He could see the frustration pouring off her body as she exited the courthouse, nearly as if she were emitting steam. He took a deep breath and sighed, preparing himself, before he got out of the car and moved to open her door for her. While she had always been amazing at hiding her feelings, her rage and frustration, he found that she had been less concerned with hiding such things the longer they were together. The sound of her heels clicking down the sidewalk set a cadence of pure anger, and he was only a bit scared to be the ear for whatever outburst was on its way. He had to remind himself that she was different than any woman he was used to. She wouldn't take out her anger on him in that way, he knew.

She didn't speak, and he didn't push her to, as he opened her car door, and she sat down quickly. She didn't even wait for him to close the door, pulling it herself and tossing her purse to the floor of the car. He bit the inside of his cheek and returned to the driver's seat, awaiting the wrath he would possibly suffer, just for being the one closest to her heart. He sighed, reaching into the backseat and grabbing a single rose and a box of chocolates he had found while he waited for her to return. He sat the items between them and silently began to pull the car away from the courthouse. She stared at him in bewilderment, unable to wrap her mind around his sweetness when she had been absorbed in such darkness only seconds prior.

"Thank you."

"I thought you might need something special." She lifted the rose and smelled its sweet petals, closing her eyes at how beautiful it made her feel.

"He still wants to fight about every single thing."

"I'm not surprised at all. He has nothing better to do with his time." He turned the corner, taking the first road that lead them out of town and toward home. She opened the box of chocolates, smiling at the fact that he had gotten all of her favorite kinds. "What was the biggest issue today?"

"Well, it started with money, as it always does. I reminded him I didn't want any of his money, and his lawyer seemed surprised by that." She sighed, shaking her head as she wondered what else he hadn't shared with his lawyer. She took a bite of one of the chocolates, unable to resist the temptation.

"It started with money, what did it end with?" She snorted, looking out across a pasture with several horses grazing in the distance. The warm breeze blowing in her hair added a sense of calm, even though she was still quite upset.

"He finally read the divorce papers, so that's a positive…but he was displeased to find that I never changed my last name to his." His eyes widened, and he quickly looked at her. She shrugged, rolling her eyes in response. She knew how terrible it sounded.

"He only found out because your legal name is used in the papers?"

"Yes…and the judge used it."

"Honestly, Maria." He laughed, clearly amused by the whole thing. She supposed she would have found it humorous as well had she not just sat through a divorce hearing that painted her in such terrible light.

"I had every intention of changing it, I swear." He gave her an unbelieving look, and she shook her head. "I went to do it, honestly, but there was quite a line that day. I decided to check the book shop for Brigitta's birthday present while I waited for the line to go down, and I didn't realize until I got home that I never went back to check."

"And you never thought to try again another day?"

"Well…I thought about it."

"Yes, I'm sure you did." He smiled, knowing there was more reason than laziness for her to have neglected to complete such an important task.

"Alright, looking back, there were certainly a lot of red flags…for both of us."

"You are a complete mess, Maria Rainer." She slapped at his arm, and he laughed.

"I feel terrible about it. I had intended to get it changed before he would ever know. And then time got away from me…and then I found more and more reasons not to bother with it." She shrugged, finishing the chocolate in her hand and licking her fingertips from the bit that was left behind.

"Is that the kind you like?" She smiled, looking down to her box of chocolates.

"Oh, yes, these are my favorite. What's the occasion?" He reached between them and took her hand in his.

"Just in case things were tough today." He wiggled his fingers between hers, cringing at how sticky her hand felt. "And you've already gotten into them."

"Of course. Would you like one?" He shook his head.

"Your hand feels like Gretl's." She laughed, removing her hand from his grasp and wiping it against her skirt a few times. "And your reaction of wiping it on your dress is the same as hers too."

"My goodness, anything else about me that disgusts you, Captain?" He heard the playful rise in her voice, and he grasped her hand between them again.

"You'll never disgust me. I'll hold your sticky hand anytime you allow me to." She giggled, lifting their joined hands to place a kiss to the back of his. They sat in silence for just a moment, and she couldn't stop herself from simply observing his face. He was especially handsome as the sunlight gleamed across his features. His blue eyes sparkled in his contentment, and he truly seemed at peace for the moment.

