After ensuring that Edmund’s mother was settled safely, I removed my jewelry and ornaments, dressed in plain white, and made my way toward the estate gates.

But just as I reached them, a servant blocked my path.

From behind, Charlotte’s mocking voice rang out, dripping with contempt. “Sister, your mother was known for her loose morals, and here you are, following a man without any title or status for years. I doubt anyone would want you now. Why don’t I be generous and offer you some gold to ensure you’re taken care of for the rest of your life?”

With a flick of her wrist, the servant behind her poured out a pile of gold onto the ground, waiting smugly for me to grovel and pick it up.

The onlookers murmured amongst themselves, eagerly anticipating my humiliation.

I lifted my head, my eyes bright and clear, and calmly rolled up my sleeve to reveal a deep scar, one that cut down to the bone.

“The first year, when the Lander family’s estate was seized, it wasn’t you by Julius’s side in that wretched, rundown hut – it was me.

“During that winter, when he burned with fever and couldn’t afford medicine, it was I who lay by his side in nothing but my undergarments, using my own body to cool him.

“The second year, when Julius was attacked, it was I who took the fatal blow for him. My arm has never fully recovered.”

“The third year, when Julius finally began to gain some influence, he was poisoned by a rival. I swallowed poison after poison, testing each antidote myself to find the cure. My health has never been the same since.”

…

“Enough,” Julius’s voice cut through the air, cold and sharp. “Then be my mistress, Cleo. But I warn you – don’t push your luck.”

I shook my head, my voice steady and unyielding. “I am the lady of the House of James. I will never be anyone’s mistress.”

I bared my shoulder before everyone, revealing the marks Julius had left behind during his poison-induced rages, the countless bite marks etched deep into my skin, horrifying to behold.

“I only ask one thing, Chancellor – after all these years, grant me my freedom.”

Silence blanketed the courtyard, so thick you could hear a pin drop.

Julius’s eyes flared with rage, and I watched as his fingernails dug into his palms, drawing blood.

But this time, I didn’t rush forward to tend to his wounds as I once would have.

And it was then that he realized – I no longer loved him.

What he didn’t know was that from the very first day I walked into that rundown hut with him, I had only ever sought revenge.

Julius’s words, though seemingly casual, sent shockwaves through Charlotte’s heart. She caught the hint of his lingering feelings for me.

Desperately, she ordered the servants to throw me out of the estate.

I looked at Julius one last time and caught the fear that flickered in Charlotte’s eyes, knowing I had finally unsettled her.

By defying Julius Lander, I had undoubtedly made an enemy of one of the most influential men in the kingdom.

I had barely reached the entrance of the old Sinclair estate when someone stepped into my path.

I looked up and saw Lady Juliana Lander, Julius’s sister – also a close confidante of Charlotte.

There we stood, facing each other in the middle of the street, neither saying a word.

This was the same spoiled lady who once pointed her finger at me and called me shameless. But after everything that had happened to the Landers, she’d learned a measure of restraint.

Gone were the days of her loud outbursts. Now, she leaned in close, her voice dripping with scorn as she whispered in my ear.

I had no intention of entertaining her and started to walk away, but her next words stopped me in my tracks.

Juliana’s eyes glinted with malice. “You’re just like Edmund – nothing but a filthy, lowborn wretch.”

I lifted my gaze, my eyes cutting into her like a blade.

She smirked, idly toying with a lock of her hair. “Such impure blood, yet he still held the privilege of the eldest son’s title. It was unbearable. So, I asked dear Charlotte for the drugged fumes she used to disgrace your mother. Just a small amount, and it drove Edmund to madness, abandoning his carefully planned legal career to seek out the truth.”

She tilted her head, her smile widening. “He truly was devoted to you. Do you know how he died?”

My nails dug into my palms, and I felt tears rolling down my cheeks against my will.

I had long discovered that Edmund had perished in the dead of winter, his hands and feet broken, left to die alone in the snow with no one to claim his body.

Juliana laughed, watching me tremble with rage and pain.

She pointed to a corner by the Sinclair estate’s outer wall, her tone light and casual. “I had him dragged there that day, so he could see you fussing over my dear brother Julius. I made sure he was conscious, just so he could watch you tending to another man with such care.”

I lost control. I charged at her, only to be pinned to the ground by the servants at her side, unable to even brush the hem of her dress.

Crouching down, Juliana patted my cheek, her voice dripping with disdain. “Cleo, you and Edmund are the same – worthless. Your lives are mine to take whenever I wish.”

With a triumphant sneer, she turned and walked away.

I stumbled over to that corner by the wall, my heart shattering as I imagined the despair Edmund must have felt in his final moments.

I forced down the bitter taste rising in my throat.

Juliana, Charlotte… both of you deserve to die.

I looked up at the sky and wondered, perhaps, I too was fated to meet the same end.