Page 61 of The Villainess Chose Naps Over Death Flags

Both of them turned when Carol entered.

"Caroline!" Jasper's face flooded with relief. "Thank god, you're—"

He stopped mid-sentence, staring at her.

Bea's eyes had gone wide.

"What?" Carol asked, suddenly self-conscious. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Who are you?" Bea asked slowly. "And what have you done with my sister?"

Carol blinked. "What? Bea, it's me."

"Is it though?" Jasper stepped forward, studying her face. "Because our sister has been writing us desperate letters for two months begging to come home, and you just... smiled when you saw us. Genuinely smiled. Caroline hasn't genuinely smiled since before the wedding."

"I—" Carol stopped. Right. Original Caroline had been miserable. "Maybe I've matured a bit?"

"Matured," Bea repeated flatly. "In a few days? Because your last letter arrived a week ago and it was three pages of misery."

"A few days can change a lot," Carol said weakly.

Jasper's eyes narrowed. Then he stepped forward suddenly and grabbed her hand.

"Jasper, what are you—"

"Checking for enchantments," he said seriously, his hand warming slightly as he channeled his fire magic. "Compulsions. Mind control."

"I'm not mind controlled!"

"That's exactly what someone who's mind controlled would say," Jasper countered.

"I'm not—" Carol pulled her hand back. "I'm fine. I promise. I'm just... trying to make the best of my situation."

Both siblings exchanged glances.

"Make the best of it," Bea said. "You. The woman who spent years obsessed with Earl Sinclair and threw an absolute fit when you realized you'd trapped the wrong man. You're suddenly 'making the best of it.'"

"Yes," Carol said firmly. "Because what else am I going to do? I'm married. I'm pregnant. I can either be miserable for the rest of my life, or I can try to build something here."

Jasper and Bea stared at her.

Then Jasper turned to Bea. "She's definitely been enchanted."

"Or possessed," Bea agreed.

"I am NOT—" Carol stopped as Mochi meowed loudly at her feet. She picked up the cub. "Look, I know this is a change from my letters, but I'm really fine. Better than fine, actually."

"You have a Dreamweaver cub," Jasper said, noticing Mochi for the first time.

"His name is Mochi."

"Mochi?" Jasper repeated. "What does that mean?"

"It's an exotic dessert I had once," Carol explained, using the story she'd already told Caspian. "A traveling merchant passed through the capital selling them. Sticky rice confection on the outside, ice cream on the inside. Different flavors. It was sweet and soft, and it seemed to fit."

"You named a future apex predator after a dessert you had once," Jasper said slowly.

"Because he's sweet and soft," Carol said, scratching Mochi's ears. The cub purred contentedly.