Page 51 of The Villainess Chose Naps Over Death Flags

Caroline enjoying desserts with the same expression she'd worn during that night in the garden. Caroline calling him 'my husband' and blushing when he caught her watching him train. Caroline being gentle with a dangerous creature and genuinely apologizing for past wrongs.

Caspian was a tactical genius. He could analyze battlefields, predict enemy movements, plan campaigns months in advance.

But he had absolutely no idea what to do with a wife who looked at chocolate cake the way most women looked at jewels, who named apex predators after desserts, and who made his carefully controlled world feel suddenly unpredictable.

"Same time tomorrow?" Caroline asked, finishing her chocolate cake with obvious satisfaction.

Caspian heard himself saying yes before his tactical mind could suggest this might be unwise.

"Excellent," Caroline said, smiling at him with what appeared to be genuine pleasure. "I look forward to it. And I'll see you at dinner tonight as well?"

"Of course," Caspian said. They were starting to establish a pattern, he realized—dinner together each evening. Another opportunity to observe her behavior. To gather intelligence.

To see her blush when she looks at you, his traitorous mind supplied.

"Wonderful," Caroline said, her smile widening.

So did he, Caspian realized with some alarm.

He was looking forward to having dinner tonight and tea with his wife tomorrow.

To watching her feed pastries to her future apex predator.

To seeing that delighted expression when she tasted something sweet.

To the way she called him 'my husband' as if it meant something.

Edwin was right.

He was absolutely doomed.

Chapter 11

The First Goodbye

Carol stood in front of her mirror while Daisy arranged her hair, trying not to fidget with excitement.

"The deep blue gown, my lady?" Millie asked, holding up an elegant dress. "It brings out your eyes."

"Perfect," Carol said, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically.

Both maids exchanged knowing smiles.

"Someone's excited for dinner," Missy observed from her perch on the vanity, grinning. "Could it be because of a certain silver-haired duke?"

"I'm just looking forward to a pleasant meal," Carol said primly.

"With your very attractive husband," Lumi added, though her tone was gentler than Missy's teasing. "Who you spent all afternoon watching train."

"And who watched you eat dessert like you were the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen," Missy continued. "The man could barely keep his composure when you bit into that chocolate cake."

Carol felt her cheeks warming. He was just being polite, she sent telepathically to the sprites.

"He was mesmerized," Missy corrected. "It was hilarious. Also kind of hot."

Missy!

"What? I'm just saying, the sexual tension was—"