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The life–saving draught the healers had been preparing was finally ready. I drank it down and gratefully fell into a deep sleep.
When I awoke, a strange handmaiden was helping me sit up.
“My lady, the attempt on His Majesty’s life is a matter of great importance. The King has returned to the palace, but he has commanded that you are to rest and recover here, under his protection. He will visit you once things are settled.”
I nodded. In my last life, the investigation into the assassination had been a long and arduous affair. It was only after it was concluded that Valerius received his rewards. The King had been through a great ordeal; it was a testament to my sacrifice that he remembered me at all. All I had to do now was wait.
I was just about to speak when the sound of frantic footsteps approached. Before I could turn, a rough hand seized my chin.
It was Valerius. His face was a thundercloud.
“You have some nerve,” he snarled, “to have Leah tortured and killed behind my back!”
“Do you have any idea how much Elara grieved when she saw Leah’s body? You venomous shrew! I must have been blind to ever choose you!”
His blow sent my head snapping to the side, my cheek burning.
“Is that so?” I whispered, wiping away a tear. “Then let us divorce.”
I had been holding those words in for so long. I had planned to wait for the King’s official decree, to leave Valerius with honor and grace. But I couldn’t bear it any longer. The hatred and grief from my past life, comb- ined with the pain of this one, swirled around me like a suffocating cocoon.
Valerius, who had been so self–righteo
Chapter 1
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Valerius, who had been so self–righteous, froze. He frowned, his eyes raking over me, and just as I wondered what he was thinking, Elara appeared.
The previous day’s turmoil seemed to have had no effect on her. She was as beautiful as ever. The moment she entered the room, Valerius had eyes for no one else.
He gently gathered her into his arms, the same hand that had just struck me now caressing her face with infinite tenderness. “What are you doing here? You haven’t fully recovered.”
Elara shook her head. “My lord, I was worried about you. I came to see you, only to hear you arguing with my lady again, and all because of me. I cannot bear to see you and my lady in such pain. Perhaps… perhaps it would be best if you divorced me! Then you would have no more worries.”
She began to weep, her tears falling onto Valerius’s tunic. He was beside himself with pity, fumbling to com- fort her.
“Don’t say such foolish things. You know you are the only one in my heart. Her… she has my pity only because she carries my child. A woman like her could never raise a child properly. Once she gives birth, I will give the child to you to raise, and i will make you my equal wife!”
