ASTRID'S POV
“Camilla…” I winced, my voice strained and barely audible through the agonising pain.
The sight of Camilla’s malevolent glint and wicked smile filled me with a deep sense of regret.
I regretted ever placing my trust in them, believing in their potential for change, and giving second chances where they were undeserved.
The bitterness of betrayal weighed heavily on me, and I wished I had never hoped that people could be different from what they truly were.
“Uncle… What have you done?” I managed to gasp, my voice trembling as my eyes locked with Uncle Han’s.
The pain in my chest was excruciating, as if something inside me was being torn apart.
I coughed violently, the harsh spasms causing a metallic taste of blood to fill my mouth.
Warm, sticky liquid trickled down my throat, and droplets of blood began to pool on the floor beneath me.
My hands instinctively moved to protect my belly, my heart racing with fear for my unborn child.
“No, please… Help me,” I whispered faintly, my voice nearly lost amidst the growing chaos of my torment.
The pain had escalated to an unbearable level, a searing, relentless agony that felt like a thousand knives slicing through my flesh and fire scorching every inch of my body simultaneously.
Each breath was a struggle, and every second stretched into an eternity of suffering.
“You,” I spat out with difficulty, my gaze snapping back to Camilla.
Her expression was one of disturbing satisfaction, a twisted sense of fulfilment evident in her eyes.
It was clear she was revelling in the success of her sinister plan.
“What did you really put in that drink?” I managed to croak out, my voice barely above a whisper.
Camilla dropped to a squat beside me, her eyes gleaming with a cold, calculated malice.
Without warning, she grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back sharply.
I let out a cry of pain, the sharp pull adding to the already intense agony that was tearing through my chest. My coughing turned into harsh, ragged breaths as I struggled to stay conscious.
“You’ve been poisoned, Astrid,” she said, her voice dripping with venom.
“Poisoned with wolfsbane.” Her words echoed relentlessly in my mind, each repetition driving home the horrifying reality.
The mention of wolfsbane filled me with dread, as I realised the severity of the poison.
As my senses began to dull and my heartbeat slowed, her words became a haunting loop in my fading consciousness; wolfsbane, the most dreadful poison.
“Why do you hate me so much, Camilla?” I asked through tear-streaked cheeks, my voice trembling with desperation.
The realisation that this might be my final moment on earth was overwhelming.
“I don’t just hate you; I loathe and despise you!” Camilla spat, her voice filled with venomous rage.
“If there were stronger words to describe how I feel, I would use them. You’ve always taken everything I wanted, and you just won’t die.”
“You keep making me look like a fool, time after time. You’ve embarrassed me at every turn. Everyone is always on your side, treating you like some untouchable queen. It drives me insane to see how they fawn over you.”
Her eyes burned with unrestrained fury, and her face twisted into a mask of hatred. “But you know what? I've gotten you. You couldn’t keep your nose out of my business.”
“And now that you’ve discovered I’m not pregnant, you’re about to ruin everything I’ve planned. I can’t have you doing that, can I?”
The sheer intensity of her anger and the malevolent glint in her eyes made me sick to my stomach.
I tried to lift my gaze to my uncle, but his expression was cold and detached, showing only a disdainful, snobbish coldness.
“Dear little one,” Uncle Han said with a chilling calmness, “I’m sorry things have come to this. But maybe if you had known your place and stopped being my daughter’s nemesis, none of this would have happened.”
“But it has, and I’m sorry… you just have to die. Perhaps in your next life, you’ll live more quietly.”
His words struck like a dagger to my heart, shattering my spirit. The betrayal was overwhelming: how could he turn his back on me after all these years of support?
As the realisation sunk in, my vision started to blur. My head felt heavy, and a deep, unsettling fatigue began to overtake me.
I closed my eyes, my strength fading slowly.
Soon, a jarring motion jolted me awake. The pain was faint but persistent, and I felt incredibly weak and disoriented.
My body was numb, and I struggled to move any part of it. My eyes fluttered open, revealing the blurred surroundings of a vehicle.
I was being carried or transported, though my vision was too weak to focus clearly.
My breaths came in shallow gasps as I lay there, helpless and faint, barely able to understand a thing.
“Where am I?” I asked, my voice weak as I tried to make sense of the blurry figures before me.
Gradually, my vision cleared, and I realised I was in the back seat of a car. Mr. Han was driving, and Camilla sat next to him in the front seat. I could see the car’s interior more clearly now.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked again, but neither of them responded. They both frowned at my question, their expressions unreadable.
“Look who’s awake now,” Camilla said with a sarcastic tone. My head was spinning, making it hard to focus on anything.
“We will be there soon; just hold on a little longer,” Mr. Han said, his voice calm but lacking warmth.
“Be where? Where are you taking me to?” I fought to ask, my head throbbing with a sharp pain that felt like it was splitting apart.
“Just relax,” Mr. Han said. “We’ll get to the destination soon. Then, you’ll be out of your misery. You’ll get a chance to be reborn. If you’re not well, it doesn’t matter now, does it?”
His words sent cold chills down my spine. It was clear from the cold, murderous look in his eyes that he wasn’t joking. The reality of my situation began to sink in, filling me with dread.
I tried to move, but my body felt like it was made of stone. Every muscle was locked in place, leaving me paralyzed and utterly helpless.
When I attempted to scream, only a faint, strangled sound emerged from my lips.
I was desperate for help, longing for any form of relief from the torment I was enduring, but nothing seemed to change.
The car came to a sudden stop, and I could hear snippets of conversation between Camilla and a man I couldn’t see.
Their voices were muffled and indistinct, but the tone was unmistakably scary. My heart pounded in my chest, knowing that whatever was about to happen would not end well.
The car door was flung open with force, and rough hands grabbed me, dragging me out of the vehicle. I was dumped onto the cold, damp ground.
Camilla leaned in close, her voice dripping with malice as she whispered, “You will be of good use to them.” Her cruel laughter rang out as she and her father got back into the car.
The vehicle roared to life and sped away, leaving me alone in the dark forest.
The chill of the night air hit my face as I lay there, utterly weak. My attempts to move were futile; I could barely even twitch.
The silence of the forest was broken by the ominous sound of growls echoing from behind me.
The rhythmic tapping of paws against the ground grew louder, drawing nearer with each passing second.
“Don’t worry,” a voice murmured from somewhere in the darkness, “they will make sure you feel no pain.”
Terror gripped me as I realised the full extent of my predicament.
A guttural scream tore from my throat, its echo reverberating through the trees.
The sound of my distress was swallowed by the encroaching darkness, blending with the menacing growls that drew ever closer.