Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom novel Chapter 514

“That’s right. Those five years I spent in prison? They were nothing. So now, Mr. Linwood, it’s your turn to get a taste of it yourself. After all, it’s not an experience most people ever get to have.”

“When you’ve finished serving your time, you might as well die. And if there’s another life after this, I’ll still curse you to never know peace, not in this life or any other.”

As Claire’s words—cold and merciless—hung in the air, Nathan’s eyes went wide with panic. His whole body trembled.

Claire hated him.

He knew the mistakes he’d made were unforgivable, but hadn’t he already suffered enough? In his last life, after his stroke left him half-paralyzed, he’d been abandoned in the mountains, left to endure endless torment.

Hadn’t he paid his debt to Claire already?

Why couldn’t she forgive him?

Even in this life, his crimes had led to a death sentence.

Wasn’t that enough?

Why did she still have to curse him, to damn him for all eternity?

Tears streamed down Nathan’s face as he sobbed, “Claire, I know I was wrong. Why can’t you just forgive me?”

“In my last life and this one, I’ve paid the price for everything I did. Isn’t that enough?”

“If there’s another life after this, I swear, I’ll be a good father to you—a father who loves you. Please, believe me—just this once, Claire.”

No matter how bitterly he wept, Claire’s heart remained unyielding.

Forgiveness?

No. That wasn’t forgiveness.

Forgiving those who hurt you is just another form of cruelty to yourself.

Wounds don’t fade with time; they only turn to old scars—etched deep, impossible to forget.

So, for all eternity, she would never forgive.

Claire looked at Nathan with a cold smile. “Nathan, you have zero credibility with me.”

She didn’t want to die. She believed she should have been the winner—the one adored by everyone, the one at the center of it all.

How had it come to this?

No matter how much she raged, her body finally gave out, and Vanessa died with that bitterness still burning inside her.

Sophia and Garnett Brown were healthier, but that just meant the beatings lasted longer. Right up until the day before their own executions, they were still getting thrashed by fellow inmates.

Claire watched every single one of her abusers meet their end—everyone but Ethan.

Ethan, whose hypocrisy knew no bounds—always pretending to protect her with one hand while hurting her with the other.

A person like that didn’t even deserve another look.

So Claire didn’t give him one.

When she stepped out of the prison, ready to get into her car, she looked up just in time to see a group of police officers marching several people past in handcuffs.