"I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you." He met her eyes, finding she had been observing him, and he gave her a gentle smile.

"I feel the same way, my love." He kissed the back of her hand, which smelled faintly of chocolate, but he didn't mind. "But when we're married, I'm coming with you to change your name."

She laughed, agreeing that it probably would be in both of their best interest if he did. She wanted very much to be his wife, but the paperwork side of things never was her strong suit.

xxxxx

"Thank you, Franz." He grumbled something in response and left the room, clearly annoyed to even have to address her, and she sighed. She supposed he never would be a fan of hers, but it certainly wasn't for lack of trying.

She turned the envelope over in her hand, wondering what kind of mail she would have possibly received at the villa. While she knew many people were aware of her living situation, she didn't expect that any of those same people would have been sending her a letter. She opened the envelope, and she winced as she began to read the contents upon the page.

She knew she would eventually be required to rejoin the social scene, she just didn't think it would be so soon. In her heart she had hoped that due to her separation from the man who brought her into that circle, perhaps they would forget about her or disown her. Though she knew much better than to think the invitation was an act of solidarity or kindness. She was being invited as fuel for gossip, as a punching bag for society women who were simply dying to point out what a dishonorable, sinful, wicked woman she was. While she supposed that nothing they would say to her was untrue, she still knew she wasn't emotionally prepared to hear it. Her life was none of their business anyway, she reminded herself.

"I see you received one too." Georg handed her a glass of wine as he joined her in the sitting room, Max following him and taking a seat upon the sofa.

"Yes. Though it does feel a bit like I'm being invited to my own funeral." She accepted the glass with a smile of gratitude as he took his seat next to Max.

"That's exactly what's happening." Max responded with enthusiasm. Georg snorted, meeting his friend's eyes.

"You seem excited."

"No, not in the way you think, anyway." Maria rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her wine. "It's only that I love a wonderfully uncomfortable moment."

"Moment; it will be all night. Honestly, I shouldn't even consider going."

"Of course we should, darling. It would look worse if we don't go, I'm afraid." Georg took her hand, and she met his eyes in surprise.

"You think we should go as a couple?" He shrugged, not caring in the slightest about the opinions of others. It always amazed her how much easier it seemed for him to navigate society, or simply the world in general. She always felt incredibly inadequate.

"I wouldn't bring anyone else. And I should hope you wouldn't either?" She laughed, shaking her head.

"You can rest assured, I wouldn't." She scooted a bit closer to him, resting her head upon his shoulder.

"If you're going together, I suppose I must find my own date." Max pouted, and Georg gave him a feigned look of pity.

"Will Elsa be in attendance?"

"I should think so. But she has a delicious bit of arm candy that she's been parading about for quite a while. No doubt she'll be showing him off." The men laughed, and she watched Georg's face closely for signs of interest in Elsa's love life. She was pleased to see that he didn't seem to care in the slightest about who was on her arm. While she was glad for it, she did like to think she would be understanding if he were at least interested for the sake of curiosity. Even she was curious about whether or not Otto would have another woman on his arm.

She knew Otto would attend the party as well. He never missed a party, or an audience to speak loudly in front of when he had opinions. And it was very doubtful he would go without a partner. She knew it would not be a comfortable situation if she did go, but it would be even worse if she didn't. If she wasn't there, his platform for speaking harshly about her would know no end. While she knew most in their circle would be courteous and classy enough not to bring up their divorce, or at least the reasoning for it, most everyone surely knew by then. She wasn't as much interested in dispelling gossip or rumors as she was interested in reminding her peers that she was still a kind person at heart. She had sinned greatly, she would never disagree with that, but she didn't think that fact should have erased all of the good qualities she possessed. Even while she was still going through a divorce, she felt more like herself than she ever had in her life. Surely they would all be able to see that.

She smiled a bit to herself, knowing she was living in a fantasy world if she really thought anyone would be able to see past the drama that surrounded her at the moment. She looked to the ring upon her finger, the ring she had switched hands to show off a proper engagement, and she smiled. She could honestly say she didn't care at all what anyone thought of her or her relationship. She was in love, and her future was bright. No party was ever going to change that anyway.