Tangled By Fate

474 HER CONVICTION & HIS STORY

She added, “I didn’t have time to talk to Arthur about her. Since you are here, why don’t you tell me about her? Is she your and Arthur’s childhood friend?”

“I’m surprised he told you about her,” Ovior commented.

“I was curious,” Veronica said. “I’m sure he didn’t want me to misunderstand anything. However, he didn’t tell me more about her which made me curious.”

“He didn’t tell you out of his respect for me,” Ovior stated.

“Respect for you?” Veronica raised an eyebrow. “So then, she is related to you, not him.”

Ovior probed, “Are you worried that she could be related to your husband?”

“I’m not worried,” Veronica answered. “He played with too many women I’ve seen in my lifetime.

“I would have grown old if I kept worrying about that. I trust him and his feelings for me.

“It’s just I hardly heard anything about his past, especially his childhood. That’s why seeing that picture made me curious.

.....

“I would love to know more about his friends and precious people he cared for.”

“Won’t you be jealous?” Ovior inquired.

Veronica seemed carefree.

She said, “I know he loves me. If his love for me was so fickle then he wouldn’t use black magic and sacrifice people to have a deal with the underworld.”

“True. It’s marvelous how much you are matured,” Ovior commented. “When I first saw you, you were a na?ve child.”

Veronica smiled, “You can blame the environment I grew up in.”

While eating his meal, Ovior remarked, “Is that why you love yourself more than you love Arthur?”

Veronica frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Whom can you trick with your behavior?” Ovior chuckled.

“If you truly loved Arthur more than you loved yourself, would you think of running away every time you have a chance?” he remarked.

His question was direct to all the selfish decisions Veronica took in this short period without thinking about Arthur and his feelings.

Veronica understood his intention very well.

She said, “Are you telling me to forget the dream I had since I was born?

“Before I met Arthur, I dreamed of roaming around the world freely. Moreover, Arthur promised me that after marriage, we would travel together.

“However, everything became a lie. It’s not that I didn’t cope with this lifestyle. I became a mistress you all wished for, didn’t I?

“You have no right to blame me if I want to pursue my dream. In fact, I’m still thinking about traveling the world.”

“So, you won’t change your mind and settle down,” Ovior concluded.

Veronica replied, “Far from it. Arthur fulfilled his wish by having me tied with him. After everything is over, I’ll fulfill my wish by roaming around the world.

“Although people hate it when I say that we both sacrificed in this marriage. Marriage means giving up on some things and getting something else, I will change this.

“For women, we suffer the moment we enter the in-law’s house. We have no right, no will. We have to take care of our families and serve only our husbands.

“I don’t believe in this kind of lifestyle and I won’t. It’s great that Arthur doesn’t force his ideas on me like before. He is learning well.

“I will also try to learn how to be more caring toward him. Even so, I won’t give up on my freedom or my dream.”

“You are more rebellious than I thought,” Ovior commented.

“I’ll take it as a compliment,” Veronica grinned. “By the way, you haven’t told me about Dorothy.”

Ovior stated, “There is nothing to say. I grew up with her. We were engaged before we were born.

“She was a charming lady. Any man would fall for her but she fell in love with me.”

“That’s wonderful!”

Veronica was impressed. She never imagined that she would listen to the workaholic Ovior’s love life.

“So then, why are you still single? I never saw you going on a date with her. Did she break up with you because you didn’t pay attention to her?” she asked jokingly.

She planned to make fun of him if that was true.

“No. There is no way she would break up with me. Her love was too pure.”

“Was?” Veronica didn’t laugh anymore. She had a mad premonition about this.

Ovior replied, “She is gone. The culprit was none other than the late Crown Prince.

“It happened after I won the semi-final against him. He didn’t like it. So, he decided to do what would hurt me the most.

“However, he didn’t think about the consequences. Arthur asked for a duel with him. In the duel, he killed the Crown Prince mercilessly to avenge me.”.

“But what’s done is done. Even though that son of a bitch was killed, Dorothy didn’t come back. Now it’s all history.”

Veronica stayed quiet. She didn’t know what word to use to console him.

Her original lively mood turned sour. She felt like the temperature chilled despite it being summer.

Judging by his low voice and pained expression, she could understand how much Ovior loved his fiancée.

She felt terrible. She could hardly imagine what Ovior had gone through after he heard her incident and how much he could have blamed himself.

“Ovior… I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize,” Ovior interrupted her.

Using magic, he brought a red wine bottle in his hand. He opened the lid and poured red wine for both of them.

Then, he raised the glass and said, “Today is her death anniversary. Shall we toast it to her?”

“Sure,” Veronica answered readily. “For her peach.”

“For her peace.”

Veronica took a sip. It was a high-quality red wine. The sweetness spread inside her mouth. The heaviness in her heart lightened up quite a bit.

She licked her lips and then took another sip. She mentally praised the taste of the wine.

By the time she finished half of the glass, Ovior already finished the second round. He poured another glass of wine for him.

His face soon flushed red. Skipping his dinner, he finished the bottle of wine.

Veronica was worried that he would pass out here and then catch a cold.

She said, “Ovior, why don’t you rest for the night? You have drunk a lot.”

“I want to stay here for the night,” Ovior’s tone slurred. “You can leave if you want.”

There was no way she could leave him like that when he was grieving.

“I cannot do that… cough!”

Before she could finish what she wanted to say, she coughed.

She covered her mouth automatically. When she pulled out her hand, she saw red liquid covering her hand.

“Ah… the wine…” She didn’t finish talking when she coughed again.

This time, more red liquid came out. It filled her palm and dripped from it, messing up her nightgown.

Before she could understand anything, her head spun.

Thud!

Ovior raised his head, startled by the metal sound. He didn’t find Veronica.

He looked down and saw Veronica rolling on the cold floor. She was unconscious.

There was a small pool around her face.

Blood coming out of her mouth.

“Veronica?!”

He rushed forward and grabbed her. He turned her over and cupped her face.

“Veronica!”