Chapter 71 71
Venessa’s POV
I stood frozen in the room, tears streaming unchecked down my face. The moment I had dreaded had arrived. There was no clever way to explain any of it, no gentle path out. I was trapped cornered by truth.
I lifted my gaze to Denzel and studied his face, committing every line and shadow to memory, because I knew deep down that once I spoke, he might not want me here anymore.
“Before I say anything,” I whispered, my voice trembling, “you need to know that I have always loved you, Denzel. And I need you to know that I wish more than anything that things had turned out differently for us.”
He frowned, confusion tightening his features.
“I wasn’t lying when I told you I figured it out when you were about to drink the tea,” I continued.
He opened his mouth to interrupt, but I lifted my hand, stopping him. I took a long breath, bracing myself for whatever would follow.
“Because that would have been the second time.”
His expression shifted sharpened.
“That’s why I ran when I was arrested for trespassing,” I said. “I couldn’t relive what happened to me in the Blood Moon Pack. I’m living on borrowed time, Denzel. We’ve done all of this before. All of it. I came to your pack once before, and you took me in.”
My voice cracked, but I forced myself onward.
“Jalisa wasn’t comfortable with me. So she made you humiliate and reject me publicly. And you did it. To please her.”
He stared at me, stunned.
“I know I sound insane,” I said quickly, tears burning my eyes, “but I have to finish. No matter how this sounds.”
“Even after you rejected me and I accepted it, painfully our connection didn’t disappear. You kept it hidden from her. You ignored me completely, never even spared me a glance. And she made my life a living hell.”
I swallowed hard, memories clawing their way back.
“She tried to get you to send me away after the pendant was found in my room. I was locked in the silver cells for two weeks. Most days, I wasn’t fed. When I was released, you sentenced me to months of labour without pay.”
I bowed my head so he wouldn’t see my tears.
“She wanted you to exile me. And you refused. I never knew why but you refused.”
Even with a second chance, the pain of that life was still raw. That had been my time. I had been alive then and I lost everything.
“Things only got worse when I caught her with Tyrell,” I continued. “I tried to tell you. You didn’t listen. You accused me of trying to tear your marriage apart. I tried again and again until one day, I stopped trying altogether.”
My voice dropped.
“I stayed because I had nowhere else to go. Life here was unbearable, but it was all I had. She got pregnant by Tyrell, and you celebrated it, believing the child was yours. I knew the truth but because of what had happened between us, I kept silent. It wouldn’t have changed anything.”
I wiped my tears with shaking hands.
“In that life, Rayon and Tonya were dead,” I said, lifting my head so he could see the truth in my eyes. “Rayon died during the foxglove poisoning. He was never my friend but Tonya was. And she paid for that friendship with her life.”
I drew a shuddering breath.
“One day, I served you tea,” I said. “And you said the same things to me that you said tonight. You told me you knew. You promised you’d fix everything.”
My voice broke.
“In that life, you drank the tea. You started vomiting. And you died.”
The room felt like it was collapsing around me.
“When you repeated those words this time, it triggered everything. I acted on instinct. I didn’t even know for sure if the tea was poisoned but I couldn’t risk it. The words were the same. The moment was the same.”
“So I knocked it out of your hand.”
I looked at him, then away again.
“In that life, I cried over your body in your office. I didn’t have the sense to run. Losing you destroyed me. I stayed there, staring at you lying in your own vomit.”
My chest tightened as sobs tore free.
“Jalisa walked in and screamed. She accused me. Tyrell helped them convict me. I was tried for your murder. The Elders showed no mercy.”
I was shaking now.
“I was beheaded at the guillotine. I died.”
Silence pressed in, heavy and suffocating.
“After my death, I was judged,” I whispered. “Fate said I had played a role in your murder because I served the tea. They showed me the devastation your death caused the destruction that followed.”
My voice was barely audible.
“To redeem Nyla and me, we were sent back. To correct the wrongs. To save lives. I was given one year. If I failed, I would be damned forever.”
I lifted my gaze to him.
“I don’t know what happens if I succeed.”
He looked shattered.
“That’s how I know everything,” I said softly. “That’s why I knew to hide so I could uncover who planted the necklace in my room. That’s how I knew about Tyrell and Jalisa. That’s why I prepared the foxglove antidote in advance so it would be ready when you and Rayon returned.”
“That’s how I knew.”
My voice trembled with the weight of it all.
“My past life is why I never came to you with anything. I only had one chance. One year. One shot to get it right.”
“And I couldn’t afford to fail.”
He remained completely stunned.