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بيت / Romance / Future Reflections / Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

مؤلف: Flowers in Streams
Matthew left those words behind in a hurry, and he soon vanished into the night. But the moment he turned away, my expression turned cold.

The noise outside slowly faded. I stood there quietly, listening as he gathered men and rode away at full speed.

The candles in our bedchamber still burned, but it felt unbearably ironic.

I turned and walked toward the bronze mirror. In the mirror, I still wore my wedding hair ornaments and gown. I looked dazzling, but the icy look in my eyes could send a chill down anyone's spine.

I took out a carrier pigeon and wrote a letter. Then, I raised my voice and ordered the people outside. "Prepare a carriage and follow the marquess!"

The carriage raced through the night. I sat upright inside, holding the bronze mirror tightly in both hands.

In the mirror, the old face from my future fifty years later remained clear.

Her hoarse voice sounded faintly beside my ear. "On my wedding night, I refused to let Matthew leave no matter what. I cried and made a scene. I said that if he dared abandon me on our wedding night, he would humiliate the General of Ironwall's household and make me the laughingstock of the capital.

"I forced him until he had no choice but to stay and complete the rest of the ceremony with me. I kept him trapped in the bedchamber, and he did not go out all night."

I listened in silence, my heart growing colder and colder.

"But I never expected Sabella to appear at the estate's gates the next day, her clothes torn and her body covered in injuries. She did not die, but what happened to her was worse than death.

"Everyone said I was a jealous woman who had deliberately delayed him to cause her so much suffering. Matthew… He hated me to the bone from that day on."

After the old woman finished, I sank into even deeper confusion.

From what I knew about Sabella, there was a strong chance that she had staged this abduction herself. Sabella had pulled these pranks more than once over the years, and every time, Matthew used me as an excuse to find her.

I had foolishly thought he cared about her because she mattered to me. It turned out the two had been involved for a long time.

But if my future self was right, why had the matter ended so tragically?

Before I could think it through, the carriage stopped sharply.

A personal guard reported quietly from outside the carriage. "My lady, Lord Matthew is inside the abandoned temple ahead."

I raised the curtain at once, and a cold wind rushed in, clearing my head.

Not far away, torches lit up the abandoned temple, and the estate guards had surrounded it so that no one could get through.

I hurried over and immediately saw Sabella with a blade pressed to her neck.

She was wearing white. Her hair was loose and messy, and she looked fragile enough to break as she cried. "Matthew, I'm so scared..."

Her voice trembled, but her eyes passed over Matthew and landed on me. "Gwendolen, I'm sorry. This is all my fault... I shouldn't have played this kind of joke on you. I ruined your wedding night."

She cried beautifully, and she absolved herself of blame with those words.

Matthew's heart nearly broke as he listened. He roared at the bandit. "Let her go! I'll give you whatever you want!"

The bandit holding Sabella only looked fierce. The truth was that he was already rattled after being surrounded by so many people. The blade in his hand pressed closer to Sabella's neck, and a line of blood immediately seeped from Sabella's pale skin. "I want one hundred thousand silver coins! Not one coin less! Bring it now!"

"Fine! I'll give it to you! I'll gather the silver at once!" When Matthew saw Sabella bleeding, he completely lost his composure and agreed repeatedly.

He suddenly turned and grabbed my hand, then spoke in an urgent tone. "Gwendolen, you heard him! One hundred thousand silver coins! Agree to it first! The general's household is wealthy, and your wedding gift should be enough!"

I looked at his red eyes. A life was at stake, so of course I would not refuse. Just as I was about to nod, Sabella suddenly screamed.

The bandit was already nervous. When she startled him, his hand shook, and the blade cut deeper.

"Why are you screaming, you witch?! I'll kill you!"

"No!"

Seeing that the bandit was about to kill Sabella, Matthew's eyes turned red. Then, he did something I would never forget. He grabbed my arm without hesitation and shoved me hard toward the bandit.

I stumbled forward under that terrible force and crashed straight into the bandit's arms. The cold blade instantly pressed against my neck.

The husband who had just taken my hand during our wedding used that opening to snatch Sabella back from the bandit and hold her tightly in his arms. He did not even spare a look at me as he lowered his voice to calm the trembling woman in his arms. "Don't be afraid, Sabella. You're safe now."

Even the bandit froze, not expecting the hostage to be switched like this.

Then, Matthew's cold voice came, each word cutting into my heart. "I'm exchanging her with Sabella. My wife is Gwendolen Shaw, the only daughter of the General of Ironwall! Forget one hundred thousand silver coins. As long as she's alive, the general will even pay a million silver coins for her!"

