THE FAKE LADY AND THE PASTRY SHOP
There were only a few days left until the wedding.
Since the day I made everything clear to Maximilian, although he believed what I said, he had no intention of canceling the wedding. On the contrary, he treated me even more gently and carefully.
I doubted if he was just pitying me.
But Celine was truly not so pitiful that I needed someone else’s charity. I had money, I didn’t mind being a single mother, and I only wanted freedom.
During this time, Lucas hadn’t given up on rescuing me.
The night before the wedding, he led members of the Royal Guard to storm Maximilian’s manor.
After a chaotic battle, the two sides fell into a tense standoff.
I looked at Maximilian: “Let me go, consider it me begging you.”
Maximilian’s throat was dry. He took a deep breath, his face pale: “Is there something I haven’t done well enough?”
“No, it’s just that I don’t love you.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, suppressing his bitterness. After a long while, his hoarse voice carried a tremble:
“It’s okay, as long as I love you, that’s enough.”
He had fallen into an incomprehensible obsession.
The battle was about to erupt again. I snatched a sword from the guard beside me and pressed it against my own neck.
“Maximilian, if you don’t order them to stop, I will die right in front of you!”
His body went rigid, turning to look at me in disbelief.
Seeing the blade drawing a trickle of blood on my neck, he dropped his sword, walking toward me with a look of desperate sorrow: “If you die, I will go with you. But if you want to leave here alive, you must kill me first.”
It seemed words couldn’t solve this.
“Is there no other choice?”
He let out a tragic laugh, the corners of his eyes red, looking at me pleadingly: “Yes, so do you plan to kill me?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the sword at my neck swiftly changed direction, plunging straight into his chest.
Fresh blood quickly stained his cape.
This action shocked everyone present.
Someone tried to rush forward, but Maximilian raised a hand to stop them: “No one comes near!”
He glanced at the wound, looking up at me, smiling mournfully: “You really are ruthless.”
It was unclear if he was mocking himself or something else.
But he actually let me go.
When I looked back, I seemed to see his silhouette collapse onto the stone floor…
“Worried about him?”
At the city gate, Gwen looked at me with complex eyes.
I shook my head: “He won’t die.”
That sword thrust of mine didn’t hit a vital spot, nor was it deep.
“He seems to love you very much, and didn’t you like him a lot before? Why now…”
“He doesn’t love me.”
It was just pity.
Maximilian was someone who always lived by the rules and had a strong sense of responsibility. He just felt that because he slept with me, and now I was helpless and alone, he wanted to compensate me.
I chased after him for over a decade, and he never liked me. How could he suddenly develop feelings out of nowhere?
Moreover, even if he did like me, did I have to like him back?
He didn’t fulfill my wishes back then just because I liked him!
At the end of the day, a person must learn to love themselves.
Lucas drove the carriage ahead. I led Mia onto the carriage, waving a final goodbye to Gwen.