A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 926

Or rather... "Is this just another twisted scheme?"

That was her immediate thought. After everything that had gone down at the Black Sea, her first instinct was that Herbert and Yardley had cooked up a new plot to grab power, and this wedding was just a way to drag her into the crossfire again.

"Don't think like that," Herbert frowned.

"If Brinley had actually been taken by the General, I would've never been able to settle the score with her, would I?"

Before Herbert could finish his sentence, Starla cut him off sharply.

He wanted to talk? Fine. Let's talk about what kind of sick game they were playing.

Herbert's face immediately darkened. "Did Fairfax tell you that?"

"Wasn't this whole thing about General Licht?"

Herbert fell silent. It was about that man.

But... "Even if she had been taken by him and placed under his protection, she still would have paid for what she did to you."

"Do you honestly think I'd ever trust a word out of your mouth again?" Starla fired back.

Herbert had no response.

"I won't," she said, her voice hollow. Every ounce of trust she had for him had been burned to ash.

"Brinley is dead. Everything connected to her should be over. But here you are, trying to drag me right back into another mess. Herbert, have I ever done anything to you? Why won't you just let me go?"

Why was he doing this?

"There is no scheme," Herbert insisted. "We are actually getting married."

"We're getting married? Then why wasn't I, the bride, consulted?"

They spent the rest of the flight in hostile silence.

Herbert was convinced her anger stemmed from her lingering feelings for Fairfax, which irritated him to no end. Meanwhile, Starla was indeed furious at how callously he had handled the Fairfax situation, and she made zero effort to hide it.

When they finally landed in Yoran Country, Starla refused to even look at him. Herbert was clearly pissed, but he still personally escorted her back to the Hoggart estate.

She had only been gone for a few days, but stepping back onto the grounds left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She stood alone by the entrance, wrapping her coat tighter against the chill.

She didn't want to go inside. The very air around the castle felt suffocating.

The butler and the estate staff stood respectfully at the door, but seeing her dark expression, no one dared to breathe a word.

Finally, Garret stepped forward, bowing slightly. "Miss, please come inside."