- 13 hours ago
This Time, She Chose the Serpent King ENGSUB EP Rebirth Revenge ASR
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Short filmTranscript
00:00My half-sister and I both chose a shifter mate.
00:03In our previous life, she picked first and chose the Hawk Clan heir
00:06with the perfect looks and powerful family background.
00:09She left me the lowly serpent.
00:11Three years into her marriage, the Hawk Shifter's mistress and illegitimate son
00:15knelt before my sister and humiliated her completely.
00:20Meanwhile, I took control of the entire serpent clan and earned my husband's devotion.
00:25She pushed me off a cliff out of jealousy.
00:27When I opened my eyes, I was back on the day we chose our mates.
00:30My sister barely concealed the excitement in her voice
00:33as she rushed to wrap her arms around a serpent's tail.
00:36I knew then that she had been reborn too.
00:39The serpent clan are lustful by nature.
00:41I wonder how long she'll last.
00:42When Victoria threw her arms around that serpent tail,
00:45face flushed with open adoration, even Lady Hargrove went still.
00:50Everyone knew the serpent clan was considered the lowest of the shifter races.
00:54Cold-blooded in every sense.
00:56The Hawk Clan, by contrast, mated for life.
00:59One wife, no exceptions.
01:01Loyalty written into their bones.
01:03And the Hawk male standing in the room today was the future clan leader.
01:07Sharp-eyed, broad-shouldered,
01:09the kind of man every woman in the room had been silently hoping to catch.
01:13Victoria still wouldn't let go of that tail.
01:16Lady Hargrove's expression curdled.
01:17She'd brought the serpent here specifically to humiliate me.
01:21She hadn't planned on her own daughter falling for it.
01:23Are you sure about this?
01:26Mother, he's the only one I'll ever marry.
01:28Even the serpent turned to look at her.
01:30His tail coiled hard around her waist, pulling her tight against his chest.
01:34That was what a serpent did when he felt something.
01:37The beginning of desire.
01:38Victoria's face went scarlet.
01:40Her resolve locked into place.
01:42Lady Hargrove pressed her lips together and gave in.
01:44With that settled, the Hawk male, Adrian Ashford, turned to me.
01:48He dipped his head in a slight, unhurried bow.
01:51Then it's you, Miss Alara.
01:53I'll send the betrothal gifts tomorrow.
01:55In my past life, it was Victoria who had chosen Adrian.
01:59She'd walked into the Ashford estate as its new mistress,
02:02draped in the prestige of the most powerful Hawk family in the region.
02:06He seemed devoted on the surface.
02:07Three years of polished appearances.
02:10Then a woman appeared at the gate with his 10-year-old son.
02:13Victoria came apart.
02:14She ran home to her mother, dignity in pieces.
02:17But Adrian had spent years building his reputation carefully.
02:20He brought the woman and boy home under the excuse of a drunken mistake.
02:24And to protect the Hawk clan's tradition against taking a second wife,
02:27he divorced Victoria outright.
02:29Lady Hargrove marched back to the Ashford estate to demand answers.
02:33The mistress met them at the door, chin lifted.
02:35I'm Mrs. Ashford now.
02:37My son has awakened his abilities.
02:39What exactly are you going to do about that?
02:41Give it time.
02:42I'll be the clan leader's wife, then his mother.
02:45They were thrown out publicly.
02:47After that, Victoria unraveled.
02:49She sat in the courtyard every day, vacant and muttering.
02:52When someone passed close enough, she grabbed their leg with both hands, her face twisting.
02:57I'm the clan leader's wife.
03:01She never came back from it.
03:03My serpent husband, by contrast, had been born into nothing.
03:06But he dismissed every one of his kept women.
03:09He trained relentlessly and built his clan up from scraps.
03:12People said I'd made the better choice, after all.
03:15Even Lady Hargrove, who had never bothered to hide her contempt for me,
03:19started showing up at my door with smiles she didn't mean, asking me to visit.
03:24Then, Victoria had one of her lucid moments.
03:27She lured me to the edge of the cliff.
03:29I'll drag you down to hell with me.
03:31Her eyes opened me to hatred as she shoved me over.
03:35Now she's chosen my husband instead.
03:37I wonder if she can handle the serpent's excessive affection.
03:42The Ashford betrothal gifts arrived quickly.
03:44They filled half the courtyard.
03:45Victoria didn't spare a glance for the serpent clan's meager offering.
03:49She sweet-talked Lady Hargrove into patting her trousseau until it groaned.
03:53Ivy told me that Victoria and her serpent had been meeting in secret.
03:57Someone had spotted them coming out of an alley together.
03:59Mother, clothes barely clinging to them, her face still flushed.
04:03Half the street had seen it.
04:05She came to me the same afternoon, brimming.
04:07My fiancé loves me!
04:09What does that have to do with you?
04:11This is just how he shows his love for me!
04:14And if you say a single word to Mother about any of it,
04:18I'll make your life miserable.
04:20I just watched her go.
04:22She looked nothing like the girl she used to be.
04:24The softness was gone.
04:25Whatever innocence had been in her face had been thoroughly used up.
04:29On our wedding day, two wedding horse carriage left the estate together.
04:33Drums, horns, the whole performance.
04:35Adrian Ashford sat high on a pale horse in his wedding white,
04:40all clean lines and devastating bone structure,
04:42looking exactly like someone who knew it.
04:44I knew why he'd gone through with this.
04:46The matriarch once said to him,
04:48You are the only heir.
04:49You must marry a noblewoman to continue the bloodline.
