How To End This Marriage-Chapter 133: Sinister Plots

"Mother, where are the contract papers? Give them to me!!!" he shouted, and I almost flinched at his screaming voice, making me shiver in fear.

"Alex, why are you behaving this way? All I’m doing is for your own good. I could never do something that is not good for you at all. So please calm down. Hear me out!!!" Mother pleaded, attempting to calm him down, but it only fueled his anger.

"No, Mother!!! This is not for my own good at all. My entire life, I believed you. My entire life spent praying for you, but you did all this behind my back. How? How could you do this to me, Mother? Is this what I have wished for?" he expressed, his emotions breaking through for the first time. It was heartbreaking to witness.

"Mother, I don’t want to hear anything. Just say where is the paper. Where is the bloody paper!!!!!!" he shouted again.

"The paper will not be handed over to you. That is for my own. It can bring something I desire. Why would I hand you that paper? So that you could keep this woman here all her life, destroying all the efforts I have made to reach the only achievement I desire? No. This is never going to happen. Forget about it. Forget what you know. Because I will never hand over the papers, and you will marry Vixara," she declared.

"No, this will never happen. And I have only one wife. Which is Bernice Balliol Agnes. There won’t be a next wife for me," he affirmed, leaving the room and pulling me along.

"Duke, where are you taking me? It is too fast. I will slip in my dress," I tried to express my discomfort, but I guess he didn’t hear at all.

"Duke!!!" I raised my voice slightly, making him finally stop.

"Ah, yes, Wife!! Were you saying something?" he asked, finally considering my concern.

"Slow down!! I’m going to fall at this rate," I pleaded.

"I apologize, Wife. I wasn’t in the right mind," he said calmly.

"I understand what you are going through, but this is what I have been trying to show for a long time, and you finally did it. But still, so many things are hidden from you. I hope you soon find out about all this at once," I revealed.

"I’m really a bad person, right? You have been so cautious about everything happening around me, but I didn’t even bother to listen to you. I have neglected you badly," he confessed, but I silenced him by placing my hand on his lips.

"Don’t say it!!! You understand me, that’s enough. I hope you will figure out more things too," I comforted him.

As I spoke, he pulled me closer and brought me into a hug.

"Thank you!" he whispered in my ear, momentarily making me forget whatever worry was in my mind until once again, the princess appeared before us, looking keenly at us.

"Alex, can you talk to me? It is very lonely in this place," the princess interjected, breaking the moment we had taken long enough to establish.

"Princess, I know why you are here, and I already understand that I could never marry you. So, if I be with you, my wife will start to get suspicious, which I don’t want to happen. So, you should return to the palace as fast as you think," Duke said, bringing a smile to my face.

"I know, Alex, but I still want to marry you. What I said back then wasn’t a lie. I truly love you to the core of my heart, and I want to be with you. Even if you take me as a concubine, I’m happy. I just want to be with you," she pleaded, shedding tears in front of him.

"I don’t want that. You are a princess; you deserve better. And I want only one wife in my entire life. You can go back to the palace, marry whichever prince you like, and be the princess once again. But here, I don’t have any place for you. You don’t have any place in my heart," he asserted, leaving while I stood there, facing the princess.

"Have you done some magic to him?" the princess asked, almost making me chuckle.

"Does he look that way?" I responded.

"Of course, he was not like that before. He always used to listen to me, whatever I say, but now he has changed. He is saying things like you. It can’t be done unless you have done something to him," the princess claimed.

"So, I did something? And how is that? He is my husband; then is it bad if he takes my side?" I inquired.

"He is my husband, and I’m Bernice Balliol Agnes. Is it bad if he takes my side in front of an outsider?" I questioned again, noticing her growing anger.

"Say, princess! I’m ready to hear the reason why he can’t stand by me," I said, but she remained silent.

"That day, you should have died. If you did, I wouldn’t have to face this. I don’t know how on earth he appeared before you when he was far from you. Or should I say you must have done something to get him to you somehow?" she accused.

"He came, and it is not my fault. You are the one who failed to keep an eye on him; then I would be dead as you wished," I responded.

"You should have placed a rat in my room so that people would think it is the rat. But you didn’t plan properly, and now you are blaming me for why I am not dead? You should think about where you have failed, not me. You are just a spoiled brat. What is in your mind is to get what you desire, but I don’t understand why you denied to marry him when it was already arranged before me. As I’m sure you are not sick at all. It is all part of your plan to seek sympathy," I concluded, noticing her facial expression change.

"Talking to you is a waste of time." she said and walked away making me confused.

As I pondered why she behaved this way when I dismissed her sickness as a lie, a letter arrived in my hands, delivered by my maid.

"Where are you taking the letter?" I inquired.

"Madam, the princess received this letter this morning. I’m taking it to her," the maid explained.

"Give it to me; I will deliver it," I said, taking the letter. My instincts told me to open it, and as I did, the contents revealed a shocking truth.

"Princess, I don’t know if you would be happy receiving this letter or not, but I have finished the work as you have wanted. There is nothing now in your way, which will become an obstacle in your path."

"The guard has been killed by the assassin you hired. There is no clue nor evidence of the crime you committed, so now you can rest assured and marry the duke as you wished."

As I read, my legs trembled, hearing the ominous truth. Though the complete truth wasn’t written, I understood she had done something grave, leading her to take a life to conceal her secret. The question lingered: Who was the person she killed?

Determined, I walked towards the princess’s room, finding her nonchalantly lying on the bed until I entered.

"Don’t you know how to knock before you enter?" she snapped in anger.

"Why? I don’t think I need to ask permission to enter the room of a criminal who has committed a crime and is now hiding here," I retorted.

"What do you mean? Are you aware of what you are accusing me of?" she questioned.

"Yes, I am well aware of what I am saying. This time, I have proof of the crime you committed. Here is the letter, the evidence of the murder you orchestrated," I revealed, showing her the letter.

"What is with this letter?" she stuttered.

"This letter is from your personal maid, the one you ordered to eliminate the person who became a threat to you. Do you remember now, or do I need to say more to jog your memory about the person you actually killed?" I interrogated, watching her finally succumb to fear, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"Give me back my letter!" she demanded, attempting to snatch it from me.

"Why? So that you could burn it, erasing all evidence I have against you? No, no, no. I won’t let you do that. This is the sole evidence I have, and I won’t let it slip away so easily," I declared firmly.

"Bernice, give me back my letter! Don’t forget you are just a marquis’s daughter, while I am the princess. How dare you disobey me?" she shouted.

"Don’t raise your voice, Princess, unless you want me to show this to everyone right here," I smirked.