Chapter 2I Gave Her The Real Medicine And Left You Forever

Declan and I had known each other since we were kids. To call us childhood sweethearts wouldn’t be a stretch.

Even though he was meant to be my brother’s—Grant’s—protégé, he always ended up following me around instead.

The Cross family had only sons for a generation, and he’d always wanted a younger sister.

Grant, being generous, had simply said, “Then you can have my sister.”

From then on, Declan was more devoted to me than Grant was.

If I got into a tussle with the tutor’s grandson, he’d step forward and take the blame for me.

If I heard about some new gadget or rare import in the city, he’d scour every corner until he found it.

The memory that stayed with me most was when I begged him to sneak me out of the family estate. Declan refused at first but ultimately succumbed to my relentless pestering.

That day, the city was infiltrated by operatives from the Northern Cartel. We were almost caught in the crossfire, saved only by a patrol led by Declan’s father, the General.

As always, Declan took all the responsibility.

His father was furious and handed down a severe punishment.

When I went to see him, he was lying face down on his bed, groaning dramatically. But the moment he saw me, the performance stopped.

I was the one who burst into tears.

“Why didn’t you turn me in? Why did you take that beating for no reason!”

Declan scrambled to wipe my tears, his expression utterly serious.

“You’re a Sutton, the most important one. I’m your protector.”

“I will always have your back, Eliza.”

He held out his pinky, and we sealed the promise.

I thought that’s how it would always be.

Until Declan returned from his last deployment and brought a woman with him.

Stella Wren.

He protected her fiercely. Even his most rough-and-tumble lieutenants treated her with profound respect.

I started to panic. If Declan had someone else in his life, what would happen to me?

That’s why, when he asked for the Aethel Elixir, I didn’t agree.

If she died, wouldn't that solve my problem?

Besides, it was my mother’s final memento.

But Declan was furious.

“It’s the only thing that can save her, Eliza! What do you need it for? Why can’t you surrender it to someone who needs it to live?”

I stared at him, stubborn. “How do you know I won’t need it myself someday?”

It was the first time Declan had ever truly lost his temper with me.

“Eliza, you are being completely unreasonable and selfish!”

He refused to speak to me, and I refused to yield.

But I always seemed to be one step behind Declan. The closer he grew to Stella, the more frantic I became. I was certain that one day, his eyes would only see Stella, and I would be invisible.

Even if she died, I felt I wouldn’t win. The perfection of his devotion would forever overshadow me.

So, I agreed to give him the medicine, on the condition that he marry me.

Reluctantly, and only to save Stella, Declan married me.

But I never anticipated that the medicine would be fake.

Even now, I remember it vividly.

Declan holding Stella helplessly, his tears mixing with her blood on his crisp shirt, like a blossoming wound.

He looked up at me, his eyes consumed only by hatred.

“Eliza Sutton, I will never—”

“Never forgive you.”

Declan began staying out, retreating from our shared life. He seemed determined to show me that even without Stella, he would not love me.

I became obsessive, checking on his movements like a lunatic.

I tracked him to a private club.

He had hired a woman—a socialite, a mistress—who bore a striking resemblance to Stella.

Stella had become my waking nightmare. She was the Gordian knot that bound Declan and me in a toxic loop.

I used my influence to have the woman utterly ruined, her life and reputation destroyed, ensuring she would never show her face in this city again.

That night, Declan burst into our master suite, dragged me from the bed, and clamped his hand around my wrist.

“I thought you were merely spoiled and capricious, but you are truly malicious!” he snarled, his eyes blazing. “She was innocent, Eliza! How could you destroy her life!”

I laughed, though tears streamed down my face.

“Yes, she was innocent, Declan. But you must remember this: She died because of you.”

A wave of pain washed over Declan’s face, and his composure nearly broke.

The next day, he testified against me in front of Grant and the board. My brother, to appease the public outrage, had to fine me and restrict my movements.

From that day on, Declan and I were the city’s most infamous pair of bitter rivals, known to all as a couple who “started as golden children, only to end up utterly repulsed by one another.”

I didn’t care what people thought. I had secured a lifetime of toxic entanglement with Declan.

Until the day he died.