How To End This Marriage-Chapter 125: Poisoned Alliances

"What kind of offer would you like me to make, Duchess?" Prince Maximus inquired.

"I’m sure you’re aware of the turmoil in the royal palace and the plots orchestrated by the emperor, princess, and the Duchess, my mother-in-law, to oust me from my position," I stated.

"Yes, but how does this relate to the offer?" the prince questioned.

"Your Highness, I’m not certain if you would consider being a part of this offer, but I propose that we embark on this journey together. The offer is for us to play the roles of lovers, influencing our positions in this empire," I explained.

"Lovers?" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, I’ve been under immense pressure to divorce the duke. I’m also aware of a contract between the Balliol and Agnes families, a four-year marriage agreement that has already expired. I see no other way to thwart their plans, so I want us to present ourselves as lovers. This way, the fear of losing the throne will dissuade them from pressuring me to break the marriage and be with you. What do you think? Will you help me?" I asked.

"I understand your proposal, but is this truly what you want?" the prince inquired once more.

"Yes, it is. So, Your Highness, do you accept my offer?" I asked again.

"I do. This deal is mutually beneficial. You want to be with Alex, and I desire the throne. I can’t imagine a better arrangement," he replied with a smile.

"Yes, Your Highness. Let’s openly reveal our relationship to show them," I said, noticing someone approaching. As I turned, I saw the Duke walking towards us with a furrowed expression on his face.

"Duke, what have you brought here?" I questioned.

"That’s what I can ask you, wife. What brought you here?" he retorted.

"You seem to forget what I said. I told you that you don’t get to dictate my actions. I don’t need your permission to have tea with the royal highness, the prince," I stated.

"Wife!" he raised his voice.

"Alex, I’m still here. I am the royal prince. It seems you’ve forgotten the royal protocols; you haven’t even bowed to me," the prince interjected.

"I apologize, Your Highness, but I need to speak to my wife alone. Could you give us some space?" the Duke requested, prompting the prince to rise from his seat and walk towards the rooms.

"What was that, Duke? He’s the prince. How could you speak to him like that? Have you completely lost your mind?" I exclaimed in anger.

"Yes, I’ve decided to go crazy. Whose fault is it? Mine? I don’t think so. Your declaration made me like this. Your divorce announcement made me like this. Can you understand that?" he said while gripping my shoulder.

"I cannot understand that, nor do I have the patience to entertain your gibberish. Do you think I’m here to listen to you? No, I was having a tea date with the prince, and your arrival has ruined it. Can you compensate for that?" I said, dismissing his words.

"Tea date? Ha, wife, you are my wife!" he declared.

"No, I don’t. I’m not your wife. The moment my husband failed to defend me in front of others, he is no longer my husband. The moment my husband decided to be with someone insulting in front of the people, he failed to fulfill his responsibility and be my husband. So I forgot that moment when you were my husband, and I was your wife. There is no more relation between you and me," I stated, trying to leave and release his grip from my shoulder. However, his grip remained tight, making me yelp in pain.

"I won’t accept this!" he exclaimed, maintaining his grip.

"Duke, leave me!" I tried to push him away, but my attempts were in vain. Despite my struggles, he pulled me toward him, placing me on his shoulder and walking toward my room.

"Duke, let go of me! If anyone sees this, it will be a huge scandal," I protested, attempting to stop him, but my efforts were futile.

"No!" he insisted, and I continued to struggle. He stopped once we reached my room, throwing me onto the bed and locking the door.

"This is something only I have the right to do. The prince will be punished if he does this. You are my legally wedded wife. No one will point a finger at us, no matter how intimate we seem," he asserted.

"Still, he is far better," I retorted, further infuriating him.

"Stop mentioning his name in front of me!" he exclaimed, hitting his hand against the wall.

"Why? Why are you angry? You should be happy that I’m going out of your way. Your path is clear, and I’m leaving your life. You should enjoy parties with your dear princess. Why are you here with me? To make fun of me, thinking you can have both of us? No, you can’t. I won’t let you do that because if you can have someone else, so can I. I can have as many lovers as I want. I won’t let someone question me when he himself is doing this to me," I asserted, pushing him away.

"Wife, she is sick!" he reiterated. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"She is sick! She is sick! She is sick! I’m tired of hearing this. I no longer have patience for this. No sister-in-law would want to meet her brother so much when her own blood-related brother is in the palace, unaware of her health. You want me to believe you? Did you take me for a fool? I’m not. Be with your cousin because she is sick, while I will be with your other cousin because he is someone who can appreciate my worth," I said, standing up and pushing him out of the door, locking it from inside.

"Now, you have no right to question me!" I shouted, making sure he heard.

As I locked the door, I contemplated his erratic behavior, something I was witnessing for the first time. I have no idea why he couldn’t express simple things when he was clearly furious about me being with others, especially after defending his sister so passionately in front of me when he should have been aware of the situation.

"Are you so in love with the princess that you can’t see my struggle to live in this mansion? Can’t you see how much pressure I’ve been given just to go out of your life?" I mumbled to myself when I heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I answered.

"Duchess, I have brought food for you!" the maid replied, making her way inside.

"Place it here; you don’t have to serve!" I said, dismissing the maid as I started serving the food myself. However, the garnishing on the salad plate triggered my hunger even more.

I began taking small bites, savoring every inch of the food until I felt a choke in my throat.

"Ah!" I gasped for air, noticing my vision getting blurred.

"So it was a trap!" I mumbled as I observed foam coming out of my mouth.

"The poison worked well on you!" I heard a voice, but I couldn’t see the person.

"How I wanted to see you dying in front of me that I had to come to you on my own, leaving my bed. Can you now imagine how much I hate you, Bernice Balliol Agnes?" So, this was the princess.

"Oh, how I hate your name with his surname connected to it. I wish I could just cut it off like I’m cutting you off from my life, but bad luck is that I can’t. Even if you die now, you will still be called Bernice Balliol Agnes, the first wife of Alexavier Agnes. I hate it so much!" she said, acting like a child. I crawled on the floor, attempting to escape the room, but she stood in front of me.

"Where are you going? Do you want to get out of the room and call for help? Do you think I will let you do that?" she said, placing her foot on my hand, rubbing it and causing me to bleed, even though I was already dying from the poison.

"You will die here, and no one will know. How did so much poison enter your body? Even if they find out, my maids will surrender themselves, and no one will point at me. I will marry Alex soon after your death. Nice, right?" she said, feigning excitement in front of me, while my vision continued to blur, causing me to close my eyes slowly.

"Wife? Are you here?" I heard his voice.

"Alex, what is he doing here?" the princess mumbled, panicking.

I don’t know how she saved herself, but I heard him again, "If you’re not answering, then I would like to enter forcefully."

He said as he entered my room, and finally, my entire vision became numb, making me fall onto the cold surface.