04:52That was the only condition for me to inherit the clan leadership.
04:55But his mistress was low-born, ineligible.
04:58He needed a proper wife.
04:59If she gave him a son first, better.
05:01Either way, he didn't lose.
05:03I set down my wedding bouquet.
05:04Two familiar figures had appeared at the side of the road.
05:07Father!
05:08The boy lunged toward Adrian's horse.
05:10The word was barely out before a beautiful woman yanked him back
05:13and smothered his mouth with her hand.
05:14Forgive us, everyone. My son misses his father.
05:18He got confused. He didn't mean anything by it.
05:21Adrian pulled his reins top.
05:22He exhaled once.
05:24Today is my wedding.
05:25Can't you keep your child in hand?
05:27If he'd startled the horse carriage, I'd have had all your heads.
05:31Get them out of here.
05:31The woman's face went white.
05:33She bit her lip and stepped back.
05:35I'm so sorry. We're leaving.
05:37I wasn't about to let this dissolve quietly.
05:40Husband, don't be so hard on them.
05:43The child didn't mean any harm.
05:44And today is a happy occasion.
05:46Why not do a good deed?
05:48I actually need another servant woman as my side.
05:50If she's willing, she could come along with us.
05:53This woman had one obsession.
05:55Becoming Mrs. Ashford.
05:56Now that Adrian had taken a wife,
05:58she was already fraying at the edges.
06:00One of my people needed barely three sentences
06:02to maneuver her into showing up here today.
06:04If I offered her a door to the estate,
06:06she'd walk through it without thinking.
06:08She hesitated for half a breath,
06:10then looked away from Adrian's sharp, warning stare.
06:13Thank you, ma'am.
06:13The carriage rolled on.
06:15She followed behind, boy in hand.
06:17The crowd murmured approvingly along the route.
06:19The new Mrs. Ashford is something else.
06:22Even after that scene, she finds them a position.
06:25Must run in the family.
06:27The Ashfords are good people.
06:28After the ceremony,
06:29I sat at my vanity and began fixing my hair.
06:32Ivy dismissed the others and shut the door,
06:34her face barely holding its composure.
06:36Ma'am, the master just had a servant
06:39quietly move that woman and boy
06:40into the side courtyard.
06:42I wasn't surprised.
06:43Ma'am, the Hawk Clan has rules
06:46against taking a second wife,
06:48and he's doing this on your wedding night.
06:50We could expose him right now.
06:51Go back to your family.
06:52End this before it starts.
06:54Calm down.
06:54I didn't come here to lose to a kept woman.
06:56I had no family worth running back to.
06:59No mother, no father
07:00who would take my side against the Ashfords.
07:02I'd walk through that gate
07:03as a piece on someone else's board.
07:06If I walked back out,
07:07I'd be spit on from every direction.
07:09I hadn't come all this way for nothing.
07:12What I wanted was the Ashford estate itself.
07:15Adrian could rot on the inside.
07:17I didn't need him to be good.
07:18I needed him to give me an air.
07:21A knock at the door.
07:22I smiled at Ivy.
07:23My leverage just arrived.
07:25Adrian was drunk, but gracefully so.
07:28His steps wandered a little.
07:29It did nothing to make him less attractive.
07:32Ivy moved to steady him.
07:33He shrugged her off.
07:34I only want my wife.
07:35I swallowed the contempt rising in my chest
07:37and sent Ivy out.
07:39He played the part of a restrained gentleman.
07:41Even when he was half gone,
07:43I had to admire the consistency.
07:45I took his arm.
07:46You've had too much.
07:47Should I have the kitchen send sobering soup?
07:50The kitchen sat close to the side courtyard.
07:52At this hour,
07:53they'd probably be preparing food for his little family.
07:56Adrian's shoulders went rigid.
07:58Then his hand caught mine.
07:59He buried his face against my shoulder.
08:05He let out a slow breath and lifted me.
08:08I looped my arms around his neck.
08:10In my past life,
08:11Adrian had used drunkenness as an excuse to avoid Victoria's wedding bed entirely.
08:16She'd had to fight for three months before he relented.
08:18And only after she humiliated herself back into his good graces.
08:23If this was going to happen eventually,
08:25I'd rather it happen on my terms and in my time.
08:28I let myself go still.
08:30Let my body stop resisting.
08:32Adrian's voice dropped.
08:33Whatever restraint he'd been maintaining came loose.
08:36The candles burned down to nothing before the room went quiet.
08:40I was too exhausted to move a finger.
08:42I passed out where I lay.
08:44He was the one who cleaned me up afterward.
08:46We were late for the morning tea ceremony.
08:48The matriarch was good-natured about it.
08:49She directed her mild scolding at Adrian,
08:51who was leaning back in his chair,
08:53looking thoroughly satisfied,
08:54in a generous mood for once.
08:55He cut her off to defend me before she could finish.
08:58And we had a bokew miss me.
09:01My fault entirely.
09:02I kept her up and told the staff not to wake her.
09:05Don't blame her, mother.
09:06My face burned.
09:07The matriarch laughed.
09:08She took the tea I offered with both hands.
09:10I knew I liked you the moment I saw you.
09:12I was half afraid they'd send that other girl.
09:15Luckily, she made a fool of herself so we could have the better bargain.
09:18You're the lady of this house now.
09:19These belong to you.
09:20There's no rush and nothing to be afraid of.
09:23If you need guidance, come to me.
09:24I kept my hands steady as I accepted them.
09:26With those keys,
09:27no one in this estate could question my standing.
