#madeliene

madeliene - victorine - théo (2023)

A/N: Random thought on what might have been going through Madeleine’s head right before Liam breaks the engagement.  This is dedicated to my girls Jen and Agata aka @blackcatkita and @josieschoices Thanks for always supporting my randomness girls.

It was coming.

From the moment she walked in with a smug look on her face and a confessional video from Tariq, Madeleine could feel it coming. Another 'I'm sorry Madeleine but I've fallen in love with another and I can no longer marry you' speech. What was it with the Rhys brothers and their ridiculous obsession with marrying for love? Or rather the idea of love. Madeleine found it impossible to believe that either of the princes had truly fallen in love. Love was something that grew over time; it took years of companionship, respect, and self sacrifice. Love, real love, was setting aside lustful urges and putting crown and country first. Crown and country before self was one lesson that hadn't stuck with Leo or Liam. Who cared about doing what was right for the people of Cordonia so long as the princes had their selfish, romantic love fantasies fulfilled?

It shouldn't have bothered Madeleine that neither of the princes she had been engaged to had seen her as worthy of their respect or love? With Liam, it truly didn't bother her. Liam had been a means to an end; the end being crowned queen of Cordonia. Leo was another matter. Madeleine had spent years preparing for her role of Leo's queen and wife. It had been impossible not to develop feelings for him. Had it been love? Madeleine didn't know. What she did know was that neither of the Rhys brothers had seen her as someone they could love. Apparently only American twits were good enough for those emotions. Ill-suited little girls who had no idea what it meant to marry into the Royal family. Not that it mattered where Leo's wife was concerned. Leo had denounced his claim to the throne so he could chase after his half-witted heiress who walked around with a perpetual look of confusion on her pretty face. And now Liam, who was often too nice for his own good, was going to ruin the Cordonian monarchy and Rhys bloodline by choosing a waitress to be his queen.

For a moment, Madeleine wondered if there was some sort of madness in the Rhys family tree that made the men choose ill suited women to be queen. Hadn't the king father's first two wives, Leo's and Liam's mother's, been poor choices? Leo's mother had pleaded for a divorce after only five years; citing her reasons as too much pressure and inability to carry out her queenly duties. Liam's mother had been alright for a commoner. Her lack of Noble blood hadn't stopped her from being poisoned. With any luck, Liam's waitress would have under pressure the way Leo's mother had. Madeleine wasn't quite heartless enough to wish death upon the girl but if it happened she wouldn't cry any sincere tears for the queen who never should have been. Either way, Madeleine would be there waiting. Waiting to remind Liam of his duties to crown and country.