All Chapters of I Refuse This Fate: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

The suffocating sensation suddenly vanished.I jolted awake, gasping for breath. The familiar pain wracked my body, and the metallic scent of blood filled my nose.I shot upright. "My baby... My baby!"The sight before me made my entire body tremble. There were two babies in the room. One lay beside me, while a maid was carrying the other away.When the maid saw that I was awake, she visibly trembled and hurried toward the door.Before she could escape, I grabbed her arm. I clenched my teeth as my gaze darted to the baby beside me and landed on the red mole beneath his eye.This was that ungrateful wretch from my past life!With my free hand, I seized the swaddled baby in the maid's arms and screamed, "Let go!""My Lady..." She struggled desperately, dragging me off the bed in her attempt to break free.A dull pain tore through my lower body, followed by a sudden rush of blood.The maid paled in fright and loosened her grip. I seized the opportunity and snatched the baby back

Chapter 2

"My master ordered me to guard you, Lady Penelope, for three months. He said that if you remained safe and unharmed during that time, he would return to the capital. He's been gone for five days now," the hidden guard replied."Then tell him I'm in trouble," I said.I handed the ungrateful wretch over to his wet nurse, Margaret, while I kept my daughter, Amelia, by my side.The moment Clara heard about it, she came straight to see me.She picked up the ungrateful wretch and placed him in my arms. "Penelope, how can you play favorites? The two children were born on the same day. That means they're fated to share a bond."They're both your flesh and blood. How can you keep Amelia by your side while leaving this child with a wet nurse?"I lowered my eyes.The red birthmark beneath his eye was painfully conspicuous. I had poured my heart and soul into raising him for 20 years, only for him to call someone else Mother in the end.I pushed him straight back into Clara's arms, my expr

Chapter 3

For a moment, I thought I'd heard him wrong."W-What did you say?" Before he could say another word, I screamed, "Dream on! Gideon Hale, Amelia is your daughter! You want to hurt her to save that bastard?""He isn't a bastard!" he shouted before realizing something was wrong.His tone quickly softened again. "Clara has already accepted Arthur as her own son. You two have always been so close. Can you really bear to make her suffer because of this?"Besides, if it hadn't been for her during the battle last month, I'd already be dead. We only need a little of our daughter's blood. Consider it repayment for saving my life. You can't even agree to that?"I kept shaking my head. My eyes reddened again as I listened to his lies. "As long as I'm alive, you won't lay a finger on Amelia."Gideon sighed, then turned and waved his hand.The guards behind him immediately stepped forward."What are you doing?"Margaret and I rushed to stop them, only for the guards to shove us to the groun

Chapter 4

Clara stood among several noblewomen, holding Arthur in her arms.Margaret had been forced into a corner, her arms twisted behind her back and bound. Her hair was disheveled, and blood soaked the sleeve of her dress and dripped from the fabric. She had clearly been beaten."How utterly outrageous! She actually dared to abduct the Marquis' heir!""A vile servant like her deserves to be beaten to death!"The women were furious. Some even stepped forward to kick Margaret.I rushed forward and shielded her with my body. When I saw the injuries covering her, my voice caught in my throat. "Margaret...""My Lady, please go. Don't come any closer. Be careful... His Lordship will punish you."Even now, she was still worried about me. Tears streamed down my face. I reached to untie her, but a tremendous force suddenly yanked me away."Penelope! The evidence proves that this servant abducted the heir. Stay away from her." Gideon's voice was cold."The heir?" I stared at him as though I'd

Chapter 5

Gideon collapsed from his injuries before he could even see who had arrived.I limped toward the newcomer anyway. "Timothy... Timothy..."My legs gave out beneath me, but Timothy Williams dropped to one knee and caught me before I hit the ground. He steadied me, then carefully helped me back to my feet.When he saw me covered in blood and dirt, the concern in his eyes was almost overwhelming. "I'm sorry. I came too late."He removed his cloak and draped it around my shoulders.Only when its warmth enveloped me did I finally allow myself to relax. "You're not late. You're not..."My body went limp again, and Timothy immediately ordered a maid to help me back to my room.I shook my head repeatedly. "Find my daughter, Amelia. I need to find her.""Leave it to me. Leave everything to me." He immediately dispatched more than half of his black riders to search for her.Only then did I finally feel a measure of relief.As the last of my strength deserted me, Gideon forced himself up

Chapter 6

Gideon fell in love with me at first sight at the banquet and pursued me relentlessly. Little by little, his devotion helped me forget what had happened before.Three days before our wedding, Timothy finally returned and told me the truth.The maid was a distant niece of the Duchess, who was very fond of her. The Duchess had wanted to bring Timothy and the maid together, but she feared that my status would one day allow me to suppress the girl. That was why she'd devised the entire scheme."I never touched her. I'd never even met her, let alone brought her into the army camp. None of it was true!" he explained through tears.Unfortunately, by then, it was too late. In the end, he sent me a magnificent wedding gift and stood by as I married another man.In my previous life, he continued to watch over me from afar for decades. He never married or had children. Instead, he buried himself in official duties to numb the pain until the work eventually wore him down completely. When he d

Chapter 7

Before Clara could finish speaking, Gideon slapped her hard across the face.I happened to witness it as someone helped me out.Timothy immediately took the child and brought her to me. "Don't worry. I'll find the best physicians and make sure Amelia gets through this safely."I took Amelia into my arms as tears welled in my eyes. "Thank you. Thank you!"The moment Gideon saw me, he staggered forward. His knees gave way, and he actually knelt before me. "Penelope, I'm sorry. I was blind. That wretched woman deceived me. Please, give me one more chance..."I remained unmoved.I watched him condemn Clara and try to absolve himself of all blame, and my disgust for him reached its peak.Clara was the first to lose patience. "Enough! Enough!"She had barely finished shouting when Arthur's cries grew weaker and weaker. His little face turned bluish-purple, and foam began spilling from his mouth."Arthur... Arthur!" Clara cried. "Gideon, Arthur's dying! Hurry and get some blood to sa

Chapter 8

Gideon froze, clearly not expecting me to know any of this.After a long silence, he finally spoke. "Three days before our wedding, Clara came to me and told me about you and Timothy. I got completely drunk, and she and I… When I woke up, she threatened me. She wanted to become my lawful wife, and I agreed because I hated you."Do you know how much I suffered all those years? I loved you, but I hated you too. I couldn't stop giving you everything, yet I despised myself for it. Meanwhile, my entanglement with Clara only grew deeper."It wasn't until today that I finally realized she'd been lying to me. She'd been lying to me all along."Tears of regret streamed down Gideon's face. He dropped to his knees, crawled two steps toward me, and clutched the hem of my dress. "Give me one more chance. I'll make it up to you. I promise."I pulled my dress from his grasp and turned away. "There's no need. We have nothing to do with each other anymore. We don't even need a divorce agreement."

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