09:30No one could use my birth against me.
09:32In my past life,
09:33as a wife in the Serpent Clan,
09:35I'd had to claw my way through sisters-in-law,
09:37who outranked me by blood,
09:39and never let me forget it.
09:41It had taken months of careful maneuvering
09:43just to find my footing.
09:45That was behind me now.
09:46The matriarch saw my expression shift.
09:48She sighed softly,
09:49and took the necklace off her own neck,
09:51placing it onto mine.
09:52This child has suffered enough.
09:54You treat her well from here on.
09:56I mean it.
09:56Adrian blinked.
09:57He looked at my slightly reddened eyes,
09:59and almost without meaning to,
10:00nodded.
10:01On the way back from the matriarch's rooms,
10:02I walked half a step behind Adrian,
10:04already thinking through which accounts to look at first.
10:06He spoke without turning around.
10:07What do you plan to do about that woman and the boy?
10:09And tucked my hand into the crook of his arm.
10:11I didn't realize you were so concerned about them.
10:13Isn't that sweet of you?
10:15He avoided my eyes.
10:16I just feel sorry for them.
10:17A widow with a child.
10:19Perhaps they could work in the outer courtyard,
10:21do some light tasks.
10:22The outer courtyard was full of staff.
10:23No one would track a woman's particular history there.
10:25Adrian would find ways to meet with her in private,
10:27use the crowd as cover.
10:28I exhaled slowly,
10:29as if thinking it through.
10:30A pretty woman with a child alone,
10:32people might take advantage.
10:34You really haven't thought this through,
10:35have you?
10:36What if we put them somewhere quieter,
10:38near the garden behind the study?
10:39Adrian's brow tightened,
10:41almost imperceptibly.
10:42A long pause.
10:43Then his face settled into something soft.
10:45Good thinking.
10:45There's a small room off the study anyway.
10:47They can stay there.
10:48How thoughtful of you.
10:49I smiled.
10:50My nails were nearly through my palm.
10:52The study.
10:52He'd have every excuse to be near her.
10:54And the boy.
10:55He'd be able to teach him in private,
10:56pass him what he needed to awaken properly.
10:58Adrian didn't notice.
10:59The careful coldness he usually wore
11:01had softened around the edges.
11:02In a few years,
11:03when our child comes,
11:04I'll make sure they have the best of everything.
11:06I leaned against him.
11:07The passing maids whispered to each other.
11:09The master and mistress.
11:11So in love.
11:12Rosalind heard it too.
11:13That same night,
11:14she went to find Adrian,
11:15and he turned her away at the door.
11:16Three nights in a row,
11:17he came to my room instead.
11:19He was decent enough to read the room.
11:21He didn't push past what I could manage.
11:28The day we returned to visit my family home,
11:30Victoria didn't arrive until almost noon.
11:32She swept into the room,
11:33glowing,
11:34cheeks high with color,
11:35trailing a thick cloud of powder and perfume.
11:37Lady Hargrove stared at her for a long moment.
11:39Don't fuss, mother.
11:40My husband spoils me.
11:42Very restorative herbs.
11:43She straightened,
11:44and I noticed that her figure had changed,
11:46filled out in a way that read less like health
11:49and more like something under strain.
11:51She looked at me.
11:52Your husband runs cold, I hear.
11:54If he's distant with you,
11:55that's just how it goes.
11:56Don't take it personally.
11:58I said nothing.
11:59I took my time looking at her.
12:00She seemed bright on the surface,
12:01but her steps were unsteady.
12:02She kept touching her lower back without realizing it.
12:04That kind of bloom didn't come from nourishment.
12:06It came from something taking more than a decision.
12:08The serpent was greedy.
12:09When she noticed I wasn't reacting,
12:11something dark moved through her.
12:12She reached for me the way she used to
12:14when we were younger,
12:14to grab and drag.
12:15Adrian walked in.
12:17There was a smile in his eyes
12:18as he spoke to me gently.
12:19Alara,
12:21I just came from the room you used to live in.
12:24Victoria's hand froze in midair.
12:26She stared at Adrian in shock,
12:28stunned by how different he was
12:29from the man in our previous life.
12:34How is this possible?
12:36Lady Hargrove's expression folded.
12:37They both knew.
12:38The room I'd been given in this house
12:39was barely a storeroom.
12:40The dishes had chips in them.
12:42Lady Hargrove laughed awkwardly
12:43and cut him off.
12:44Now that everyone's here,
12:45why don't we sit down for lunch?
12:47She looked at me.
12:48It was almost a plea.
12:49Once, when my birth mother had a bad fever
12:51and I'd gone to beg for a doctor,
12:53I'd knelt in the courtyard in the snow.
12:54The snow piled up on my shoulders
12:56while Lady Hargrove and Victoria
12:57stayed warm inside,
12:59laughing at something I couldn't hear.
13:00She finally came out
13:01when I nearly passed out.
13:02Get the doctor.
13:03Don't let her die in my yard.
13:05It's bad luck.
13:06The doctor came.
13:06He kept my mother alive
13:07a little longer.
13:08I held her hand
13:09and sobbed
13:09until I couldn't breathe anymore.
13:11Keep going.
13:13No matter how hard it gets,
13:15don't give up.
13:16I never got to go back to her.
13:18By the time I was reborn,
13:19she was already gone.
13:20I smoothed the front of my dress
13:21and stood up.
13:22Husband, let's eat.
13:24The table,
13:25Victoria and the serpent
13:25fed each other
13:26and giggled like they were alone
13:27in the room.
