Before she left her chambers, I personally placed the red bridal veil over her head. Then, I supported her as she walked out. From the adjacent
courtyard, Cordelia emerged, wearing a nearly identical gown. Unless one looked closely, it was impossible to tell them apart once their veils were
down. This was my design.
Two men on horseback waited by two separate sedan chairs: Viscount Langley and his degenerate brother.
Chapter 24
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“What a fine match! The two sisters of one house marrying the two brothers of another. A double blessing!”
Someone else sneered. “Hardly the same. One is a brilliant and promising Viscount, the other a philandering wastrel. The two sisters are destined for heaven and hell, respectively.”
I helped Arabella into her sedan chair. Beneath her veil, her lips curved into a smug smile. She sat up a little straighter, a sweet, triumphant feeling bubbling up inside her. She cast a sideways glance at Cordelia’s chair and scoffed.
I met Cordelia’s mald’s eyes for a moment. Then, we each took our places beside our respective carriages.
The procession began.
As we approached the Viscount’s estate, I steeled myself. Suddenly, a commotion erupted ahead. “Get out of the way! Make way!” A wagon pull- ed by three frantic horses came barreling toward us. The horses had bolted, and the crowd screamed and scattered.
The two wedding processions descended into chaos.
I relaxed. This was what I had been waiting for. It had happened in my last life, too.
The sacks of flour on the wagon burst open, filling the air with a thick, white cloud that obscured everyone’s vision. Inside the carriage, Arabella was thrown from side to side. “Aurora! What’s happening outside?” she cried. “Aurora?”
“It’s nothing, my lady,” I called out. “Just a delivery wagon that overturned.”
Hearing my voice, she relaxed and sat up straight again.
Soon, the procession was back in order. The two couples completed their vows. I glanced sideways, watching Cordelia’s maid lead a veiled figure into the younger brother’s chambers. I, in turn, led my veiled bride to the Viscount’s.
Once we were inside the bridal chamber, with only the two of us present, Cordelia spoke. “Aurora, thank you.” She handed me a folded piece of paper from her sleeve. “This is your indenture contract. I had someone steal it from my stepmother’s study. Here is also a hundred taels of silver. You can go wherever you please.”
I took the items, my hand trembling as I held the thin, precious paper. Fighting back a wave of emotion, I held it to a nearby wedding candle until it was consumed by the flames. Only when it was ash did I feel a true sense of peace. In my last life, Arabella had held my indenture until the day I died. This time, I was finally free.
Meanwhile, in the other bridal chamber, Arabella was chattering happily to the maid she believed was me. “Did you see the Viscount on his horse? He was so handsome…” She didn’t need a reply, content to talk to herself. “You don’t need to stay here tonight. Go and take care of Sterling. In the
morning, you two can come and pay your respects to the Viscount and me. You must live a good life together.”
“And Aurora,” she added, her voice softening, “don’t blame me. I am doing this for your own good. If you marry Sterling and stay by my side, I can
look after you. You don’t know how cruel the world is. Any other man who married you would only be doing it to get closer to me. Sterling’s affecti-
on is genuine…”
She was ecstatic. She had finally married the Viscount. From this day forward, she would be the noble Viscountess, and she had finally, thorough-
ly, crushed her hated elder sister. The existence of her legitimate sister was a constant reminder that she was merely the daughter of a second
wife.
མ 1 :|:ཀ 1:|: 1:|:
A man in wedding robes walked into the room. Hearing his approaching footsteps, Arabella’s heart began to pound, her cheeks flushing. But as he
drew closer, she smelled a strong, cloyin
of cheap wine.
Her veil was lifted. She looked up, her face glowing with anticipation. “My lord…”
Her smile froze.
“Ahhh!” she let out a piercing scream.
The man before her was not her beloved, perfect husband. It was his worthless, degenerate younger brother.
“You!” she shrieked. “What are you doing here?!”
