A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 502

"That bitch, she really had me fooled! She deserves everything she's getting!" Darleen seethed. Just a short while ago, she had wanted to grab a kitchen knife and kill her, but Starla's people had blocked her way.

Still, this was good too. Making her clean up after those animals was a fitting punishment. Letting her die would have been too easy.

Starla had just returned to the main house when she received a call from Herbert. She went upstairs, changed her clothes, and left.

The moment she was gone, Darleen glanced at Xenia.

"I heard everything," Xenia said, her voice laced with sorrow. "It was Herbert on the phone."

At the mention of Herbert's name, the wound on her forehead seemed to throb with a dull ache.

Darleen noticed the pain in her eyes and sighed. "In the end, I'm the one who ruined things for you."

"Mom..."

"I shouldn't have involved you in my feud with Starla." Darleen thought back to all the gifts Fairfax had given Starla, gifts she had snatched away and given to Xenia and Brinley. And what had come of it? Brinley turned out to be a thankless traitor, and Xenia's reputation in the socialite circles was utterly destroyed because of her actions.

"The Farley family probably heard about your reputation, which is why they never responded!" Darleen lamented. Their silence wasn't just silence; it was a clear rejection. The Farley elders had no interest in Xenia.

Xenia's eyes filled with even more sorrow at her mother's words.

"So, when it comes to Herbert, I just have to accept my fate?"

Darleen was speechless. The words 'accept my fate' had never been in her vocabulary. But now, with Xenia and Herbert, what else was there?

...

Starla met Herbert at a restaurant he'd chosen. When the waiter brought their food, her pupils contracted for a moment. She instinctively looked at Herbert.

"You..."

"What is it?"

"How did you know these are my favorite dishes?"

Every single dish on the table was something she loved. She had only dined with Herbert a few times, and that was after her falling out with Fairfax. When she was with Fairfax, she and Herbert were barely even acquaintances. So why, when she met his gaze now, did she feel a sense of familiarity? A familiarity that seemed to stir from a deep, long-forgotten place within her.