Chapter 26
Samantha’s helplessness had been exaggerated. Her fragility was often convenient. The child she claimed she had once lost might never have existed at all. The blood phobia was false. The gala incident had been deliberate. She had carefully taken the antique piece out herself, placing it where it would be noticed, then maneuvered events so Katherine would be blamed.
When Nicholas returned to the estate with all of that in his hands, Samantha was seated at her mirror, humming.
She turned and immediately put on her usual soft, worried expression.
“Nicholas, you’re back. Why do you look so pale? Are you still upset about Katherine? Don’t worry. She loves you too much to stay angry forever. Once she calms down, she’ll come back.”
“Enough.”
He slapped her hand away when she tried to touch him.
His eyes were so full of fury that she actually stepped back.
“What’s that smell on you?” he asked coldly.
She froze.
“N-nothing. Just perfume.”
“What perfume?”
He stepped closer.
Samantha faltered, then burst into tears.
“All right! Fine! It’s a tincture I had made… something to calm men down, to make them more attached. I just… I wanted to stay by your side after Katherine left. I was willing to be with you…”
“With me?”
Nicholas laughed once, harsh and disbelieving.
He threw a stack of letters and witness statements in her face.
“You played me for years and you still think I’m a fool? You intentionally used that antique at the gala. You lied about the blood. You cried and pushed me to drive Katherine into the rain. Every step of this was calculated.”
Samantha collapsed to the floor, shaking.
“I didn’t mean it that way…”
Nicholas’s voice broke with rage.
“You cost Katherine our child. You cost her her health. You cost her her dignity. And every time, I helped you do it.”
By the end, tears were streaming down his own face.
He was shaking.
Then he turned to the guards.
“Take her away.”