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"You are too kind, my love."
Then he faced me.
"Victoria is right, Elizabeth. You are not dead. Why make such a fuss? Give Sarah to Victoria. And in the future, try not to be so dramatic over trivial matters."
I had stared at him in disbelief.
I was carrying his child and had been poisoned, yet it was a trivial matter because I survived.
But back then, I still loved him.
I thought he was blinded by Victoria, and that I, as his wife, should be gracious.
Then one day, I overheard them talking.
Richard's eyes were full of adoration.
"You silly girl. Next time you use poison, be more discreet. If you're caught again, I won't be able to help you."
Victoria wrapped her arms around his,
"I know. Thank you , my lord."
Sarah stood nearby, smiling.
The three of them, a perfect picture of harmony.
He had known. He had encouraged it. I was the only fool..
I was the only one who had been a fool.
The hatred from that memory boiled within me, and seeing Sarah again made angry.
But in her eyes, my agitation was a sign of guilt.
Her initial timidity vanished, replaced by a smug confidence.
"Lady Elizabeth, my lord says he is with Lady Victoria now. As for you, as long as you don't die, it's fine. If you bother him again, he will send you divorce papers! Not only that, he will make your child call my lady ‘Mother'!"
"My lord also said that he never liked you. He only married you because your family had power and could help him. Now that he is Captain of the Royal Guard, he keeps you out of pity. If you keep causing trouble, you'll wish for death!"
By the time Sarah finished, the King's face was dark with rage.
He smashed his cup on the floor, and the servants in the hall dropped to their knees in a wave of fear.
But Sarah, oblivious, strode up to my bedside, sneering.
"Lady Elizabeth, I advise you to save your energy. Your little act won't work on my lord. And as for this... commoner?"
She gestured vaguely at the King.
"If you think you can make my lord jealous, you are sorely mistaken."
"When I tell my lord how you risked your child for your lover, do you think he'll have you killed?"
She was gloating.
The King's royal robes had been ruined, and he was now wearing a simple linen tunic.
She had mistaken the King of the realm for my secret lover.
The King's expression was unreadable, a mask of cold fury.
He gave a sharp, humorless laugh, and with a nod, the guards who had just arrived seized Sarah.
She finally realized her mistake and opened her mouth to scream, but a page muffled her cries and dragged her away.
"Take her," the King's voice was like ice.
"Have her killed. And throw her remains before Lord Richard. I am very curious to see what is so special about this man that Ms. Taylor would suffer so much for him."
I noticed the King's choice of words.
Ms. Taylor.
He had already separated me from Richard in his mind.
My gamble had not been in vain.
