I Choose A New Life Chapter 12
The memory faded, snapping me back to the present.
I answered him meekly. “Sebastian and I just worked together to raise the young king and run the government.”
William stared right at me.
I honestly couldn’t tell if he bought it or not.
He just let out a cold laugh. “I don’t give a damn what happened between you two in your previous life. In this life, I am not dying early.
“Isabella, you belong to me. You are my queen.”
I gave him a quiet, obedient nod.
William had been born with a manageable lung condition.
In my previous life, an accidental fall into the water had triggered the severe illness that killed him prematurely.
He’d dodged that fate this time around, so he thought he was perfectly safe.
But there was one crucial detail he didn’t know—I’d consulted the royal physician in my previous life and learned that inhaling ash was another major trigger.
Anna hadn’t started that fire.
I had framed her for it.
William fell violently ill on the exact day I went into labor.
He collapsed before he even got the chance to see the twins.
The moment the royal physician confirmed he was dying, I wiped my eyes, cradled the babies, and knelt beside his bed.
The women of the court knelt in a quiet mass behind me.
He woke slowly. Staring blankly up at the bed canopy, he let out a raspy, rattling laugh. “Leave us,” he ordered.
“Only the Queen stays.”
His gaze shifted to me, his eyes clouded with a mix of pain and fury. “Why?
“Anna is dead. No one can threaten your position anymore.
“Isabella, why did you still choose to kill me?”
His eyes grew bloodshot as a cold laugh shook his chest.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll order your execution right now, just so you have to die with me?”
I met his stare without a drop of fear.
“If I die, who’s going to raise the children?
“You’ve already stripped the Royal Chancellor from our previous life of his title. Aside from me, Your Majesty, you have absolutely no one left to trust.”
William glared at me, bitter resentment burning in his eyes.
A single tear slipped down his cheek, and I reached out to gently wipe it away.
He closed his eyes. “Isabella…” he murmured.
It was playing out exactly as it had in my previous life.
I squeezed his hand, layering my voice with a perfectly rehearsed sadness. “I had Anna’s body recovered.
“Rest easy—I’ll make sure the two of you are buried together.”
“I don’t want to be buried with her,” William rasped, his voice tearing at his throat.
“You are my wife. You belong next to me.
“Bella, you can’t be buried with anyone else. I’ll wait for you. Bella, please… stop hating me.”
I didn’t say a word. I just clamped my cold hand over his mouth and nose.
He thrashed weakly against me, but his breathing grew shallower and shallower until it stopped completely against my palm.
I used to resent him, but whatever lingering bitterness I’d held had burned itself out over the forty years I spent as the Queen Dowager in my previous life.
Now, I just pitied him.
He had sat on the throne for less than a year and was dying without a biological heir.
The game was over.
He had simply been outmatched.
I stood up and pushed open the heavy double doors.
A man was kneeling in the corridor outside, his head bowed.
“Your Majesty,” he said softly.
I tried to answer, but my throat clamped shut, refusing to let any sound out.
In my previous life, I hadn’t strictly needed to kill Sebastian.
But his influence over the court was just too massive.
In my previous life, I hadn’t strictly needed to kill Sebastian.
But his influence over the court was just too massive.
As long as he was alive, my own power felt deeply insecure; I knew half the court would stand against me for him.
So, after I deceitfully secured the secret decree, I ordered Sebastian to drink a cup of poisoned wine.
He’d acted like he’d been expecting it all along. With a cold laugh, he had asked, “Won’t you offer me a second glass?”
Before I could even answer, he’d pulled me against his chest.
His face gave away absolutely nothing as he leaned down and kissed me.
He held me there until I had to gasp for air, then finally let me go.
Picking up the poisoned wine, he raised it in a mock toast. “Your Majesty,” he had said. “I wish you a very long life.”
***
I kept every single promise I ever made to Sebastian in that previous life.
In this life, I was actually going to live out those many long years right by his side.
It was a comforting thought.