Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 212: Prisoner (4)

In the dungeon, Giselle was dragged to a cell, which would be her new home until it was decided what Ophelia would do to her.

Giselle screamed all the way from her bedchamber to the dungeon. She called for Ophelia to have a word with her, and when that didn’t work, she asked to speak to Dante.

Giselle was filled with panic, fear, and worry about what would happen to her. It was all Joel’s plan, yet she was taking the fall.

It upset Giselle even more to think that she wasn’t going to kill Ophelia. She was going to spare Ophelia so she could be with Nigel.

Giselle parted her lips, ready to scream, but a familiar face distracted her.

Giselle stared at Cecilia in shock. "What are you doing here?"

Cecilia didn’t respond to Giselle since she didn’t have to answer questions from those beneath her.

Giselle’s fear grew after seeing that even Cecilia wasn’t free from being placed in the dungeon.

If Dante could allow this to be done to his mother, he would do far worse to her.

Giselle decided to be silent. It was best that Dante forget about her presence in the dungeon so he wouldn’t come to kill her.

To the surprise of the guards, Giselle entered the cell without a fight.

Giselle flinched after the large metal doors closed behind her. Never in her new life as Lady Valthorn would she have ever thought of one day being placed in a dungeon.

"It wasn’t my plan," Giselle muttered.

She shouldn’t be killed for what Joel decided to do. Surely, they all knew that she had to obey Joel or she would have been sent out of the castle.

Cecilia stared at Giselle, curious as to how she ended up in the dungeon, but she didn’t want to ask Giselle.

"Your son," Giselle said, turning around to speak to Cecilia. "He wouldn’t be so foolish as to kill me and start the war again, would he?"

"I hope he would be wise to kill you. Do not think for one second that I do not know you have come here with an agenda to harm my son. You are right where you belong," Cecilia said, believing Dante did something right for once. "If only he would let your whore of a daughter join you."

"Were you never told how to raise a lady? Must you women who come from poor families sink your claws into the arms of noblemen?"

"If I am so lowly and not deserving of a man well above me, then why don’t they stop looking at me? Women like you bore your husbands. You’re too busy walking around with your noses in the air to please the man beside you. It is no wonder they come to ladies like me," said Giselle.

Cecilia chuckled as Giselle described herself as a lady, which was funny. "Lady? You’re a whore who only succeeded because Lord Valthorn couldn’t convince a lady worth his title to marry him and raise his children."

"Among the other women, you are not known as his wife. You were merely a servant with a ring. You have little idea about how often we laughed at you. You were so desperate to be someone that you placed yourself in a bad position. You would have been better off being my maid," Cecilia said. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Giselle directed her anger at Cecilia. "I knew all of you were laughing at me, but it didn’t matter what you did. I got the dream life I craved and had you ladies born with a silver spoon in your mouths, spending your time speaking about me."

"You claim to be so above me, but you spent your days gossiping about me while I enjoyed being Lady Valthorn. A woman like me, who didn’t have any riches to her name and went to the Valthorns with two children, shares the same title as you. That is why you hate me," Giselle said, not hurt by Cecilia’s attack.

"You married a man who sent you here with a plan to kill my son and knew you wouldn’t return. That is a wonderful husband you have there," Cecilia spoke, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Giselle smiled since it seemed Cecilia had forgotten where she sat now. "Your son is the one who controls this castle, yet you sit here in the dungeon beside me. I would say that our fates are the same."

Giselle wished to know what Cecilia had done for Dante to be so cruel as to place her in the dungeon.

"You and your children will be the downfall of this castle, and he is too smitten to realise that the woman will only bring him harm. With a mother like you, how could he possibly think of a future with her?"

Giselle frowned, realising what might have happened with Cecilia. "Did he place you here because you troubled Ophelia?"

Giselle toyed with her fingers as she awaited the answer. It couldn’t be that Dante loved Ophelia more than she assumed. She thought it was only affection that would quickly fade, just as it happened to others.

Cecilia chose not to answer, so Giselle couldn’t rub it in her face that Ophelia had completely bewitched her son and had her imprisoned.

Unfortunately for Cecilia, her silence gave Giselle the answer.

"He placed you here because of her. He’s going to kill me," Giselle said as the reality of her situation dawned on her.

Giselle backed away from the cell door. She couldn’t think of a way to get out of this.

The only person who could save her was Ophelia, but Ophelia was the one who sent her to the dungeon.

Giselle’s eyes fluttered as they filled with water. She looked at the guards standing around speaking.

"You must tell Lady Hastings that I am willing to confess. Tell her that I will reveal who sent me here with the poison. I know all of my husband’s plans, so I can be of use," Giselle said, forced with the decision of turning her back on Joel.

Giselle preferred to be alive instead of protecting Joel to her death. There was no doubt in her mind that Joel would turn his back on her to save himself, so she had to beat him to it.

Giselle gritted her teeth as the guards paid no attention to her. They talked amongst themselves as though she didn’t exist. Like her title meant nothing to the worthless men before her.

"You must do as I say. I am Giselle Valthorn!" Giselle yelled, demanding to be heard.

Laughter followed shortly after.

When Cecilia Hastings could not escape the dungeon, a Valthorn should know their place.