13:28She shot me looks every few minutes,
13:29daring me to react.
13:30Lady Hargrove could see
13:31something was wrong.
13:32She kept trying to quietly
13:33reel Victoria in.
13:34Victoria snapped back,
13:35loud enough for the table to hear.
13:39My husband loves me.
13:40Am I supposed to be ashamed of that?
13:43Should I live like I'm already a widow?
13:46The moment the meal was over,
13:47she dragged him out the door.
13:49Adrian and I didn't linger long after that.
13:51When we got back to the main hall
13:52of the Ashford estate,
13:53I found Rosalind crouched beside the matriarch,
13:55kneading her shoulders with practiced hands.
13:57The matriarch had her eyes half closed,
14:00looking more comfortable
14:01than I'd seen her in days.
14:05Rosalind,
14:05you have such skilled hands.
14:11Come do this for me often.
14:16I didn't realize she'd caught your eye.
14:18She came in with us on the wedding day.
14:22Quite a hard life,
14:23raising a child alone.
14:24I've tried to look out for her.
14:26I know what kind of heart you have.
14:29The Ashfords are lucky to have you.
14:31Rosalind stepped back,
14:32her teeth pressed into her lip.
14:34The matriarch and I moved naturally
14:36into conversation about the estate,
14:38the accounts,
14:39a few household matters that needed settling.
14:42When something important came up,
14:44the matriarch waved Rosalind out of the room
14:46without thinking about it.
14:47I watched the hatred pool behind Rosalind's eyes
14:50as she left.
14:51Over the days that followed,
14:53Rosalind pushed hard for the matriarch's favor,
14:55massaged every ache,
14:57laughed at every small joke.
14:59It worked.
14:59The matriarch grew genuinely fond of her
15:01and started giving her gifts.
15:02Master Adrian says be careful,
15:04don't draw attention.
15:05He was so frustrated,
15:06he stopped seeing her altogether
15:08and started conducting estate business
15:10from my room instead.
15:12I was deep into the Ashford accounts.
15:15Shops, properties, land deeds.
15:17The full picture of what this family
15:19actually owned.
15:20It was substantial
15:21and deliberately tangled.
15:23Once I understood it,
15:24I called in the shop managers.
15:26They came in uncertain, squinting.
15:28Then they read the room,
15:30new wife,
15:30asserting herself.
15:32A few of them visibly relaxed
15:33into condescension.
15:34I let them sit with that for a moment.
15:36I finished my tea.
15:37The matriarch has placed
15:38all Ashfield business in my hands.
15:41I'm not gonna waste her trust.
15:44I've been reviewing
15:44the last three months of records.
15:46I've already noted the discrepancies.
15:49I set down my cup.
15:50Ivy laid the ledgers open.
15:51A small personal notebook slipped out,
15:53filled with my annotations.
15:55Some of the managers exchanged glances.
15:57The ones with nothing to hide
15:59sat straight.
16:00The ones who didn't went pale.
16:01I looked at Ivy.
16:02She picked up the notebook
16:03and dropped it into the fire.
16:07New management.
16:09Old accounts are closed.
16:11But I have no tolerance
16:13for what comes next.
16:14I trust everyone understands that.
16:17Yes, ma'am.
16:18The estate's internal structure
16:20wasn't enough.
16:20Real power in the Hawk clan
16:22ran through these shops.
16:23These trade networks.
16:25The money that had kept
16:27the family elevated
16:28for generations.
16:29I needed the root.
16:30I came home late, satisfied.
16:32In the courtyard, I stopped.
16:34Roslyn was crouched beside her boy,
16:36face lit with joy.
16:38Adrian stood nearby,
16:39watching them with a small smile.
16:41I moved before I'd finished thinking.
16:43I walked over
16:43and took Adrian's hand.
16:48What's happened?
16:49What's happened?
16:51The boy.
16:52His abilities came in.
16:53A smile dropped off my face.
16:55In my past life,
16:56this had happened three years later,
16:58right before they entered the estate.
16:59Not now.
17:00Not this early.
17:01Aren't you something?
17:03Abilities at your age,
17:05giving your mother so much to be proud of.
17:07You'd better take good care of her
17:09when you grow up.
17:11You're the bad woman
17:12who stole my dad.
17:14I'm so sorry, ma'am.
17:17I've spoiled him terribly.
17:19He doesn't know what he's saying.
17:21He really is spoiled.
17:22Speaking to his beauties this way
17:24is a serious breach.
17:25Per estate rules,
17:27he kneels in the courtyard for two hours.
17:29Rosalind's color drained.
17:30She looked instinctively at Adrian.
17:32Adrian's brow pulled together.
17:34He's only a child.
17:35This is excessive.
17:36Let it go.
17:37If a child has no father to correct him,
17:40the mother answers for it.
17:41Or have I lost even that much authority
17:43in my own home?
17:45Is a servant woman more important to you
17:46than your wife?
17:48He closed his mouth.
17:49Rosalind grabbed my sleeve.
17:50Her face was wet.
17:53I don't matter.
17:54But I'm due at the matriarch's,
17:56and if I'm late, she'll be displeased.
17:58I laughed once, short and cold,
18:01and had a chair brought out to the courtyard.
18:03How bold.
18:04A woman brought in off the street
18:05is lecturing me in my own house.
18:07Someone go ask the matriarch
18:08if she'd to weigh in on a servant
18:09who just spoke down to the estate's mistress.
18:12You're going too far.
18:13The boy didn't mean anything.
18:15Rosalind stood just behind his shoulder.
