Chap 1 : Their Similarities of Fate

The sound of the hooves gets closer, not just one rider but a whole terrifying army. Lucia's heart pounds, anxious and fearful. Her feet ache from running barefoot in this forest. Not knowing where to go, she just keeps running, hoping to hide or find someone who can help her.

"This shouldn't have happened. I'm sure he drank the poisoned tea." Lucia isn't entirely sure what had gone wrong; her plan to kill her husband had utterly failed.

......................

Before she was hunted by her own husband, Lucia was a lady from the House of Fross. She was the only daughter of Lord Patriqe Fross and Lady Helna Fross. They were nobles who were respected for their honesty, and Lucia, since childhood, had been loved for her wisdom and cheerfulness. She always helped people in need and was not ashamed to befriend the poor.

Unfortunately, everything changed in an instant when she was forced to marry a monster who had ruined her happiness.

"A month earlier, as Lucia passed by the pond, she overheard voices from a nearby shed. They were planning to kill her husband and absorb his power. Lucia then approached them."

"If you want to kill him, I can do the deed." Lucia was determined.

The seven people all stood shocked by her presence, and even more so by her words. They all thought Lucia was tricking them and setting a trap. It was impossible for a wife to want to kill her husband with her own hands. Needless to say, they were enemies, so it was impossible to believe her words.

"Are you not his wife? We can't let you leave this place then." One of them spoke, his hand ready to grip the sword. He took a step, intending to cut off her neck.

"I meant what I said. And what you see is not like what you expected." Lucia's eyes showed no fear. Her eyes also looked like the eyes of a corpse: not shining, not showing any emotion.

"Put your sword down. Let me talk to her." A curly man who seemed different from the others spoke, his voice deep yet annoying.

"If you want to kill him, why didn't you do it before? Why come here? Are you looking for an alliance?" His voice was mocking.

"You can say so. I'll do the job, and you help me leave this place. If you agree, that's the deal." Lucia looked very serious.

"Interesting. You don't even ask who we are, but you tell us directly you want a part in killing your husband. But, if that's what you want, then we leave it to you." His eyes were cold, his smile was sarcastic, as if something more exciting was playing in his head.

When the time came, Lucia made tea for Lewis with poison in it and brought it to him herself. Lewis didn't ask Lucia anything, and he didn't look at her. He just took the tea and drank it. Moments later, he collapsed. Lucia thought he was already dead without checking on him. She quickly stepped back and ran away from the reading room. However, her steps stopped when the guard and two knights stopped her. Lucia was put in prison for a week in Doge's Palace.

In the prison, Lucia became like a corpse. She had not eaten or drunk anything for weeks. Her condition worsened, but her hope remained strong that she would soon escape with the help of her allies. But something she didn't know was that they were all already dead.

"Your Grace, please wake up and take these." Iry, her personal maid, secretly came to the Piombi, the lead chambers, and gave Lucia bread and water.

"Iry? H... How did you get in here?" With a sore throat, Lucia asked. Iry handed her bread and water, and she took it."

"Your Grace, please eat the bread and drink the water. So that you have the strength to escape." Iry was sweating, her eyes seemed to be hiding something.

"Did anyone help you avoid the guards? Was there a man with curly hair?" Lucia asked hopefully.

"Your Grace, the man you mentioned is actually a prince from a neighboring country. He died a day before you were imprisoned." Iry said with a sad tone. She was sad that her ladyship was suffering.

Lucia was silent. She was sure that Lewis had killed him. She was also not surprised to hear that the man was a prince; who he was was not important; for Lucia, she just needed help to run away from here. Her hope was still there because Iry would help her escape.

A few minutes later, Lucia managed to get out, stepping on the ground she hadn't stepped on in a week. The cold night wind greeted her body. The cold had turned into comfort, as it had been a long time since Lucia had breathed fresh air, having been imprisoned. Iry and Lucia separated. Lucia didn't want Iry to follow her; she didn't want anything to happen to her. After Lucia came out of the Ducal Palace fence, she was greeted by a voice she knew very well, but it was even more frightening, making her legs tremble, unable to stand. She fell to the ground.

"Lucia Greexen. Good to see you're still alive. But I guess not for long." A deep, mocking voice spoke.

