Chapter 337
Every word from Richard was a sharp, polished dagger, but I could no longer process them.
“Regret? You, Richard, a man whose entire life is a calculation, you have regrets? I should applaud you. If it weren’t for me, you would have died in that plane explosion! I thought I saved you, that you were my brother, but you turned around and helped someone else plot against me. How could you possibly understand the suffering I’ve endured alone all these years? Without me, the Williams family would have been wiped out. How else would there be so much power and money left for you to use to overthrow me! Richard, don’t you have a conscience p>
Lily’s words were meant to provoke Richard.
But Richard simply said, “As long as you don’t challenge Claire for the throne of Bravenland, I won’t let you die. I can give you anything you want, except your freedom p>
“Richard, do you really think Claire Floyd won’t hate you when she finds out you were the mastermind behind it all? Even if you didn’t literally kill her mother, your schemes led to her death. When she knows, won’t she hate you p>
Richard let out a cold laugh.
“I don’t care if she hates me. She deserves the best of everything p>
I no longer knew whether to be moved or filled with hatred.
My entire life had been manipulated. I was a pawn for Max, and now I learned I had been a pawn for Richard from the very beginning.
If this was my destiny, then so be it.
They both claimed they were doing what was best for me, yet step by step, they were destroying me.
It was just as Lily said. Max didn’t want to give me the best; he wanted to give me eternal pain.
He gave me the greatest joys, but also the deepest sorrows.
Clutching my chest, I stumbled back to my room. I wasn’t even sure if my heart was about to give out.
I couldn’t breathe, but I couldn’t cry either.
Everything was telling me that my very existence was a mistake.
On the day of my engagement to Max, Richard had sent me my mother’s crown.
Was he genuinely blessing me, or was it guilt because his plan had led to my mother’s death?
His quest for absolute power.
And he claimed it was all for me.
No wonder he had looked so happy when I said I wanted the throne of Bravenland.
He had been waiting for my decision all along.
So, was capturing Lily also
something he was certain he could do? Did he just pretend he couldn’t handle it to lure me back here then
use me to threaten Max-if he didn’t
help, then p>
A chilling thought occurred to me. With me here, Max’s sudden engagement might
have been a trap set by Richard.
And I was the pawn used to threaten Max.
To break free, I had to become the true emperor of Bravenland and seize real power.
That meant the military had to be in my hands.
Tomorrow was the final battle. With
Lily captured, her subordinates would try to break her out. If I could
make them all submit to me, I would
establish my authority within the
army.
“Richard, in tomorrow’s final battle, I want to fight personally,” I said when I called
him. He was silent for a moment after picking up.
“I want your seal of command. All
military forces will be under my control.” Naid my ambition bare without any pretense. “I just want Max toknow that I’m no worse than Anna. What right does he have to
get engaged to other women over and over again p>
I said it deliberately to dispel any suspicion he might have.
“Claire his deep voice began.
But I didn’t want to hear it and cut him off.