18:17She reached out
18:17and curled her fingers gently around his sleeve.
18:20The three of them, together in the moonlight,
18:22they looked like a family portrait.
18:24Adrian was trembling with anger.
18:25He grabbed Rosalind and the boy
18:27and started to walk them away.
18:28Ivy was faster.
18:29The matriarch says he kneels,
18:30three hours,
18:31and cut off their meals
18:32and moved them to the servant's storage room for the night.
18:34I looked at Adrian.
18:37Well, I left before he could answer.
18:39Adrian wouldn't defy the matriarch.
18:41The clan leadership still hadn't been formally transferred,
18:43and the matriarch said little,
18:45but punished any disobedience.
18:47Even Adrian knew better than to cross her.
18:49That was why I had spent every effort from the beginning
18:51making the matriarch love me.
18:54That night,
18:54Adrian didn't come to my room.
18:56He sent a servant boy with a message.
18:58He'd be sleeping in the study.
19:00Ivy didn't take it well.
19:01The study.
19:02Right.
19:03She paced the length of the room,
19:05voice rising.
19:06Before the wedding,
19:06I actually thought you'd finally caught a break, miss.
19:09A decent man for once.
19:11Turns out he's just another wolf in silk.
19:13She caught herself.
19:14A hawk.
19:15Whatever.
19:15Same thing.
19:16I sat at the desk.
19:17Ledger open in front of me.
19:18Perfectly calm.
19:19Adrian was a predator.
19:20Fine.
19:21Then I'd be the still water he didn't notice
19:24until he was already drowning in it.
19:27By the following morning,
19:29it was everywhere.
19:30Adrian Ashford kept a mistress.
19:32The boy was seven years old.
19:34No one knew where the information came from,
19:36but the woman's name,
19:37her background,
19:38her address,
19:39the boy's face and description
19:41had all surfaced with the kind of precision
19:43that suggested someone very organized
19:45had done the releasing.
19:47Adrian's years of carefully maintained reputation
19:49collapsed in a single day.
19:51Within the Hawk Clan,
19:52doors that had been opened quietly shut.
19:55Victoria sent a letter.
19:56It said I'd be divorced within the year,
19:58and when I was out on the street,
20:00I shouldn't come crawling to her.
20:02I set it down on the corner of the desk.
20:06Ivy mentioned,
20:07almost as an aside,
20:08that Victoria had been passing out in bed,
20:11that several doctors had told the serpent
20:13in plain terms
20:14that they needed to stop,
20:16that neither of them had listened.
20:19Victoria was swallowing expensive tonics
20:21by the handful
20:22just to keep upright,
20:24while the serpent
20:25was looking sharper
20:27and more energetic
20:28every week.
20:30His abilities growing stronger.
20:32I'd figured this out in my past life,
20:35stumbled onto it late.
20:36The serpent clan
20:37could only train and advance
20:39if the physical appetite was fed.
20:41Without that release,
20:43their cultivation stalled.
20:45With it,
20:46they drained whoever was closest to them.
20:48In that life,
20:50when I finally understood,
20:51I'd spent a sleepless night
20:53deciding what to do.
20:54And then I'd done
20:55the only thing that made sense.
20:58I found a doctor,
20:59confirmed it wouldn't block
21:01his ability to train,
21:02and introduced something into a gift
21:04from one of my sisters-in-law.
21:06A substance that made him
21:08permanently unable
21:09to function that way.
21:10He found out,
21:12eventually.
21:13I cried until I couldn't breathe,
21:15and told him
21:16that sister-in-law
21:17had been plotting against him
21:18for months,
21:19that she'd wanted to destroy him,
21:22that I'd only just discovered it myself.
21:24He checked.
21:26Everything I said was true,
21:27because I had made sure
21:29it would be true.
21:31After that,
21:32he dismissed the kept women,
21:34stopped visiting other beds,
21:35and trained with a focus
21:37he hadn't had before.
21:38He treated me like
21:40something worth keeping.
21:41Victoria didn't have
21:43that knowledge.
21:44She'd decided the serpent
21:45was simply devoted to her,
21:47and she'd locked herself
21:49inside that story.
21:50I wondered how much longer
21:52her body could hold.
21:53Adrian's voice came through the door,
21:55strained and urgent.
21:56Madam,
21:57please,
21:58you have to believe me.
22:00That boy has nothing
22:01to do with me.
22:03Ivy opened her mouth.
22:04I let her go.
22:06She told him exactly
22:07what she thought of him,
22:08in considerable detail,
22:10for several minutes.
22:11He didn't fight back.
22:12He knew he had no ground
22:13to stand on.
22:14When she finally ran out of breath,
22:16I walked out.
22:18Madam,
22:19you believe me,
22:20don't you?
22:21The matriarch came through
22:22the courtyard gate behind him.
22:24She had her walking stick in hand.
22:27She brought it down
22:28across his back
22:28until blood showed
22:29through the fabric.
22:30Then she stopped.
22:32Her eyes were wet
22:33when she looked at me.
22:34My child,
22:35this family owes you
22:37an apology.
22:38She exhaled.
22:40I know you've been wronged,
22:42but the clan is pushing
22:44to have this one
22:45thrown out entirely,
22:45and I'm running out of ways
22:47to argue against it.
22:49Write him a letter of divorce.
22:51The Ashfords
22:52will take care of you.
22:53You have my word.
22:55I let my eyes go soft.
22:57I lowered my head
22:58and pressed one hand
22:59gently to my stomach.
23:01My voice came out
23:02barely above a whisper.
23:03But I'm carrying his child.