"H... How are you still alive?" Her voice trembled. Her thoughts couldn't process well.

"I already knew your plan a long time ago. I always sent my shadow knight to you to be my eyes and my ears."

"So, you killed the prince. You also let me watch you drink the poisoned tea. You planned to make me look foolish by falling into my own trap!" Lucia screamed, hurt at knowing her husband crushed her hope.

"Lucia, there's something more you need to know, a story..." He knelt on one leg in front of Lucia. His fingers held her chin, lifting it up so their eyes met.

Lucia's eyes widened at what he said. Her heart was broken. Tears began to flow. Her mind stopped processing. The truth was too heavy for her to accept. All the feelings of pain, sadness, disappointment and regret filled her, drowning her in the deep sorrow of a painful reality.

"Dear wife, now you have 5 minutes to run as far as you can. This time, try to choose a better one to help you escape because once I find you, you're dead for sure." He whispered in Lucia's ears, deep and emotionless.

......................

Lucia can't run anymore; she'd been in this state for several hours. Finally, she trips over a rock and falls to the ground, her screams of pain echoing in the forest. Lucia quickly covers her mouth, realizing her screams must have been heard by her husband. She stands in pain. Her leg is sprained; she can't run anymore.

"No. Their voices! They're almost here! Where do I go now?" Lucia freezes, fear thickening in her heart.

The deeper Lucia goes, the more overwhelming her anxiety becomes. There are no trees thick enough to hide her, let alone a welcoming cave. Suffocating regret envelops her. Lucia squeezes her eyes shut, trying to gather the strength to force herself onward, to ignore the pain. But when she blinks them open, her hope of getting out of this forest is gone as she sees a dead end ahead of her.

"Is this the end? Is this where I will die?" Lucia lets out a bitter laugh at her misfortune.

"Lucia Greexen." A deep voice, chillingly familiar, calls her name.

"My husband... you're here," Lucia says, her voice a soft whisper as she slowly turns her head to look straight into the dark eyes of her husband, who is riding his black horse.

"There's nowhere left for you to go. The choice now is: fall to your death, or be stabbed by this sword. Choose wisely." He states, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.

"Why couldn't you just let me go from the beginning? You know I don't love you, so why did you drag out our marriage for two years?" she spits, a tone of despair in her voice.

His expression remains a perfect, unreadable mask; his gaze is unwavering, his voice a block of ice.

"My little wife, I don't need your love. I just want to see you die miserably," he counters, the endearment a poisonous barb.

"I think that's a lie you tell yourself," Lucia scoffs.

"Say what you want. I'm not changing my mind about your destiny to die today," he declares, his tone absolute, shutting down any argument.

"You're right, then... goodbye, Lewis Greexen." With those words, Lucia launches herself from the cliff's edge, arms outstretched, plunging into the dark, churning abyss below. Even as the wind tears past, as the cold spray of the sea rushes up, a desperate, insane hope surges: a silent plea for someone, anyone, to help her. She regrets every single one of her choices. She begs, silently, with every desperate beat of her fading heart, for someone to help her change her destiny, for one last chance.

Lewis takes one deliberate step closer to the cliff's edge, wanting to see and make sure Lucia has truly vanished into the sea. His face is dark, showing no emotion. After seeing Lucia's body disappear into the sea, he looks up at the bright moon that lights the dark sky. No stars are visible; only clouds fill the sky, as if portending a heavy rain will soon drench the earth.

"Lucia Greexen... No. Lucia Fross, this is the end of our story. You are free now." And with those words, Lewis's love also dies along with Lucia.

Lewis rides his horse back. He leaves that place with a weight in his chest, returning to Ducal Palace. Thunder booms, lightning flashes. The heavy rain begins to fall, drenching him instantly, almost as if it replaces the tears he refuses to shed.

Meanwhile, the same world but in a different era, in modern times, the same relentless heavy rain drenches the earth. Elora, a girl known for being arrogant and mischievous, is viciously shoved down the stairs. Blood comes out profusely, hot tears flow. As her vision blurs and consciousness slips, she prays in her heart that if she is given a second chance, she'd genuinely try to be a better person and choose a better man than her treacherous fiancé. And then, in that stark moment, she dies. Murdered by her own fiancé.

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