I Choose A New Life Chapter 02
It wouldn’t do any good.
It would only break my heart.
In my previous life, William was only twenty-seven when he died.
By then, we’d already been married for a decade.
My father was the Duke of La Serre, and my mother—his lawful wife—came from an old, noble family and had been best friends with the Queen since they were kids.
Growing up, I always knew I was destined to marry William.
Because of that, I spent my entire youth studying his likes and dislikes, learning exactly how to be the perfect wife and a flawless queen.
After the wedding, I poured everything I had into him.
I managed the court’s other women and took care of the Queen Dowager, so he never had to sweat the domestic stuff.
In return, he gave me all the respect a queen deserved.
No matter how many clever, high-born mistresses cycled through his life over the years, he always treated me best.
Even at the very end, he held my hand with this heartbreaking look in his eyes. He stared down and murmured, “If we get another life, I’ll marry you all over again.”
People constantly praised how perfectly in sync the King and Queen were.
But nobody knew the truth.
Just minutes before that sweet little speech, he’d kicked me out of his bedroom, insisting that only Anna stay with him.
I couldn’t help but pause outside the heavy curtains to listen.
He grabbed her hand, his voice thick with bitterness. “We missed our chance in this life,” he told her.
“When I’m gone, I want to be buried next to you.”
“But Isabella…” Anna sobbed.
At the sound of my name, William dropped his hand. He looked completely drained. “I have pretended to love her all my life, and I am tired of it.
“I don’t want to have to look at her in the afterlife.”
I got incredibly sick right after William died.
I kept dreaming about him the way he was before he turned twenty—this cold guy in his wedding clothes, lifting my veil.
In the dream, a drop of hot wax fell into my damp hair, and he brushed it away so carefully, pressing a kiss to my neck that was so light I could barely feel it.
All the happy memories now hurt me deeply.
My illness dragged on for three months.
The second I was back on my feet, I called for Anna.
She tried to deny it at first, but it didn’t take long for her to spill everything.
She walked me through exactly how they’d met, connected, and fallen madly in love.
Even after they both married other people, he kept fiercely protecting and providing for her.
She was born poor, yet she wore expensive jewelry and spent money freely.
She even murdered his official mistress—and when she was dragged into court, a terrified judge just let her walk.
Behind the scenes, the King had been her secret shield the whole time.
She told me every detail and looked very proud of herself.
As the daughter of a nobleman’s lawful wife, my social standing crushed hers, and I’d landed a far better marriage than she ever could have dreamed of.
Yet, the way she looked at me right then, it was just this infuriating, arrogant pity. “Isabella, you really are pathetic.”
Pathetic?
I just stared at her for a long moment before I finally let out a laugh.
I used to think I was pathetic, too.
William had played me for a fool my entire adult life, while I’d honestly believed our marriage was built on real love.
But now, I was the Queen Dowager.
I rule the realm as regent and control every cent of its wealth.
Who he loved or hated meant absolutely nothing compared to the decades of unchecked power and prosperity I had ahead of me.
Even if I had to do it all over again, I’d still choose to marry William.
For starters, my mother spent years training me for this role, and I refuse to let her hard work go to waste.
On top of that, he was the only one who could hand me that kind of ultimate political power.
As for true love between a husband and wife?
It was completely useless, and I could easily live without it.