Chapter 18
Samuel’s Pov
By the time I reached Felicia’s villa, the place was already deserted. No Felicia. No Kevin. Just Queenie, standing at the door like a damn gatekeeper.
Apparently, right after the wedding chaos yesterday, the two of them had taken off to start their honeymoon. Not even a full day had passed, and they were already gone- like I didn’t even exist.
The news hit me harder than I’d expected. My brows tightened. “Where did they go?” | asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
Queenie gave me a look. “Samuel, you should leave,” she snapped, arms crossed
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and eyes full of disdain. “Back when Miss Felicia still cared about you, you didn’t appreciate it. Now that she’s married, you come crawling back? What is it–do you have a thing for other men’s wives?”
Her words slapped harder than any blow. I stared at her, jaw clenched. That maid had always loathed me. Even back then, when Felicia would defend me no matter what, Queenie never bought my act. She’d seen every lie, every wound I left behind. And she hated how I always chose Larissa.
Now that Felicia had someone else, Queenie was practically gloating.
I straightened, voice stiff with irritation. “Felicia wasn’t perfect either. She always targeted Larissa. It’s only natural I distanced myself. But I’ve come to understand now- Felicia was the one I was dreaming of all
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along. I can forgive her mistakes.”
The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them.
Queenie scoffed so loudly. “Forgive her?” she spat. “Samuel, you’re unbelievable. You think you’re some gift she should thank the moon for? Let me tell you something. Miss Felicia never framed Larissa. That was all in your head. You refused to believe her, even when she begged you. You want answers? Go dig them up yourself. Oh–and she knew you’d come sniffing around. She left you a letter.”
With that, Queenie tossed a sealed envelope at me, slammed the door in my face, and nearly broke my damn nose.
I didn’t even get mad. My heart was pounding too hard. My fingers trembled as I opened the letter. This was it. Proof that
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she still loved me. She had to. All of this- Kevin, the marriage, the silence–it had to be a game. A test.
But when I read her words, my world shattered.
Samuel,
In our past life, I loved you so deeply I was willing to spend it alone, a widow by choice. But you faked your death, Samuel. You left me for Larissa. In this life, I honored your choice. I didn’t pick you, and I didn’t love you.
You once owed me a favor in exchange for the Moonshade fruit. I’ve decided how I want to claim it: stay out of my life. From now on, we are done.
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One more thing–inside Larissa’s compass, you’ll find the truth about your true mate. That’s where the answers lie.
– Felicia
My hands went numb. Her handwriting was delicate, almost lazy–like I was barely worth the effort. And yet every word weighed a thousand pounds.
She’d been reborn, just like me.
No wonder she never came back. No wonder she stood beside Kevin. No wonder she’d watched me marry Larissa without blinking. She already knew. She remembered everything I did to her in our last life–and this time, she let me go.
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I was the only fool who still believed we had a chance.
I stumbled back a step, dizzy. My blood felt like ice in my veins. Felicia had truly let go… and I was too blind to see it coming.
Desperate, I started digging into the past -everything I’d ignored, every lie I’d swallowed. I hunted down the old witch who once claimed Larissa had been cursed. After a little pressure, she confessed. Larissa had bribed her.
I tracked down a maid who’d been near the river the day Felicia fell in. She saw it all- Larissa was the one who pushed her.
The attack during the hunt? Larissa. She’d teamed up with a pack of rogue wolves to have Felicia killed.
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Piece by piece, the truth tore me apart.
Then came the final blow: Larissa’s
compass. The very item Felicia mentioned. When I uncovered its true use, my knees nearly buckled.
The compass… it was designed to fake guide wolves to their fated mates.
And Larissa had faked the bond. That day in the cabin, when I felt that unmistakable connection, I was right. My mate was near.
It was Felicia.
Not Larissa. Never Larissa.
The more I found, the more sick I felt. I remembered how Felicia had tried, again and again, to explain. And every time, I shut her down. I accused her. I chose Larissa.
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Eventually, she stopped explaining. Eventually, she stopped hoping.
I think I broke her long before I even realized she was the one.
By the time I returned to the villa, I felt hollow, like someone had scooped out everything inside me and left nothing but guilt and ashes.
And there she was–Larissa. Dressed in a flimsy little nightgown, dolled up like nothing had happened. The moment she saw me, her eyes lit up and she ran toward me, all breathy and flushed.
ו”
“Samuel,” she whispered, clutching me, knew you wouldn’t leave me. Please, let’s just forget about Felicia. Let’s be happy, okay?”
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Her voice–once sweet, once tempting- made bile rise in my throat.
Without thinking, I slapped her. Hard. The sound echoed through the hall.
Her eyes went wide, disbelieving. But I was done pretending.
“You lied to me,” I growled, my voice like frostbite. “You were never cursed. You pushed Felicia into that river. You tricked me into thinking we were mates. You are a liar. A snake. And you’re not worthy of being my wife.”
For once, she had nothing to say.
And for the first time in both my lives, I saw her clearly.
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She was never my mate.
Felicia was.
And now, I might’ve lost her for good.
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