had waved his hand dismissively. “You worry too much, my dear. She is young. She will grow out of it.”

Across the table, Victoria had been enjoying a slice of lemon tart. She had heard every word of the conversation. She had not appeared embarrassed. She had not apologized. Instead, she had smiled.

She already knew how the conversation would end.

It always ended the same way. Her father would defend her. Her mother would fall silent. And Victoria would continue doing exactly as she pleased.

The pattern repeated itself for years. Servants trembled when Victoria entered a room. Villagers crossed the street to avoid her path. Even visiting nobles tolerated her insults because nobody wanted conflict with the powerful Duke. Victoria grew beautiful, wealthy, and influential. She also grew increasingly arrogant.

Deep down, she genuinely believed she was better than everyone around her.

Nobody had ever told her otherwise. Nobody had ever forced her to face consequences. Nobody had ever said no.

And because of that, she was completely unprepared for the day her entire world would collapse.

The day everything changed began like any other. Victoria woke in silk sheets beneath a carved canopy bed. A maid opened her curtains. Another prepared her bath. A third arranged the expensive gowns she might wear. Nothing seemed different. Nothing warned her.

Downstairs, Duke Edward was preparing to inspect several tenant farms on the estate. Despite his age, he remained active and enjoyed riding across his lands personally. Before leaving, he stopped in the breakfast room, where Victoria was enjoying fresh pastries while criticizing the floral arrangements.

“The roses are dreadful,” she said.

A maid immediately looked terrified. “They were arranged exactly as you requested, my lady.”

“Then my request was apparently misunderstood.”

The Duke chuckled. Victoria smiled. Duchess Anne lowered her eyes.

As always, nobody challenged the young woman.

The Duke kissed his wife’s hand and then his daughter’s forehead before departing. “I’ll be back before dinner,” he said. “Try not to terrorize the staff while I’m gone.”

He was joking. Mostly.

None of them knew it would be the last time they would ever see him alive.

Late that afternoon, dark clouds gathered over the countryside. A violent storm rolled across the estate, lashing rain against rooftops, shaking windows with thunder. Several servants rushed through the halls, securing shutters. As the storm intensified, a rider appeared at the main gates. The horse was exhausted, flecked with foam. The man riding it looked pale with panic.

Within moments, the household was thrown into chaos.

Duke Edward had suffered a massive stroke while returning from the tenant farms. He had collapsed from his horse less than a mile from home. Despite every effort from physicians summoned from nearby towns, he never regained consciousness.

He died during the night.

The news spread through the estate like wildfire. Servants cried openly. Villagers gathered outside the gates. Church bells rang throughout the county, their mournful tones carrying across the fields and hills.

Victoria stood at her bedroom window, watching the rain fall, and felt nothing.

Not sadness. Not anger. Not fear.

Nothing.

She was too numb to understand what his death would mean. Too young and too sheltered to grasp that her father had been the only thing standing between her and the consequences of her own behavior.

She would learn soon enough.