23:05Are you asking me
23:06to leave with a baby?
23:08Both of them went
23:09completely still.
23:11Adrian stared at my hand
23:12against my stomach.
23:14The color left his face.
23:16I'm sorry.
23:17His voice cracked.
23:18I'm so sorry.
23:19The matriarch
23:21needed a breath
23:22to decide.
23:24Get that woman
23:25and her boy
23:25off this property
23:26immediately.
23:27The Ashfirm family
23:29has one mistress
23:30of this house,
23:30and the child
23:31she's carrying
23:32is the only heir
23:33I'll recognize.
23:34I turned my face
23:35into the matriarch's shoulder
23:36and let myself cry.
23:39I thought you didn't
23:40want me anymore.
23:41None of it
23:42touched me inside.
23:44This was what
23:45had needed to happen.
23:47Adrian had just lost
23:48any path
23:49to the clan leadership
23:50through that boy.
23:51Without the matriarch's
23:52recognition,
23:54Rosalyn and her son
23:55were nothing.
23:56All the groundwork
23:57I'd laid
23:58had just closed
23:59around them
24:00like a door.
24:01In the corner
24:02where no one was looking,
24:03something in me
24:05smiled.
24:06Rosalyn and the boy
24:07stood at the estate gate
24:08for half the day.
24:10She screamed
24:10every promise
24:12Adrian had made.
24:13The people passing
24:14stopped and listened
24:15with wide eyes.
24:17The last of Adrian's
24:18golden reputation
24:19crumbled
24:20in real time.
24:22The story that came
24:23out of it,
24:24somehow,
24:25was that the new
24:26Mrs. Ashford
24:27had handled
24:27everything with grace.
24:29Victoria had come
24:30by to watch.
24:31She was there
24:32at the gate
24:33when it happened.
24:33She drifted
24:34into the main hall
24:35afterward,
24:36looking like she'd
24:37forgotten how to
24:38arrange her face.
24:39I was eating
24:40the pastries Adrian
24:41had walked three streets
24:43to find for me.
24:45What brings you
24:46all the way here
24:47in person?
24:48She was tired.
24:49The brightness
24:50she'd walked in
24:51with last time
24:52was gone.
24:53Her smile,
24:54when she tried it,
24:56didn't work properly.
24:57How did you do it?
24:59I smiled
25:00and touched my stomach.
25:02When you have
25:03something better,
25:04why would you settle?
25:06She understood
25:07immediately.
25:08Her eyes dropped
25:10to my hand.
25:11She went very still.
25:12Then the stillness
25:13broke,
25:14and what came out
25:15was pure envy.
25:17You're just lucky.
25:19Everything always
25:20falls into place
25:21for you.
25:21The smile left my face.
25:23I set down my tea.
25:25Lucky.
25:25My birth mother
25:27died in front of me.
25:28I spent years
25:29in this house
25:30as furniture,
25:31useful only when needed
25:33and invisible
25:34the rest of the time.
25:35Every gain I'd made
25:37in my past life
25:38and this one
25:39had been mapped out
25:40move by move
25:42late at night
25:43alone.
25:44Lucky
25:45wasn't
25:46the word.
25:47I hear things
25:48haven't been going
25:48so well for you.
25:49You look thin.
25:51She shot to her feet.
25:53I'm perfectly fine.
25:54My husband
25:55comes only to my room.
25:57He dismissed
25:57all the others.
25:58I run my own household.
26:00No one dares touch me.
26:01I let myself laugh.
26:03She heard it
26:04for what it was
26:04and it hit her
26:06somewhere deep
26:06because she spun around
26:08and walked out
26:09without another word.
26:11The serpent
26:12had dismissed
26:12those women
26:13because he was afraid
26:14of being found out
26:16not because he felt anything.
26:18His visits to her room
26:20were maintenance
26:21nothing more.
26:22The more she gave
26:24the more he took.
26:25Her body
26:26was already
26:27paying the bill.
26:29In the end
26:29she'd believed
26:30what she'd wanted
26:31to believe
26:32I didn't know
26:33how much longer
26:34she had.
26:35The pregnancy
26:36was easier
26:37than I'd expected.
26:38The baby
26:38was cooperative
26:39which gave me room
26:40to keep running
26:40the shops
26:41and managing
26:42the estate.
26:42Adrian hovered
26:43constantly
26:44asking after
26:45every small discomfort
26:46following me
26:47from room to room.
26:49I found it exhausting
26:50and started leaving
26:51the estate
26:51to get away from him.
26:52It was on one
26:53of those outings
26:54that I heard
26:54Victoria had miscarried.
26:56I didn't know
26:56she'd been pregnant.
26:57I went to see her myself.
26:58I regretted it
26:59the moment I stepped
27:00into her room.
27:01The smell
27:02hit first.
27:02Powder
27:03sweet
27:03and thick
27:04and beneath it
27:05something rotten
27:06something that
27:07didn't belong
27:08in a living body.
27:09The doctor
27:10stood to one side
27:11with the face
27:11of a man
27:12who had stopped
27:13expecting to be
27:13listened to.
27:14I told you both
27:15repeatedly
27:15no more
27:17why won't you
27:18listen?
27:19The serpent's
27:20expression was distant.
27:21He made a soft
27:22sound of dismissal
27:23and walked out.
27:24Victoria coughed
27:25hard
27:25racking coughs
27:27the kind that
27:27bent her forward.
27:29She'd gone skeletal.
27:30Her skin
27:30the color
27:31of old paper.
27:32She looked up
27:33at me.
