Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge-Chapter 57: Confession

Aveline entered the ominously silent dining hall. The three resisted turning towards her, but she knew what was waiting.

She couldn’t lie and break their hearts later. But revealing everything would begin the dreaded battle between Damien and the Laurent family.

Yes, her family was powerful, and they had a lot of resources, but Damien was cruel. If he could plan Scarlett’s accident while slowly poisoning her, he wouldn’t think twice about hurting her parents or her brother.

More than losing the legacy of the Laurents or their lifestyle, she wouldn’t be able to take it if Damien harmed any of them. She would rather die alone than drag them into it. She would rather throw that piece of land in his face than risk their safety. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

But it wasn’t that easy.

No amount of bodyguards or safehouses would keep them safe if Damien set his mind to destroying them. They would live every day in dread. Aveline didn’t want that life.

More than anything, she didn’t want bloodshed. She wanted to exit the marriage quietly while Damien burned.

At first, she had second thoughts. After all, he hadn’t technically done anything yet in this timeline. Now, the slow poison was enough. More than enough to clear her thoughts. Damien Ashford was evil to the bone. He wouldn’t change.

She took a seat at the table and forced herself to meet their eyes. But none of them looked at her.

Margaret was barely holding on. She had been the one to insist on the marriage. The one who convinced them. And now?

She broke the silence. "Have breakfast, Lina. You have your last IV today."

Aveline could see it. They were holding back for her. They wanted her to focus on her treatment. But how could she eat with the heaviness in her chest?

"I won’t be able to eat." Her low voice froze the room. "Please..."

Henry was the first to speak. "Lina, how is your relationship with Damien?"

Before she could answer, Charles cut in. "We already know what’s important to him. Don’t lie, thinking we’ll be worried."

Aveline bit her lip and nodded. "We are husband and wife only on paper. And in wedding photos."

Margaret’s hands flew to her mouth in disbelief. Two months. It had been more than two months since their wedding.

Henry and Charles clenched their jaws but said nothing.

Aveline continued. "In the two months of our married life, I only saw him at breakfast. He said we would take our time, but he never had any for me. I accommodated him, thinking he was working hard to be promoted as CEO. I thought once he succeeded, he would have time for me. That maybe this was just how it is. A sacrifice a wife has to make..."

Meeting only for breakfast?

Even if they wanted to justify it, none of them could. Clearly, Damien wasn’t interested in Aveline, and that wasn’t the life they would choose for her.

Aveline swallowed the lump in her throat. "Housekeeper Walter treated me like a daughter. Damien is making him the scapegoat."

’Thud’

Henry shot up, his fist slamming the table. Aveline and Margaret flinched.

Tears rolled down Margaret’s cheeks. Charles was stunned, but he caught his father’s arm. "Dad..."

Henry didn’t sit. Fists clenched, he turned away. He could see why Aveline didn’t tell them sooner. She couldn’t handle violence. Not verbal, not physical.

When Aveline found her breath again, she spoke. "Giselle and Alaric Lancaster are also looking for proof. But nothing points to Damien. He is holding something over Walter. That’s why Walter’s taking the blame. We can’t pressure him."

She didn’t want to make Walter’s life worse. But she wasn’t planning to save him either.

Margaret broke down fully, shaking. "I was the one who said yes. I thought... I thought he would love you like a man who chooses you against his family..."

Aveline gently patted her mother’s hand. She knows that her mother wanted the best for her, but her fate had other plans.

Charles finally voiced his doubt. "Did you learn why he married you to poison you?"

Unless Damien was a psychotic, why would he marry to poison her?

Aveline nodded. "With a tiny dose of lead, it would take six months to fall sick. More than a year to die. He didn’t like it when I wanted to join the company. So he increased the dosage. Planned to use his own doctors and fake reports."

Ironically, increasing the dose helped them catch it earlier.

"Yesterday," she said, "he took me to his real estate display room and showed me his next plan. A massive project. He needs 30,000 square meters. He owns 10k. The government granted 10k. The rest..."

Her voice trailed off as she looked at Henry’s stiff back. "The last 10k is in my name."

Henry whipped around. "Eastern district?"

Aveline nodded.

"Over my dead body," he growled the moment he realised why Damien married Aveline.

She couldn’t hold it anymore. Her voice cracked. "And he kills to achieve his goals."

Henry froze. Not at the mention of killing. But at what she feared the most, losing them.

Charles came around the table and pulled her into a hug. Margaret buried her face in her palms. Heartbroken, Henry could only try to comfort her.

After a long silence, Aveline spoke again.

"I want to kill him more than anyone." Not just because of the poison. Or the company. She had a long list of sins.

"But could we stop him even if we find proof against him?" Damien would use his connections and money to escape the law.

"If we attack first, may it be his company, his family, or even him, he won’t sit quietly. He’ll strike back harder, brutally. How long will this go on? One month? Six? A year?

Will it ever end?"

Her words hung heavy in the air.

"I don’t want us living like we’re walking on nails. I don’t want us to sleep, scared we won’t wake up. I don’t want to fear every time we step outside or hold our breath until someone’s back home safely. That’s not a life."

She looked at each of them. They were heartbroken, disbelieving, shocked, and enraged. They were feeling everything she was trying to keep buried. Everything she didn’t want them to feel. The very reason she never wanted to involve them in the first place.

She confessed, "Honestly, I wanted to tell you all these after the divorce. I wanted to fight this battle alone. Not a bloody one. Not a war. A quiet, sharp one. The kind that keeps you all safe. I would rather die before he gets to any of you."

Charles opened his mouth. "But Lina—"

"Please..." Aveline interrupted. "Stop babying me. I’m not a kid."

She wasn’t angry. She was just tired of being protected to the point of blindness.

"I don’t want to be so sheltered that I trust sweet talkers and fail to see the monster behind their masks. Let me struggle. Let me break. Let me learn. I’ll ask for help when I need it. But until then, don’t give him the chance to destroy the only safe haven I have."

She stood, looking determined and fierce. "Let me handle this," she said.

And for the first time, they did not see their daughter. Not his sister.

But a woman preparing for war.