A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 1024

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Romy asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"Do you seriously think that's what I was asking?"

"What else would it be?"

"Are you completely oblivious?" Starla sighed. She wasn't an idiot, and she certainly wasn't narcissistic enough to think every man who crossed her path wanted to sleep with her.

"Uh, I think my brain works just fine, thanks," Romy muttered defensively. But it finally clicked. Taking a deep breath, she corrected herself. "Look, our boss doesn't have some dark ulterior motive. He just wants to make sure you're safe."

"The boss promised Sir that he would protect you at all costs."

There was no need to revisit the absolute bloodbath between Herbert and Yardley a month ago. Everyone knew what had happened.

"Is that really it?" Starla asked softly. "Just to keep me safe?"

If Amos was doing all this just to honor a promise to a dead man, then Starla was going to have to drastically reevaluate her understanding of human loyalty.

Romy nodded firmly. "Really. It's just for your safety. General Licht might be dead, but his loyalists are still out there. There's a very high chance they're looking for revenge. If they find out you were the catalyst for his downfall, you'd be their prime target."

With Licht dead, his remaining faction was rabid. It was the most dangerous possible time for Starla to be out in the open.

Starla didn't say anything to that.

"Our boss just wants you to stay alive. Please don't overthink it," Romy urged.

Starla remained silent. She picked up another handful of expensive mementos and tossed them onto the memorial stone. She had brought a lot today. It really did look like she meant it when she said it was her last visit. She wanted to leave Fairfax with plenty of offerings.

Watching the small memorial fire crackle, Romy couldn't help herself. "You know, deep down, you still have feelings for him."

It was Fairfax Yelchin!

Romy froze in shock, her instinct kicking in to bow. But Fairfax immediately raised a hand, silencing her before she could speak. He gave a sharp flick of his wrist, dismissing her.

Romy gave a barely perceptible nod, shot one last complicated look at Starla's back, and silently retreated.

She moved so quietly that Starla didn't even notice she was gone.

Starla was still talking to the headstone. "A woman shouldn't give her heart away so easily. If you fall for the wrong man, he'll make sure you never understand what love is supposed to feel like ever again. He'll kill your heart so thoroughly that you won't even feel the pain when it's over."

It was the raw truth. Fairfax's death hadn't brought her to her knees. When she first heard the news, her only real emotion had been a jarring sense of disorientation. It was so sudden that it took her a moment to process.

But after that? It felt inevitable. As if he had always been meant to die in her story, and she had long since accepted the ending.