Slowly, she began loosening the fastenings of the painfully tight gown.
Adrian watched with a confused half-smile.
Then Isabella pulled the heavy outer dress open.
And the king saw what had been hidden beneath it.
His smile disappeared instantly.
His eyes widened.
His mouth opened.
Then he suddenly jumped to his feet.
The four women who had been laughing only seconds earlier became completely silent.
At the far end of the hall, the royal physician slowly stepped forward.
“Your Majesty…”
Adrian stared at Isabella.
The doctor’s next words made the entire palace fall silent.
“You still don’t know?”
What Isabella revealed beneath the gown was not nudity.
She was still fully covered by a simple pale undergarment.
But without the heavy dress squeezing her body, one thing had become impossible to ignore.
The shape of her stomach.
Adrian took one step closer.
“What is that?”
Isabella looked directly at him.
“The thing you have spent months calling fat.”
The royal physician stepped between them.
“This morning, I finally confirmed it.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Confirmed what?”
The physician glanced at Isabella.
She gave a small nod.
“The queen is expecting a child.”
A murmur spread through the ballroom.
But the physician was not finished.
“Two children.”
This time, complete silence.
Adrian’s face went pale.
“Twins?”
Isabella nodded.
Then she looked down at the tight gown lying partly open around her.
“And you just forced me to squeeze into this dress and dance in front of everyone because you wanted them to laugh at me.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
He looked toward the four women.
None of them were smiling now.
