Chapter 3

They were thick as thieves, while I felt frozen to the core.

Aiken had known everything from the start, and he even went out of his way to let it happen.

I was the only one kept in the dark.

Hatred surged in my chest, and seeing Isabella again made me so agitated I could barely keep it together.

But in Isabella's eyes, my reaction just looked like guilt.

She'd been a little nervous at first, but now she was back to her bold, cocky self.

Isabella sneered, "Lady Nicole, Lord Aiken said he's spending time with Lady Roxanne now. As for you, as long as you're still breathing, that's enough.

" If you bother him again, he'll send you packing with a divorce letter. And not only that, he'll make your child call Lady Roxanne mother.

"Lady Nicole, Lord Aiken also said he never cared for you. He only married you because your family's influence helped him rise in rank.

"Now that he's the commander of the Imperial Guards, keeping you around is just out of mercy. If you keep making trouble, you might as well be dead!"

By the time Isabella finished, Earl's face clouded over completely.

He threw his cup to the floor, and at the sound, all the attendants instantly dropped to their knees.

But Isabella had no clue what was going on.

She marched right up to me, claws out, and sneered, "Lady Nicole, you might as well save your energy. Playing the victim won't work on Lord Aiken. And that guy? If you think he'll make Lord Aiken jealous, you're dead wrong.

"If I tell Lord Aiken you're having an affair with this stranger, even while pregnant, he'll probably have you torn apart or dragged behind horses until you die."

Isabella was absolutely gleeful, basking in her own triumph.

She mistook Earl for some random man I'd brought along, just because he was wearing plain linen clothes after his royal robe got dirty.

Earl looked absolutely livid, his face twisted with rage.

He let out a cold laugh, and the guards who rushed in immediately pinned Isabella down.

Isabella panicked, finally realizing what was happening. She tried to speak, but a servant covered her mouth and hauled her off.

Earl roared, "Have her drawn and quartered, and toss the remains in front of Aiken. I want to see what's so great about Aiken that Lady Nicole would endure all this misery for him!"

I noticed how Earl addressed me, and couldn't help but blink.

Earl finally saw me as separate from Aiken. It looked like I finally made the right move.

The medicine the imperial physician had painstakingly prepared was finally ready. After I drank it, I was finally able to sleep soundly, knowing everything was handled.

When I opened my eyes again, a maid I'd never seen before hurried over to help me sit up.

She said, "Lady Nicole, the attempt on the Emperor's life was a big deal.

"He's already gone back to the palace, but he made it clear you should stay here and focus on getting better. Once things are taken care of, he'll come visit you."

I nodded.

Back in my previous life, the whole assassination attempt on Earl blew up into a massive scandal. Aiken only got his rewards after everything was thoroughly investigated.

Earl was still rattled, so the fact he remembered me at all felt like a blessing.

All I had to do was sit tight and let Earl handle the mess.

I finally felt at ease and was just about to speak when hurried footsteps echoed through the room.

Before I could even turn my head, a pair of rough, calloused hands seized my chin.

It was Aiken.

He stared at me, his expression grim and clouded with gloom.

Aiken growled, "You've got some damn nerve, brutally murdering Isabella behind my back.

"Do you even know how devastated Roxanne was when she saw Isabella's corpse? You poisonous bitch. I must've been out of my mind to ever marry you!"

His slap sent my head whipping to the side, my cheek burning with pain.

"Is that so? Fine, let's end this marriage!" I snapped back.

I wiped away my tears.

Those words had been bottled up inside me for so long. I'd planned to wait for Earl's decree, so I could leave Aiken properly, with my head held high.

But now, I just couldn't take it anymore.

Everything from my previous life, the hatred, the bitterness, mixed with the pain of this one, overwhelmed me. I felt trapped, suffocating, like I couldn't even struggle to break free.

Aiken, who had been swaggering around like he was untouchable, suddenly paused when he heard my words.

He frowned, scanning me from head to toe, and just as I started to wonder what he was planning,

Roxanne showed up.

The chaos from yesterday hadn't left a mark on her at all.

She was still as stunning as ever.

As soon as she appeared, Aiken couldn't see anyone else. She was the only one in his world.

He carefully wrapped Roxanne in his arms, and the hand that had struck me just moments ago was now gentle, softly stroking her face.

"Why are you here? Aren't you still recovering?" Aiken's voice softened as he spoke to Roxanne.

Roxanne shook her head.