27:33Even like this
27:34she squared her jaw.
27:36Happy now?
27:37Lady Hargrove
27:37rushed in from the doorway
27:38before I could answer.
27:40She was the only person
27:41in the room
27:41who was genuinely
27:43frightened for Victoria.
27:44Who wanted to take her
27:45home
27:46and hold her.
27:47No!
27:47I'm not going back!
27:49I'm fine here!
27:51Why would I go back?
27:52Her voice climbed
27:54sharpened.
27:55And then
27:55something
27:56changed in my body.
27:58I grabbed
27:58Ivy's wrist.
27:59The doctor had said
28:00she wasn't far
28:01enough along.
28:02There shouldn't
28:03have been a reaction
28:04this sudden
28:05this strong.
28:06I stopped thinking
28:07about Victoria
28:08and let Ivy
28:09steer me out.
28:09The Ashford midwife
28:10was already prepared.
28:12The doctor arrived
28:13within minutes
28:13of being called.
28:14Outside the delivery room
28:16I could hear the matriarch
28:17and Adrian talking
28:18in short
28:19urgent sentences.
28:20I was soaked
28:21through.
28:22Ivy's hand
28:23almost breaking
28:24in mine.
28:24If something goes wrong
28:25save me.
28:27If I didn't survive this
28:28Adrian would bring
28:29Rosalind's boy
28:30back.
28:31And whatever happened
28:32to my child
28:33without me here
28:34to stand between them
28:34I didn't want to imagine.
28:36I had to stay.
28:38The pain came in waves
28:39and then in walls.
28:41Then a cry
28:41split the room
28:42and I went under
28:43completely.
28:44When I opened my eyes
28:45there was a small
28:46warm weight
28:47on the bed beside me.
28:48Ivy was kneeling
28:49smiling so wide
28:50it looked like it hurt.
28:52Congratulations ma'am.
28:54It's a girl.
28:55I stared at her
28:56for a long time.
28:57Then I reached out
28:58very carefully
28:59and poked her cheek
29:01with one finger.
29:02She woke up.
29:03She didn't cry.
29:04She just looked at me
29:05and smiled.
29:06Something in my chest
29:07came loose.
29:08I closed my hand
29:09around her tiny fingers.
29:11From today
29:12she was the Ashford heir
29:14and I was going to make sure
29:15she lived her life
29:17on her own terms.
29:18Not mine
29:19not anyone else's.
29:21Adrian was happy
29:21about the baby
29:22and also
29:23a little lost.
29:24The way men get
29:25when reality lands
29:26differently than they'd planned.
29:28He circled around
29:28the subject for weeks
29:29before finally floating
29:31the idea of trying again
29:32in a few years.
29:33A son
29:34he meant
29:35to carry the Ashford name.
29:37I told him no
29:38without softening it.
29:39The matriarch promised me
29:40if you'd like to revisit
29:42that conversation
29:43go talk to her.
29:44He didn't.
29:44He went back
29:45to making faces
29:45at our daughter instead.
29:47After my recovery
29:47I finally turned my attention
29:49to why the birth
29:50had come early.
29:51The doctor could only tell me
29:52that something sharp
29:53and chemical
29:54had triggered it.
29:54He couldn't identify
29:55the specific substance.
29:57I thought about
29:57Victoria's room.
29:58The smell that had sat
29:59in the back of my throat.
30:00Ivy came back
30:01from asking questions
30:02with her face
30:03flushed red.
30:04Mom
30:06Rosaline has been meeting
30:07with Miss Victoria
30:07the place she's been living
30:08since she left here
30:09and Miss Victoria arranged it.
30:11Two women
30:12with nothing to lose
30:13and the same target.
30:14If I'd lost the baby
30:15Rosaline's boy
30:16would have been
30:17the only option left.
30:18She'd have been back
30:19through the gate
30:19within the week
30:20but I'd learned
30:21every corner of this estate
30:22before the baby came.
30:23The staff here were mine
30:24in the way that mattered.
30:25They were careful
30:26attentive
30:26loyal enough
30:27when loyalty was earned.
30:29Nothing had reached me
30:30that shouldn't have.
30:30Has Adrian had any contact
30:32with them
30:32since they left?
30:33Once
30:34right after they were removed
30:35he went to see them.
30:36They had a fight
30:37he hasn't been back.
30:38He's cut the boy off too.
30:39Good.
30:40I exhaled
30:41he's finally reading the room
30:43and my half sister
30:44lately
30:44Ivy's voice
30:45took on a certain quality.
30:47She's determined
30:47I'll give her that.
30:48Her body is in the state
30:49it's in
30:50and she's still having people in
30:51still calling doctors
30:52trying to keep going.
30:53I sighed.
30:54She was stubborn
30:54to the point of self-destruction.
30:56She always had been.
30:57Life in the Ashford estate
30:58settled into something
30:59close to peace.
31:00The baby's name was Sarah.
31:02The matriarch chose it herself
31:03and she announced formally
31:04in front of the clan
31:05that Sarah Ashford
31:06would be the next family head.
31:08Some members objected.
31:09Lord Ashford Sr.
31:10shut them down
31:11in four sentences
31:12and didn't look up
31:12from his tea.
31:13Adrian sulked quietly
31:14about it for a while
31:15then adjusted.
31:16He spent his mornings
31:17making Sarah laugh
31:18and telling her
31:19she'd better remember
31:20who her father was
31:21when she was running things.
31:22It might have stayed
31:23that way indefinitely.
31:25Then one of my shop managers
31:26came in with a report.
