A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 385

Defeated, Darleen and Xenia eventually went upstairs, gathering in Brinley’s room.

Brinley hadn’t moved since she’d returned, lying on the bed with her legs aching terribly. Xenia and Darleen were in no better shape; their own legs felt like they didn't belong to them anymore, throbbing with a deep, sour pain.

“What are we going to do?” Xenia lamented. “We can’t drive her out, and we can’t even make her life difficult.”

Darleen closed her eyes, exhausted. “That’s why you need to speed things up with Herbert.”

“How am I supposed to get to him? You saw what happened—they won’t even let us use a car!”

None of them had anticipated this. They never thought Starla would be so vicious as to torment them with such petty details, effectively trapping them in the manor. Did their misery really bring her that much joy?

The reality of their situation dawned on Darleen and Brinley.

“That venomous witch,” Darleen muttered to herself.

After witnessing the brutality of her servants, they no longer dared to insult Starla to her face.

“We can use a car from my family,” Brinley suggested.

Darleen felt a sliver of relief at the idea, and Xenia sighed, though a new problem immediately occurred to her. Given what that monster was capable of, she probably wouldn't even let the car onto the estate grounds. It would most likely have to wait where they had been dropped off. Did that mean she’d have to walk all the way out just to meet her ride, and then walk all the way back?

Brinley seemed to read her mind. “If you can win Herbert over on the first try, you won’t have to suffer again,” she said. “But if you can’t…”

Well, it was too late for regrets now.

“I’m going to sleep for a bit. Call me for dinner,” Brinley murmured, truly exhausted. She knew Sally had arrived, but she had no strength to speak with her.

Xenia and Darleen nodded and left the room. They assumed Starla’s staff would call them when dinner was ready, even if the food was terrible. Earlier that morning, the sight of the meal had killed their appetite, but now they were so ravenous they would eat anything.

To their surprise, the hours ticked by. By eight o’clock that evening, no one had come for them.

Finally, driven by hunger, Xenia went to find Starla, only to learn she had already eaten and retired to her room. Instead, she was met by Garret.