Stay Dead This Time Chapter 07
“He’s not going to wake up,” I cut her off.
“What… what do you mean?” Daphne’s eyes went wide.
I did not answer. I simply stood and looked down at her.
“Daphne, I gave you a chance.”
In my previous life, when she first came to the estate, I treated her like a real sister. When she was sick, I sat by her bed day and night without rest. When she missed home, I stayed up talking with her until the early hours.
When I realized she had feelings for Stellan, it stung, but I told myself to let it go. It was common enough for a man to take more than one wife. As long as she knew her place, I could live with it.
However, she did not know her place. What she wanted was never just a position as the lesser wife. She wanted my title, my son’s inheritance, everything that was mine.
“In your next life, don’t make the same mistake.”
I turned and walked out.
Behind me, Daphne let out a scream so raw it could have torn her apart. However, what did that matter to me? Her tears meant nothing here.
By the sixth day, everything was in place.
Word came from Garrett that the arrangements within the military were complete. Every man in the ranks now believed without question that General Stellan Montclair had fallen in battle.
Garrett had quietly removed every last one of Stellan’s trusted loyalists, and the entire camp was now under his command.
Word also came from Everett. He had reached out to several censors at court, and at the same time arranged for the story to spread through every teahouse and tavern in the capital.
Stellan had given his life for his country. His cousin Daphne had offered to follow him in death. The king himself had granted her the title of Lady of Fidelity and ordered a grand burial.
People ate it up. Some praised the general’s loyalty and valor, some praised the cousin’s devotion, and others called the general’s wife gracious and selfless for allowing her cousin’s love to be honored.
The narrative was set. The whole world now knew that Stellan Montclair was dead and Daphne Langford had followed him to the grave.
Ansel was doing much better these past few days as well. I had the kitchen prepare premium cuisine to build his strength back up and called a doctor to treat his legs.
The doctor said it was fortunate we intervened when we did. Any later and the damage would have been permanent.
When I heard those words, my hand trembled.
In my previous life, the damage was permanent. Every time the rain came, Ansel would be in so much pain that he would roll back and forth on his bed, and I could not even afford the medicine to ease it.
Daphne said a bastard didn’t deserve good medicine. Stellan said, “You’re supposed to be a man, and you can’t handle a little pain?”
Ansel was seven years old at the time. He clenched his teeth and bore it without making a sound, cold sweat beading across his forehead, and still managed to smile at me and say, “Mother, it doesn’t hurt. I promise. It doesn’t hurt.”
I knew it did. I knew it hurt terribly.
“Mother, what are you thinking about?”
Ansel’s voice pulled me back. I looked down and found him gazing up at me, his small face creased with worry.
“Nothing.” I ruffled his hair. “I was just thinking, once things settle down in a few days, how about I take you to stay with Uncle Everett at the Renworth household for a while?”
“Yes!” Ansel’s eyes lit up, but the light faded just as quickly. “But… what about Father?”
I was quiet for a moment.
Ansel was young, but he was not foolish. He had watched everything that happened in the estate these past few days. He never asked a single question, but he understood all of it.
“Ansel.” I crouched down until my eyes were level with his. “What if… Just what if… your father did something very, very bad. Would you still love him?”
Ansel was silent for a long time, so long that I thought he was not going to answer at all.
Then, in a small voice, he said, “Father’s never held me. Not once. I know it’s because he doesn’t like me. That’s alright. I don’t want him anymore either.”
