A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 1247

No, it wasn't forgiveness.

He had simply redirected all the blame and hatred onto himself. The brutal fight with Herbert had knocked him back into reality. Herbert was right. It wasn't Starla. The catalyst for all of this tragedy was Fairfax himself.

He didn't even remember dialing her number. He called three times before she finally picked up.

There was only the soft sound of breathing on the line. Starla didn't say a word.

Fairfax parted his lips, completely at a loss. In that fleeting moment, just listening to her breathe felt like a painful privilege. She was alive. She was breathing. What right did he have to hate her?

If he kept pushing, he really would drive her to her grave. How many times had she almost died by his side? He was the architect of every single near-death experience she had endured. Even her faked death was an escape from him. She didn't want to get away from Yardley or Herbert—she had desperately wanted to escape him.

On the other end of the line, Starla listened to his increasingly heavy breaths. Since he wasn't speaking, she remained silent.

A long time passed. Just as she was about to hang up, assuming he had pocket-dialed her, his voice finally broke the silence.

"Do you... hate me?"

Starla's grip on the phone tightened instinctively.

Did she hate him?

Once, her hatred had burned like a raging inferno. But that was a lifetime ago. Now?

"I used to. Now..."

Now what? She couldn't even articulate what she felt toward him. Whatever suffocating resentment she harbored had evaporated the moment she left that city. They had tormented each other until there was nothing left to salvage.

"Winning and losing?" he echoed.

"Yes. If you really want to settle the score for all those mistakes, that's what it comes down to."

As for love and hate? That conversation was dead and buried.

A bitter smile touched Fairfax's lips. In that devastating moment, he fully grasped what he had become to her. She didn't feel a shred of emotion toward him anymore. It was an abandonment forged from absolute, bone-deep exhaustion.

She had completely given up on him. More than that, she had given up on everyone and everything.

"If you want revenge, bring it on," she stated flatly, and hung up before he could respond.

Fairfax's hand dropped, all the strength bleeding out of him.