Silence surrounded them, only the slow and steady rhythm of breaths could be heard. They came from The Past Vione, who slept peacefully in Usher’s embrace. Her beautiful face looked tired, but also happy. Unfortunately, this only further confused Usher’s feelings and a wave of guilt washed over him.
Usher held his breath, trying to hold back the flood of emotions that was consuming him, but it was extremely difficult. Every time he looked at the serene face of The Past Vione, the guilt pressed down harder. His heart thundered with feelings that were difficult to express. He felt truly terrible to realize that Vione, the woman he loved most, was at his side without knowing anything about what was going on between them.
Moments later, a warmth rose in the corner of Usher’s eyes. Tears threatened to break out and he fought hard not to cry. But memories of the past unexpectedly flooded his mind. He remembered the promises he had made. Promises to always protect Vione and make her happy. Unfortunately, reality did not always match expectations.
In fact, Usher had not only failed to keep his promises in the past, but had also been the cause of all the unrelenting suffering Vione had endured. He deeply regretted this, and now fear crept back in. Doubts arose, questioning his ability to keep promises in the future.
Usher quickly pushed the doubt from his mind. He assured himself that he would not waste the second chance he had been given. His resolve was firm; he would do whatever it took to make the future better, to give Vione complete happiness.
“Don’t worry, Vione,” Usher whispered softly as he lovingly stroked The Past Vione’s hair. “I won’t betray your trust and your sacrifices. I promise.”
Usher sealed his promise with a soft kiss on The Past Vione’s forehead. Then he forced himself out of bed. He quickly dressed and straightened the blanket that covered The Past Vione’s innocent form.
Usher’s gaze fell for a moment on the crescent pendant worn by The Past Vione. Then he hurried out of the room, accompanied by an ironic thought.
Usher smiled wryly. I really am the most despicable man. How could I accuse Vione of infidelity?
The possibility that had once crossed Usher’s mind was proven. In fact, Vione had never betrayed him. Vione had never betrayed him to anyone. The man who was accused of being Vione’s lover and who often visited her at the Palace was himself. That man was none other than himself.
At that moment, Usher was convinced that there was no man worse than himself. It was like a whip that made him more determined to set things right before it was too late.
Returning to the secret room about five minutes later, Usher immediately considered his next steps. He sat in front of the monitor and watched The Past Vione, who was still sleeping, while his mind continued to race. He realized he didn’t have much time. He remembered vividly how the situation had gotten out of control after a heated argument last night, how everything had become chaotic in a very short time. He had to act quickly because he realized that his efforts that night were not enough to appease The Past Vione’s disappointment in him. After that, The Past Vione would return to fight with The Past Usher, and he had to prevent that from happening.
“Usher?” Usher muttered his own name with an unreadable expression on his face. “This all started because of me. The chaos was caused by me, and it was caused by the potion Mireya gave me.”
It dawned on Usher that if he could awaken The Past Usher to the current situation, perhaps all the tragedies could be avoided. He had to make The Past Usher aware that Mireya was carrying out an evil plan to destroy everything.
Usher could have asked The Past Vione to convince The Past Usher, but he was sure it would be useless. The Past Usher didn’t trust anyone, not even The Past Vione, Garth, or even Jemma.
The only option left was for Usher to heal The Past Usher first. He had to free The Past Usher from the influence of Mireya’s potion. Only then would there be any hope of averting the tragedy.
With that in mind, only one name came to Usher’s mind. Only one person could help him. Especially since he knew that he had once been cured with the help of this person. “Rowena.”
Usher decided to meet Rowena immediately, reminding himself not to act rashly. He had to hurry, but that didn’t mean he could act recklessly and without calculation. Especially since he realized that the exit from the secret room was in a rather dangerous place.
It was related to its purpose, which was the safety of the Alpha family. So, it wasn’t surprising that the exit of the secret room led to one of The Palace’s security posts.
Usher had to be patient. He couldn’t just walk out and meet the guards on duty. That would certainly spoil all his plans. Worst of all, he might inadvertently affect the future destiny. Therefore, there was nothing else he could do but to take advantage of the guards’ shift change schedule. More specifically, the night shift change, as there were too many risks to be taken during the day.
Nightfall came after a long wait. Usher hurried and managed to leave the secret room at the right time. The guards were busy with shift reports, which gave him the opportunity to slip behind the post and leave from there.
Usher’s footsteps stopped momentarily as he stepped on a twig. He froze for a moment and at the same time heard the voice of The Past Usher saying, “”Increase security at The Palace.”
Usher dramatically closed his eyes. Of course, he wouldn’t forget this incident. However, he never imagined that he had ordered Garth to tighten security at the Palace in order to anticipate his own actions.
Satisfied that everything was in order, Usher resumed his steps. He hurriedly left the palace with the goal of reaching the Amerotha Forest.
*