Chapter 4

Josiah's POV

The biting wind howled, freezing me to the bone.

I kneeled quietly before Bella and Harry, completely numb to the mocking stares of the onlookers surrounding us.

Suddenly, Bella hurled a cup straight at me in a fit of rage. I didn't dodge in time, and it struck my forehead, sending a stream of blood trickling down my face.

"You venomous creature! Harry stepped back at every turn and genuinely treated you like a brother, yet you harbor such a wicked heart!"

Beside her, Harry covered half his face. His eyes were red and swollen from crying. He looked the absolute picture of a fragile victim.

"Josiah, I know you've always loathed me, but how could you be so cruel…"

With just a few words, the two of them had already pronounced me guilty. They didn't even give me a chance to speak.

After Bella finished venting, her chest heaved heavily. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

I raised my head and looked her dead in the eye. "I didn't do it."

Bella didn't believe a word. In her eyes, I was just desperately clinging to a lie. "You didn't do it? Are you implying Harry framed you? Josiah, when exactly did you become this deceitful and utterly unscrupulous monster?"

When did I change?

I couldn't even remember. Maybe it started when she began spending every single night at Johnston Manor.

Or maybe it was when she publicly humiliated me, calling me dull, virtueless, and unworthy of being her consort.

There were too many instances to count. I couldn't remember, and frankly, I didn't care to anymore.

Instead, I bowed deeply, performing the most formal royal salute. "I lack the virtue required for my position. I formally request to be deposed."

My calm resignation only made Bella more furious. "Do you think I don't dare to do it? I've enabled you for far too long, which is why you're acting so brazen!

"Guards! Drag the empress consort to the dungeons! Teach him some proper discipline!"

Bella was dead set on punishing me, and no one present dared to defy her. They all just watched, practically salivating at my downfall.

I knew full well that even a healthy, robust man would be lucky to survive the dungeons in one piece, let alone someone like me who had always been weak.

Staring into Bella's eyes, I realized I could no longer remember what she looked like when we first met.

Perhaps the woman I once loved had died long ago, and I was the only fool who refused to let go.

"What are you waiting for? Do I have to personally drag you out?"

I forced myself up on stiff, trembling legs. Every single movement shot a piercing pain through my body.

Suddenly, the cold, mechanical voice of the system rang in my mind. "Danger detected. Initiating exit protocol from this world."

I slowly looked back at Bella, but she was so repulsed by my presence that she refused to even glance my way.

"I didn't do it, and I never will admit to it. Since you never intended to believe me, why did you even bother summoning me here? I suppose a tiny part of me still foolishly trusted you. To think I actually expected you to believe me is laughable.

"Bella Barrett, you are truly pathetic. You don't even possess the basic sense to distinguish right from wrong. You failed me, and I will never forgive you. From this moment on, we are done. We will never see each other again."

Under her shocked gaze, I finally said everything I had buried in my heart for years in one breath.

"You're insane! Have you completely lost your mind?"

Her lips trembled for a long moment, but that weak exclamation was all she could muster.

I didn't answer. Instead, I swiftly reached into my sleeve and drew the dagger I had prepared.

The next second, I plunged it deep into my own throat.

Blood splattered across the floor, and my breathing stopped completely.