“Forgive me, my lady,” Cordelia’s maid cried, falling to her knees and feigning terror. “There was an accident on the road… I must have stood in the wrong place… they mistook you and Lady Cordelia for each other! You’ve married the younger lord, and now Lady Cordelia is with the Viscount…”
The younger brother blinked, then shrugged, unconcerned. “Well, what’s done is done. You’re sisters, what’s the difference?” He was drunk, his cheeks flushed. He grinned and reached for her, pulling her into a sloppy embrace. “The night is young, my dear wife. Let’s not waste it.” His hand
Chapter:
10:07
cheeks flushed. He grinned and reached for her, pulling her into a sloppy embrace. “The night is young, my dear wife. Let’s not waste it.” His hand
went straight for the front of her gown.
Another ear–splitting scream. Arabella slapped him hard across the face. ‘Get off me! Let me go! I am your sister–in–law!” she shrieked, stumbling away from him. She had to find the Viscount. She was the true Viscountess! Her sister was the one who was supposed to be married to this lout!
I was waiting outside the Viscount’s chambers when she came running, her clothes in disarray. There had been a brief commotion inside, but the Viscount, being a pragmatic man, had decided to let the matter rest to avoid a bigger scandal. The candles inside had already been extinguished.
“My lady, please stop!” I said, stepping in front of her.
When she saw me, her eyes lit up as if I were her savior. She grabbed my arm. “Aurora! Is the Viscount in his chambers? You must let me in! There‘
s been a mistake! I am here!”
I looked at her, my expression cold. “Madame, you should return to your own chambers. Your husband is waiting for you. The Viscount and his
wife have already retired for the night.”
From within the room, a faint sound could be heard.
Arabella’s face turned ashen, then purple with rage. She stared at me, her eyes filled with hatred. She raised her hand to strike me. “You bitch! Get out of my way! I am the Viscountess!”
I caught her wrist and, with a strength that surprised her, flung her away from me. She stumbled backward, staring at me in shock.
I met her gaze, my own unwavering. “Lady Arabella, you have already exchanged vows with the younger lord in public and entered his bridal cha- mber. For the rest of your life, you will be the Second Mistress of this house. By now, I imagine the Viscount and his wife have already consumma-
ted their marriage. It is a settled matter. You should return before you cause a greater scene.”
Her face went from white to green. A horrifying realization dawned on her. “Aurora… it was you,” she hissed, her eyes venomous. “You were boug- ht by my sister! You deliberately switched our marriages!” She was trembling with rage, looking as if she wanted to tear me apart. “How could you be so evil?! I treated you like a sister, and you betrayed me like this! You wretched creature!”
I could only laugh at her histrionics. “Yes, I did it,” I said, my voice cold. “But you were the one who betrayed our bond first. Treat me like a sister? Do you honestly believe that yourself? The ‘kindness‘ you showed me was nothing more than the scraps you didn’t care about, wasn’t it?”
In two lifetimes, I had finally seen the true face of the “amiable” Lady Arabella. No matter how well she played the part, she was still an arrogant noblewoman who looked down on us, her servants. She enjoyed our fawning gratitude. Her “favors” were things that cost her nothing, and she
would never, ever allow us to be her equals.
“You ungrateful wretch! I was so good to you, and you were still not satisfied?!”
“Did you want to be the Viscountess yourself? I treated you as my most cherished maid, and I found you a wonderful match in Sterling, yet you were so greedy as to ruin me!” she shrieked, a sharp pain stabbing at her chest. She and her mother had schemed for years to snatch this perfect marriage, only to have it all turn to dust. She couldn’t accept it.
She tried to rush the room again. I grabbed her arm and shoved her back. “A wonderful match?” I said, my voice dripping with ice. “You forced us, your maids, to marry the Viscount’s men without any regard for our wishes. It was a wonderful match only in your own mind. You couldn’t see our pain because in your heart, we were only fit for other servants. To marry into a better family would be presumptuous.”
