A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 1242

He had absolutely no right.

As far as Herbert was concerned, Fairfax didn't even have the luxury of hating Starla. All of this had started long before the recent cycle of vengeance.

If anything, that newly discovered hatred only fueled the fire, making her infinitely more ruthless toward the Yelchins.

But now, Fairfax was conveniently ignoring everything that had happened prior to that breaking point.

"You still want to make her pay? What a joke," Herbert scoffed, a cold, mocking laugh escaping him. "The one who needs to pay the price is you, Fairfax!"

Fairfax felt his ears ring. It was as if his entire world was collapsing in on itself. He stared at the man across from him, his face darkening, his eyes swirling with a chaotic storm of emotions.

"You're saying..."

"Yeah, I'm saying you're the reason the Yelchin family ended up like this. Not anyone else. You. Do you really not know why she was so ruthless to your family?"

It wasn't just because of her mother. Even before that truth came to light, she had already set her sights on destroying them. She despised every single one of them.

Suffocating under the weight of the accusation, Fairfax took a deep breath and looked away.

"Whenever something goes wrong, your first instinct is to destroy the people closest to you," Herbert said, his voice laced with disgust. "You never stop to think about your own role in the disaster."

With that, Herbert left.

Fairfax remained on the floor. Hours passed. The sky outside darkened, but he didn't move an inch from where Herbert had left him.

Caden already knew Herbert was back. He had tried calling him, but Herbert hadn't answered. Given the monumental mess things had become, Herbert probably didn't want to deal with anyone right now.

Fairfax took another swig from his bottle. "Is all of this really my fault?" he asked, his words slurring slightly.

Caden hesitated, unsure of what to say. Obviously, a disaster of this magnitude wasn't the fault of just one person. But if he pointed out that everyone shared the blame, Fairfax's volatile temper might drag even more innocent people down with him.

"Stop drinking," Caden said, reaching out to grab the bottle.

Fairfax dodged his hand. He let out a low, bitter chuckle, his voice thick with sorrow. "Looks like you're the only one left."

Caden felt a sharp pang of sadness. Back in the day, the three of them—Fairfax, Herbert, and Darian Lynn—had been inseparable. But now? Darian had run off with Tanya Mercer, leaving the Lynn family to deal with a massive scandal. Their reputation had become the laughingstock of the city after that ruined wedding.