#Chapter 40 A Deal Made in Hell

Eloise’s POV

I slept peacefully that night with Xavier next to me. I was just glad that we were able to make up and forgive each other.

From here on out, I truly hoped that nothing else would get in my way of what needed to be done. No more distractions. No more jealous people.

I stirred in my sleep after having felt some weight shift off the bed. I opened my eyes to see Xavier in front of the wardrobe getting dressed.

I hugged the bedsheets closer to my body. “Xavier? You’re up so early…” I opened the curtains to see that the sun hadn’t even risen yet. “You’re still so badly hurt. Why don’t you come back to bed?”

Xavier turned to me as he buttoned up his shirt. A soft smile turned his lips up. “Adrian was just here. He said that he had discovered more evidence about Mia and what happened to her. I need to go and investigate.”

I pouted. “It can’t wait?”

He let out a soft chuckle. “Don’t worry, Eloise. I should be back by noon, hopefully.”

Xavier came back to the bed and placed a kiss on my forehead. “Since it’s still so early, you’ll probably still be asleep by the time I come back.”

Before he could get back up, I grabbed his hand. He looked down at me with a questioning look and sat back down.

“Is something wrong?” His expression was soft.

I hesitated as my thumb swirled circles on the back of his hand. “It’s about the bracelet… The cursed one, at least. I think I know who it could have belonged to…”

Xavier tilted his head to the side. “Tell me.”

“Adam.”

I watched as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. A small frown began to tug his lips down. “How are you certain?”

“That’s the thing… I’m not completely certain but it’s possible. The reason why it looked like it could’ve been mine was because a very similar one was gifted to him by my grandfather when we were children. It was supposed to symbolize the future union of our marriage and families.”

Xavier let out a sigh. “And you didn’t tell me because…”

“I only recently remembered it. It didn’t cross my mind because I was being accused of possibly cursing your mother, then you told me to get my things, and that you were going to divorce me, and… and–”

Xavier pulled me into his arms and gave me a soothing hug. “It’s okay, Eloise. I believe you. I just wanted to know, that’s all.”

He gave me one last kiss on the lips before getting up to leave. “I’ll get to the bottom of this and what happened to Mia. Don’t worry.”

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Adam’s POV

I sat in the corner of my room at a table. The room was completely dark aside from a long candle that was lit in front of me. The bitter taste of whiskey left the taste on my lips as I let out a sigh.

What a mess everything turned out to be…. No matter. Payback is just around the corner.

A knock came at my door and I watched as one of my guards entered. He took off his gloves and threw them in the small trash can before setting it ablaze.

“I assume everything has been cleaned up?” I asked him.

“Yes, Your Highness.” He bowed.

I nodded my head and took another sip of whiskey before waving my guard away. He left me alone to think once more.

Mia… What a stupid woman. She couldn’t even handle the simplest of tasks and now she had to go and get herself killed.

What a shame.

My plan almost worked. I was so close to getting Eloise hated by the Leonards and getting her kicked out from their kingdom.

Had it worked, I would’ve been able to swoop in and collect my winnings. Eloise would’ve been mine for the taking–regardless if she wanted it or not. Not only that, I would’ve been able to take out Xavier and his pathetic family once and for all.

I clenched my glass.

Mia was so easy to control, too. While Eloise and her maid, Nora, were out at the central market trying to find a gift to give to Belinda, I watched as Mia skulked around the pair. She watched them like a hawk.

When I approached her and asked her what she was doing, she was hesitant to tell me. But it only took a few sweet, honeyed words until she would come to trust me. Or at least become infatuated with the idea of me.

Mia was far too gullible but it worked out in my favor.

Mia wanted to find out information about Eloise, and to find out the real reason for her marrying Belinda’s son. She made it clear that the mother-in-law absolutely hated the Wisdom daughter.

Because Belinda disliked Eloise so much, Mia grew to hate her, too. Her misplaced feelings made it so much easier for me to manipulate and control her.

Everything was falling into place and after I got Mia to replace the bracelet with my cursed one, I thought everything was going to be smooth sailing from there on out. It didn’t take long for me to hear about how Xavier’s hatred for Eloise was rekindled and was about to call for a divorce.

But just like how Mia was stupid and gullible, Eloise was smart and intuitive.

Eloise caught on quickly and was able to clear her name. That was when Mia almost tried to reveal everything.

I wasn’t going to go down because of her stupidity.

Mia had no idea about the second curse I placed on the bracelet. Not only did I make it to where it would suck the life force away from Belinda, but I also made it to where whoever was to touch the bracelet and come close to uttering my name, would instantly die.

Because of this, I took another precaution so that they couldn’t tie Mia back to me. I made sure that her family was sent to live in the werewolf kingdom with Douglas. Now that Mia was dead, they didn’t have a reason to return to the cities of Normand or Noah.

Another knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. “Your Highness, your guest has arrived.”

“Bring them in,” I commanded.

The maid pushed open my door with Douglas standing right behind her. He bowed his head slightly and walked inside as he closed the door behind him.

Douglas wore a flattering smile on his lips. “Your Highness. It’s an honor to be here.”

He always had such a way with words, even if I could feel the sarcasm dripping from them.

“Is there something important that you need to talk to me about?” Douglas asked.

I raised my glass of whiskey before taking another gulp. “I only ask for your cooperation, dear friend. Just as my father helped you with conquering the werewolf throne, I need your help so that I may conquer mine. After all, I’m sure that with me as king of the Vampire Kingdom, we would both benefit from that.”

Douglas’s grin widened. There was a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. “Your Highness, you know that I’m rather blunt. You and I both know that there are several heirs ahead of you. If you ask me, I think that’ll make it difficult for me to help you take the throne.”

I barked out a wicked laugh as I took another swig of the whiskey. “You’re right, Douglas! Of course–more competition means more problems. But what if… they were to die?”