Chapter 50 New strategy
Zoe's POV
I walked away from Jeremy.
Fast. Before I did something stupid.
Before I broke. Before I told him everything.
My hands shook. My chest hurt. My eyes burned with tears I refused to let fall.
"Keep walking." I whispered to myself. "Don't look back. Don't stop."
But every step felt wrong. Heavy. Like I was walking away from something important.
MATE! GO BACK! My wolf screamed. TELL HIM!
"Tell him what?" I hissed under my breath. "That Mia's lying? That the pregnancy is fake?"
YES! MATE NEEDS TO KNOW!
"And then what? He'll ask how I know. Why I was there. What I'm hiding."
My wolf went quiet. Conflicted.
Because she knew. Knew that revealing the truth about Mia meant risking my own truth.
My disguise. My identity. My revenge.
I reached the inn. Rushed to my room. Locked the door.
Collapsed on the bed.
And almost broke.
Almost screamed. Almost cried. Almost gave up on everything.
Because this was too hard. Too complicated. Too much.
The plan was supposed to be simple.
Seduce Jeremy. Make him fall for me. Get close enough to poison him slowly. Watch him suffer. Take over the pack. Make him beg for death.
Simple. Clean. Perfect revenge for what he did to me.
But nothing was simple anymore.
The mate bond complicated things. Made me feel things I shouldn't feel.
Made me care when I should hate.
Made me want to help him when I should want to hurt him.
"Focus." I told myself. Sitting up. Wiping my eyes. "Focus on the plan."
But which plan?
The old plan was dead. Mia's fake pregnancy had killed it.
Jeremy was untouchable now. Bound to Mia. Playing the dutiful father-to-be.
I couldn't get close to him. Couldn't execute the original revenge.
So what now?
I stood up. Started pacing.
"Think. Think."
I knew the truth. Knew Mia was lying. Knew Melissa was being blackmailed.
I could expose it. Could tell Jeremy. Could free him from this trap.
But then what?
He'd be grateful. He'd come running back to me. The mate bond would pull us together.
And then... then what?
Would I still go through with the revenge? Could I poison my own mate?
"He's not my mate." I said out loud. "He killed me. He's my target. My enemy."
But my wolf disagreed. Howled in protest.
MATE. HE'S OUR MATE.
"He shot me! He threw me in a river! He celebrated my death!"
BECAUSE HE DIDN'T KNOW. BECAUSE MIA LIED THEN TOO.
I stopped pacing. Stared at my reflection in the mirror.
My disguise stared back. Lady Margaret. Dark hair. Green eyes. Different face.
Not Zoe. Never Zoe again.
"What do I do?" I asked my reflection.
It didn't answer. Just stared back. Judging.
I could expose Mia. Tell Jeremy the truth. Set him free.
But that would mean giving up my revenge. Giving up making him suffer.
Could I do that? After everything?
After he killed me? After he chose duty over love? After he destroyed my life?
"No." I said firmly. "No, I can't just let it go."
But I also couldn't watch him suffer in a trap that wasn't even real.
Couldn't watch him sacrifice his happiness for a lie.
Even if he deserved to suffer... this wasn't the right kind of suffering.
This was Mia's trap. Not mine.
And I didn't want to give her that satisfaction.
"A new plan." I said to the mirror. "I need a new plan."
But what?
I sat on the bed. Thought. Calculated.
Option one: Expose Mia. Tell Jeremy the truth. Free him from the fake pregnancy.
Result: He'd be grateful. He'd come back to me. The mate bond would strengthen. My revenge would be harder to execute.
Option two: Say nothing. Let Mia's lie play out. Watch Jeremy suffer in a loveless obligation.
Result: He'd suffer. But not by my hand. And I'd lose any chance of getting close to him again.
Option three: Use Mia's lie against her. Find a way to expose her myself. Take credit. Make Jeremy grateful and dependent on me.
Result: He'd owe me. Trust me. Let me close. Give me the opportunity I needed.
Yes. Option three. That could work.
But how?
I couldn't just tell Jeremy what I overheard. He'd ask too many questions.
I needed proof. Evidence. Something concrete that couldn't be denied.
Something that made Melissa confess publicly. Or exposed Mia's blackmail. Or revealed the lie in a way that pointed back to Mia.
Not to me.
"Proof." I whispered. "I need proof."
But how do I get it?
Melissa was terrified. Mia had threatened her son. She wouldn't talk willingly.
Unless...
Unless I could protect her. Protect her son. Give her a way out.
"That's it." I stood up. Energy returning. "I protect Melissa. Help her escape Mia's trap. She confesses the truth. Jeremy is freed. And I'm the hero."
It could work. It had to work.
But I needed to be careful. Needed to plan every step.
Couldn't rush. Couldn't make mistakes.
This was my new plan. My new path to revenge.
Different from the original. But maybe... maybe better.
Because this way, Jeremy would owe me everything.
Would trust me completely. Would let me in without question.
And when he did... when he was completely vulnerable... completely dependent on me...
That's when I'd strike.
That's when I'd make him pay for what he did to me.
Not with poison. Not with slow suffering.
But with betrayal. With heartbreak. With the same pain he gave me.
I'd make him fall in love with me completely. Make him need me. Make him think I was his salvation.
And then... then I'd reveal the truth.
That I was Zoe. That I'd been alive all along. That everything was a lie.
And I'd watch him break. Watch him realize he'd fallen for the woman he killed. Watch him suffer knowing he could never make it right.
That would be my revenge. Perfect. Complete. Devastating.
"Yes." I smiled at my reflection. "Yes, that's better."
A new plan. A better plan.
One that required patience. Careful execution. Perfect timing.
But I had time. And I had motivation.
And most importantly... I had the truth about Mia's lie.
The truth that would set everything in motion.
I just needed to figure out how to use it.
How to expose Mia. How to free Melissa. How to position myself as Jeremy's savior.
And then... then the real game would begin.
"Alright, Mia." I said to the empty room. "You want to play games? Let's play."
I sat down. Pulled out paper and pen.
Started planning. Step by step. Move by move.
How to approach Melissa. How to gain her trust. How to offer protection.
How to expose Mia without exposing myself.
How to make Jeremy grateful. Dependent. Completely mine.
It would take time. Weeks maybe. But I had time.
And when I was done... when all the pieces were in place...
Both Mia and Jeremy would pay.
Mia for her lies. For her manipulation. For her cruelty.
Jeremy for his betrayal. For his weakness. For killing me.
Both of them would suffer. Just in different ways.
And I would be there. Watching. Orchestrating. Controlling everything.
"This is going to work." I told myself. "This is going to work."
I smiled. Really smiled.
For the first time since coming to Lakewood, I felt in control again.
Not a victim. Not conflicted. Not weak.
In control. Powerful. Dangerous.
Exactly what I needed to be.
"Let the new plan begin."