31:28He could barely get through it
31:29without going red
31:30in the face.
31:31Victoria had purchased
31:33something from one
31:33of our suppliers.
31:35A particular kind of compound.
31:37When I pressed for details
31:38the man turned
31:39the color of a peony
31:41and started examining
31:42the floor.
31:43I understood.
31:44Victoria was pregnant again.
31:46She announced it
31:46with a dinner party.
31:47The invitation arrived
31:48on my desk.
31:49Ivy told me not to go.
31:51Why wouldn't I?
31:53Running away
31:53was never my style.
31:55The party drew the wives
31:56of every major shifter clan.
31:58They found me
31:59within minutes of arriving
32:00and pulled me
32:01into a circle
32:02of warm, elaborate compliments.
32:04Victoria's face
32:05went through several
32:06difficult stages
32:07before she managed
32:08to control it.
32:09She breathed in
32:10breathed out
32:11and crossed the room to me.
32:13The smile I gave her
32:14was direct
32:15and had teeth.
32:16Look at you.
32:17Jealous?
32:18Her composure buckled.
32:20She turned
32:20and walked away
32:21in fast, rigid steps.
32:23I finished my drink.
32:24My eyes drifted
32:25to the maid
32:26standing just behind her.
32:28I smiled to myself
32:29said something low
32:30to Ivy
32:30and watched her slip away
32:32through the crowd.
32:33Later
32:33a group of us
32:34walked out
32:35to the back garden.
32:36We heard it
32:36before we saw it.
32:37There
32:38half hidden
32:38behind a stone wall
32:39the serpent
32:40was pressed
32:41against a serving girl
32:42unhurried
32:43as if he'd forgotten
32:44or didn't care
32:46that there were guests
32:4720 feet away.
32:48When we got close enough
32:49he still didn't stop.
32:51One of the wives
32:51sucked in a sharp breath.
32:53Isn't that the woman
32:54who was thrown out
32:55of the Ashford Palace?
32:56Every head
32:57turned toward me.
32:58Someone clicked her tongue.
32:59Honestly
32:59and that boy
33:00who even knows?
33:02Victoria came
33:03through the garden gate
33:04with her attendants
33:04reached the two of them
33:06and wrenched them apart
33:07with shaking hands.
33:08How dare you?
33:10She hit him.
33:11He looked at her
33:12the way you look
33:13at something
33:13mildly inconvenient.
33:14The smear of lip color
33:16still on his jaw.
33:17You can't keep up.
33:18I'm not gonna starve
33:19because of that.
33:20Don't make a scene.
33:21He shoved her back
33:22not gently
33:23then curved
33:23a protective arm
33:24around Rosalyn
33:25as they retreated
33:26through the gate.
33:27Victoria hit the ground.
33:29Red bloomed beneath her.
33:30She stopped being
33:31a person for a moment.
33:32She curled
33:33into herself
33:33and started murmuring
33:34over and over.
33:37Even again.
33:39Why is it always like this?
33:41She tried to crawl
33:42toward me
33:42hands reaching.
33:44Adrienne came
33:44through the gate
33:45behind her
33:45and kicked her back
33:46before she could reach me.
33:48Not carefully.
33:49The gathered wives
33:50had lost their appetite
33:51for the evening.
33:52They called for their maids
33:53and started for the carriages.
33:54After that
33:55I never saw Victoria again.
33:57Word came
33:57in pieces
33:58over the following weeks.
34:00She'd lost herself
34:01completely.
34:01She paced the Serpent Clan estate
34:03muttering about second chances
34:05and how it wasn't fair
34:06and she deserved another turn.
34:08She was kept inside.
34:10Lady Hargrove
34:10was no longer
34:12permitted to visit.
34:13The Serpent had grown
34:13bored of Rosalyn too
34:15and filled the estate
34:16with new kept women.
34:17The pattern reset.
34:19I went home to my daughter
34:20and my ledgers.
34:21The days became
34:22quiet and full
34:23in equal measure.
34:24Sarah turned one
34:25then two.
34:26Adrienne found reasons
34:27to stay close.
34:28Not out of obligation anymore
34:30but out of something
34:30that had slowly grown
34:32into genuine need.
34:33He brought me things
34:34without being asked.
34:35He stopped making excuses
34:36to avoid being in the same room.
34:38He understood the situation
34:40I think.
34:41He knew what he could lose
34:42if he overplayed his hand
34:43so he didn't.
34:44He showed up
34:45and kept showing up
34:46and over time
34:47the effort became habit
34:48and habit became
34:49something softer.
34:51He taught Sarah
34:51everything he knew.
34:53Every technique
34:53every hot clan form
34:55every shortcut
34:56he'd learned
34:57over years of training.
34:58She was three
34:59when her abilities came in.
35:00I was sitting in the courtyard
35:01when it happened.
35:02Late afternoon
35:03the light going gold.
35:05Adrienne came running
35:06out of the practice yard
35:07with Sarah on his shoulders
35:08both of them shouting at once.
35:10I watched them from my chair
35:11hands folded in my lap.
35:13This life
35:13was not without its damage.
35:15My birth mother
35:16was still gone.
35:17The years of careful
35:18invisible work
35:19I'd done to arrive here
35:21would never be visible
35:22to anyone but me.
35:23But I was here.
35:24Sarah was here.
35:25The estate was mine
35:26in every way that mattered.
35:28I laughed softly to myself
35:30in the afternoon light.
35:31This life
35:31I thought
35:32was not worse
35:33than the one before.
35:34It was better.
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