Free Web NovelChapter 38: Chapter 38: Fate
Chapter 38: Fate
The darkness felt endless and suffocating, as though it stretched infinitely around Celia without beginning or end. She could not even tell whether her eyes were open or closed anymore.
The air felt painfully cold.
Every breath burned her lungs, and somewhere within that endless darkness, she heard the faint sound of chains dragging slowly across stone.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
The sound echoed steadily closer.
A deep sense of dread settled immediately inside her chest.
Then suddenly, light cracked violently through the darkness.
Celia flinched as the world around her shifted all at once. The darkness disappeared, replaced instead by a storm-gray sky looming heavily overhead while rain poured endlessly from the heavens.
Cold water soaked through her clothes almost instantly.
Wind screamed violently around her.
And the moment her eyes lifted fully toward the structure standing ahead...
Her blood turned cold.
Execution grounds.
The massive platform stood directly before her beneath the storm, silent and unmoving like a grave already waiting to be filled.
"No..." she whispered instinctively.
Her voice trembled.
She recognized this place immediately.
Not because she had seen it personally before.
But because she remembered reading this exact scene from the novel countless times while proofreading her sister’s drafts. She remembered complaining about how unnecessarily cruel the execution Chapter felt. She remembered arguing that the villainess deserved imprisonment at worst, not public death.
But her sister disagreed.
"She has to die," her sister had said back then. "That’s how the story works."
And now...
Celia stood in the middle of that very ending herself.
Panic surged violently through her body.
She stumbled backward instinctively, but something yanked painfully against her wrists before she could move far.
Chains.
Heavy iron restraints wrapped tightly around both wrists, cold enough to sting against her skin while rainwater dripped steadily from the rusted metal.
"No..." she whispered shakily. "No, wait..."
Noise suddenly erupted around her.
An enormous mass of people surrounded the execution grounds from every direction, though their faces blurred together beneath the storm like shadows without identities.
Still, their voices were horrifyingly clear.
"Heartless!"
"She deserves death!"
"Monster!"
"Execute her!"
The accusations crashed against her from every side.
Celia’s breathing became uneven.
"This isn’t happening," she whispered desperately while struggling against the chains. "I am trying to change the story! I am trying! Give me time!"
But the crowd only grew louder.
Then her eyes lifted toward the figures standing near the front of the execution grounds.
And immediately, her chest tightened painfully.
The four male leads stood before her with disdain in their eyes.
None of them moved.
None of them looked disturbed by what was happening.
They simply watched coldly.
As though her death no longer mattered to them at all.
Fear crawled violently up Celia’s throat.
"No..." she whispered again.
Then she saw her.
Cynthia, the heroine standing quietly among them wearing pale colors untouched by mud or rain despite the storm surrounding everyone else.
"I didn’t hurt you," Celia cried desperately while pulling against the chains again. "I never touched you! I stayed away from you! I even tried to befriend you!"
But Cynthia said nothing.
The silence felt like judgment.
Then suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed across the execution platform.
Celia’s entire body stiffened.
The executioner slowly approached from the far side of the stage, his massive figure blurred beneath the pouring rain while the enormous blade resting against his shoulder gleamed coldly beneath flashes of distant lightning.
Fear exploded inside her instantly.
"No," she whispered weakly while backing away again. "No, please wait!" fгeewebnovёl.com
But nobody stopped him.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody saved her.
The executioner continued walking toward her slowly, as though this outcome had already been decided long ago.
Panic overtook her completely.
This felt real.
Too real.
The cold.
The chains.
The terror crushing her chest.
And worst of all, the certainty that nobody intended to help her.
Then suddenly, another voice echoed softly behind her.
"You cannot escape it."
Celia froze.
Slowly, she turned around.
And the moment she saw the woman standing there, every ounce of warmth left her body.
Aria Valen.
Not herself.
Not the version Celia had become.
The original one.
The true villainess from the novel.
She stood several feet away beneath the rain wearing an elegant crimson dress stained dark at the hem. Bruises marked her pale throat beneath expensive jewelry, and her eyes looked horrifyingly empty.
Dead.
Broken.
"You..." Celia whispered weakly.
Aria smiled faintly.
The expression looked empty.
Rain continued pouring endlessly around them while the crowd’s voices echoed like distant thunder beneath the storm.
"You cannot escape your fate," Aria said softly. "It has already been decided." freёweɓnovel.com
Celia’s breathing became uneven.
"No..." she whispered shakily.
Aria stepped closer.
"You cannot run."
Then suddenly, the guillotine fell.
The massive blade sliced downward with horrifying speed, and the metallic sound alone sent pure terror exploding through Celia’s entire body.
She gasped sharply.
Her eyes snapped open.
Celia jerked upright so violently that the coat draped over her slid immediately onto the grass beside her. Air tore painfully into her lungs while her heartbeat slammed uncontrollably against her ribs, each breath uneven and frantic.
For several terrifying seconds, she could not separate the dream from reality.
The fear still felt real.
A sob escaped her throat before she could stop it.
Then instinctively, desperately, she grabbed the first person beside her and clung to them tightly.
Celia buried her face against the person’s chest while trembling violently, fingers clutching desperately against fabric as tears spilled uncontrollably down her cheeks.
"My lady!"
Ren’s voice reached her immediately, filled with panic and concern.
One of his arms instinctively wrapped around her as though trying to steady her while the other hovered uncertainly near her back, clearly unsure whether he should hold her closer or pull away entirely.
"Lady Aria, calm down," he said quickly, alarm evident in his voice. "You are safe now!"
But Celia could barely hear him properly.
The fear inside her chest still felt too overwhelming.
Her body continued trembling uncontrollably as fragments of the nightmare replayed mercilessly inside her mind.
Then suddenly, trong hands grabbed her shoulders and forcefully pulled her away.
Celia startled violently.
"What have you done?!"
A furious voice exploded across the hillside.
Celia blinked through blurred vision, still disoriented from panic and fear, before finally managing to focus on the man standing directly in front of her.
Silver hair.
Sharp features.
Bright blue eyes rimmed red with panic.
It was Ezekiel and he looked moments away from losing control.
His usually composed and smug appearance was completely ruined. Several strands of silver hair had fallen messily across his forehead, and his breathing sounded uneven as though he had rushed here without stopping once.
And the most alarming of all, his hands were shaking.
"You–!" Ezekiel breathed out hoarsely while gripping her shoulders tightly. "You died!"