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  • Future Reflections   Chapter 9

    One night, I looked into the bronze mirror again.This time, the old woman in the mirror spoke first. Her voice was no longer hoarse, and her eyes were clear with a gentle smile in them. "I listened to you and left that place. I used the little money I had left to open a small school, where I took in homeless children. Watching them read and write made my heart feel alive."I was sincerely happy for her.From then on, I began expanding my business beyond the royal capital. I traveled over mountains and rivers, saw smoke rising over the desert, and watched rain falling over the river towns in the damp south. My horizon grew wider with every landscape and scenery I had seen.Ten years passed in a flash.I was invited back to the royal capital to attend a royal banquet in the palace. During the banquet, the idle chatter of several noblewomen drifted into my ears."Have you heard? That marquess froze to death in the abandoned temple west of the city a few days ago.""Which marquess?

  • Future Reflections   Chapter 8

    After running out of the dungeon, the first thing he did was go to the Shaw estate.He pounded on the estate gate every day, shouting Gwendolen's name until his voice went hoarse. I ignored it and merely made tea and read books in my personal courtyard.Gunter blocked him outside and stopped his harassment for me.At first, he simply kept Matthew outside the gates. Later, Matthew tried to force his way in. From beyond the walls of my courtyard, I would then hear the dull sounds of fists hitting flesh, along with Matthew's painful groans.Gunter would not hold back. Every time, Matthew had to be carried back by the servants of his estate. But the next day, he would appear on time again, and the cycle would repeat.I was very annoyed, but I was also too tired of him to pay any attention.Only half a month later did he finally stop coming, and I thought he had finally given up. But a servant came to report that Matthew had sold all the lands and properties under his household's name

  • Future Reflections   Chapter 7

    The dream was over.When Sabella opened her eyes again, she was in a cold, damp dungeon.In front of her, Matthew sat in a chair and stared at her with a dark sneer.Sabella sat bound to the torture rack, her hair messy and her face terrified. "Matthew? Where is this? Why am I here?"When she saw Matthew, tears immediately welled in her eyes, and she put on that pitiful look again. Matthew's expression was hidden in shadow and hard to see clearly, but the pressure around him was terrifying.He did not answer. Instead, he simply clapped his hands coldly. Two guards dragged a bloodied man and threw him in front of Sabella.It was the bandit.He had been beaten beyond recognition and had only one breath left.Sabella's eyes narrowed, and all color drained from her face, but she still forced herself to stay calm. "Matthew, what... What's the meaning of this?"When the bandit saw Sabella, he struggled to raise his hand and point at her as if he had seen a lifeline."It was her…. I

  • Future Reflections   Chapter 6

    I walked to the dressing table. The old woman in the mirror was still leaning against the bed, her eyes empty and lifeless. Perhaps my resolve surprised her too, because a faint glint seemed to appear in her clouded eyes.I did not ask her anything more.I already knew the truth. From now on, I would walk my own path and create my own future.I wrapped the bronze mirror in a cloth and placed it in the box I had prepared earlier.When I walked out of the estate's main entrance, I looked back one last time.Matthew was gripping the bandit's collar, his face dark as he questioned him.I smiled coldly as I climbed into the carriage and returned to the Shaw estate without looking back.The wheels rolled on, crushing everything from the past behind me.When I returned to the familiar estate, my parents were already waiting at the gate. When my mother saw the wound on my shoulder, she burst into tears.After comforting my parents, I returned to my courtyard alone.From a brocade box

  • Future Reflections   Chapter 5

    I looked toward the voice and saw a tall figure standing at the courtyard's entrance. He stood straight with his back straight, surrounded by the air of a man long hardened on the battlefield.With one look, he silenced all the noise in the courtyard.It was my older brother, Gunter Shaw.He had rushed back overnight from the military camp a hundred miles away after receiving the letter I had sent last night.Matthew did not recognize him, however. Gunter had been tasked to reinforce the border for years and rarely returned to the royal capital, so Matthew had never met him.When Matthew saw me looking at Gunter, panic flashed in his eyes. It instantly turned into the ugly rage of humiliation. "So this is he, Gwendolen?! I was wondering where you got the courage to demand a divorce! It turns out you'd already found your next man on our wedding night!"He pointed at Gunter and cursed, "Where did this man come from?! How dare he barge into my estate? Men, break his legs!"Before h

  • Future Reflections   Chapter 4

    A sharp pain in my shoulder blade woke me from my sleep. I opened my eyes, but there was no one beside me. Only the bronze mirror that connected to the future was safely placed beside my bed.The old woman in the mirror looked at my miserable state and chuckled twice. "Foolish child. Matthew ignored and tortured me for five decades, and I only learned the truth yesterday. Sabella never died. He kept her in another estate, hidden away as his mistress for fifty full years!"They lived happily together surrounded by children and grandchildren, while I lived with guilt and blame for hurting my closest friend. I spent my life with only a rosary and prayer books for company, alone and miserable."I listened quietly to her accusation. Every word was soaked in blood. However, my heart no longer stirred. "The one hundred thousand silver coins you gathered for him became the wealth he used to support Sabella."And back then, it wasn't that he failed to bring back the frost rose during his tr

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