“If you truly thought of me as a sister, why didn’t you accept the proposal from the Emberlyn family? Why didn’t you even tell me about it?!”
In my last life, it was two years after my marriage to Sterling that I learned I had once had a chance to be free, to be the wife of an official, But Ara- bella had destroyed that chance. When I confronted her, she was already the glamorous Viscountess. She had simply said, with a dismissive wave of her hand, “Your station was too low. It would not have been a suitable match.”
So, I was only fit to marry a servant? I would have preferred she be honest in her contempt than to suffer under her false kindness.
The younger brother and his men came and dragged her away. It was too late to change anything. She had to accept her fate.
I left the Viscount’s estate the next day. With the hundred taels of silver, I opened a teahouse in the best part of the capital. With Cordelia, the new Viscountess, as my silent protector, my business thrived. I hired a cook and two young maids to help me.
The teahouse was always full of gossip, and the switched–bride scandal was the most popular topic. The Viscount was a gentle man; any wife would have been happy with him. His brother, however, was a notorious rake with countless mistresses and concubines. On the first day of her marriage, Arabella was already being tormented by them. I heard that on their wedding night, after she was dragged back to their room, she cau- sed such a scene that her new husband slapped her several times. Three days later, for the traditional return visit to her parents‘ home, he didn’t
noblewoman who looked down on us, her servants. She enjoyed our fawning gratitude. Her “favors” were things that cost her nothing, and she would never, ever allow us to be her equals.
“You ungrateful wretch! I was so good to you, and you were still not satisfied?!”
“Did you want to be the Viscountess yourself? I treated you as my most cherished maid, and I found you a wonderful match in Sterling, yet you were so greedy as to ruin me!” she shrieked, a sharp pain stabbing at her chest. She and her mother had schemed for years to snatch this perfect marriage, only to have it all turn to dust. She couldn’t accept it.
She tried to rush the room again. I grabbed her arm and shoved her back. “A wonderful match?” I said, my voice dripping with ice. “You forced us, your maids, to marry the Viscount’s men without any regard for our wishes. It was a wonderful match only in your own mind. You couldn’t see our
better family would be presumptuous.” pain because in your heart, we were only fit for other servants. To marry into
“If you truly thought of me as a sister, why didn’t you accept the proposal from the Emberlyn family? Why didn’t you even tell me about it?!”
In my last life, it was two years after my marriage to Sterling that I learned I had once had a chance to be free, to be the wife of an official. But Ara- bella had destroyed that chance. When I confronted her, she was already the glamorous Viscountess. She had simply said, with a dismissive wave of her hand, “Your station was too low. It would not have been a suitable match.”
So, I was only fit to marry a servant? I would have preferred she be honest in her contempt than to suffer under her false kindness.
The younger brother and his men came and dragged her away. It was too late to change anything. She had to accept her fate.
I left the Viscount’s estate the next day. With the hundred taels of silver, I opened a teahouse in the best part of the capital. With Cordelia, the new Viscountess, as my silent protector, my business thrived. I hired a cook and two young maids to help me.
The teahouse was always full of gossip, and the switched–bride scandal was the most popular topic. The Viscount was a gentle man; any wife would have been happy with him. His brother, however, was a notorious rake with countless mistresses and concubines. On the first day of her marriage, Arabella was already being tormented by them. I heard that on their wedding night, after she was dragged back to their room, she cau- sed such a scene that her new husband slapped her several times. Three days later, for the traditional return visit to her parents‘ home, he didn’t
even accompany her.
She arrived in tears, her body covered in bruises. She demanded a divorce, but of course, that was impossible.
Everything I had suffered in my past life, she was now experiencing for herself.
In the end, Snowball didn’t survive. She was too small, and the puppies were too large. She died in agony after a long and difficult labor, unable to give birth. The servants said her screams had lasted all afternoon. Arabella, disgusted, had ordered them to simply throw the body out.
I found Snowball’s small, broken body and buried her under a jujube tree.
