I Choose A New Life Chapter 09
I went to bed early that night.
Sometime later, I jolted awake, coughing violently. The room smelled like smoke.
Mooncrest Palace was on fire.
Margaret was the first one to rush in.
She grabbed me, practically dragging me toward the door, but I was heavily pregnant.
After a few steps, my body just gave out. I couldn’t go any further.
Seeing her hover over me, refusing to leave, I summoned the last ounce of my strength and slapped her. “Don’t be an idiot!
“You want to die in here with me? Get yourself out so you can bring help.”
That last part clicked.
Making a split-second choice, she threw a blanket over her shoulders and bolted out the door.
The flames were already roaring across the ceiling beams.
I pulled my knees to my chest, curling into a tight ball in the corner.
Through the thick, gray haze, a figure emerged.
I recognized him immediately. “It’s you.”
Sebastian’s mouth was set in a grim line as he scooped me up into his arms.
His eyes were completely bloodshot from the smoke. Standing there, bathed in the orange glare of the fire, he looked incredibly handsome.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, nestled into his chest, and finally let myself rest.
Drifting in and out of consciousness, I caught sight of another figure standing in the doorway.
He was just watching us, rigid, his face an unreadable mask.
It turned out Anna had started the fire.
She knew she was dying, and she wanted to take me down with her.
This time, William didn’t show an ounce of mercy.
He ordered her to take her own life, then had his men dump her body outside the palace walls.
When I finally woke up, the first thing I saw was William’s bloodshot eyes.
He told me he remembered everything.
He remembered our previous life together, how deeply we’d loved each other.
Back then, my entire universe revolved around him.
Every ounce of it had been genuine.
I gave a weak cough and managed a faint, hollow smile. “Your Majesty, I feel the exact same way about you in this life.”
William went dead silent.
“In the past, when it was just the two of us, you never called me ‘Your Majesty.'”
I didn’t say a word.
Husband and wife across two lifetimes, we just sat there facing each other in silence.
We were close enough to touch, but emotionally, we were worlds apart.
A long moment passed before he finally spoke.
“Did you have a good life after I died?”
“I lived well into my sixties,” I said. “Grew old and died peacefully.”
I let the words hang for a second before adding, “Anna lived just as long. She was buried right next to you, so you don’t have a thing to worry about.”
William froze, a mess of conflicting emotions flashing across his face. “You knew.
“If you knew I loved Anna, why did you let her into the palace?”
He met my eyes. “If she hadn’t stirred up so much trouble once she got there, we wouldn’t have fought the way we did.”
A sudden, heavy exhaustion washed over me.
I couldn’t wrap my head around why he was still obsessing over the past.
Letting them be together had been the wrong move, but keeping them apart had been just as bad.
What did he actually want?
Or maybe… he just wanted it all.
“If I still gave a damn about any of that,” I said, cutting him off flatly, “I wouldn’t have married you again in this life.”
William’s expression instantly went dark.
He grabbed my chin, his eyes turning to ice as he forced out every word. “If you hadn’t married me, who would it have been?
“Sebastian?”