Never had Anthony Bridgerton thought the woman he vowed to protect with his own life would receive the end of his raised pistol.
His wife's eyes were filled with shock as she shook her head in disbelief. "Anthony, is this really you? How ? How did you find me?"
"I admit it was hard, but then all I had to do was follow your trail of lies and deceit, and after that, ask about the most shameless adulteress in existence, and it became quite easier to find you. After all, your tale of exploits has been quite legendary, from India to Prussia. Tell me, Kathani, how many men did you entrap before me? I have learned about a few names, but before I kill you, tell me how many men knew my respectable wife was a whore, a woman so desperate to serve anyone to reach England."
Anthony knew his words were harsh, and yet after what she did, she deserved to know what kind of person she became before he killed her.
It seems his cruel insults split open Kate's black heart as she stepped back as if he had already pulled the trigger.
Her eyes were filled with rage as she angrily wiped her tears.
"You accused me of lies and deceit, and I am not going to deny them because I have my reasons for committing those acts, but hear me now, Lord Bridgerton, I will not stand here and let you accuse me of being an adulteress! Call me a liar, call me a backstabbing bitch as much as you want, but do not call me a whore!"
"You have some gall to claim your innocence when you are far from it." Anthony angrily spat.
"Claim, this is not some nonsense claim, my lord! This is my character, your wife's character, that we are speaking about, and before calling me a whore, let me remind you that you were the first man who took my innocence. You do remember that night, don't you?"
A muscle jumped into Anthony's neck as he perfectly recalled that exact moment when he fell in love with her and took her precious gift.
Scrunching his face, his hand holding a pistol shook in his hands as he shook those images away. "liar! You bloody trickster! Dorset was right—you are a witch! You think I am some green boy who does not know a whore who knows more ways to seduce aside from wetting cocks in their needy cunts? Tell me how many men you serve to do your bidding! Did you let Salts take your arse? Did you drink Dorset seed after he fucked you in your lying mouth?"
"Stop It!" She begs as tears of anguish pore down on her face.
"Did you stop after Lord Ronald's was pleased with you? Tell me how it felt to be the mistress of a wealthy lord and then leave his bed to serve his daughter, or were you the mistress of the real Lady Katherine? She trusted you with her life, did she not? Maybe you seduced the lonely woman mourning her late fiancé. Oh yes, you seduced her; find everything about her and about myself; it was easier for you to kill her while she was sleeping beside you."
Kate looked outrageously at him, but Anthony was now pouring in every single thought that came into his mind in these last few months.
"And I was the easiest fool there ever was. You enticed me from the moment we met; you smartly refused money, and I thought you trusted me so much with those funds, but this was the first string of webs you weaved around me. You were such a great actress, claiming to get closer to me and yet keeping me guessing what was so mysterious about you. How cunningly you used me and my family to get near Heston's, and when you achieved what you wanted, you left without a backward glance! Was I that disposable to you? Was I just pawning like those other men? Have you ever loved me or anyone in your life? Answer me, whore! Answer me!"
"Love is all I ever did! I loved my Appa, and because of his love, I promise to take care of my family! I love family when, for their sake, I write to those monsters, begging for their help when I know in my heart how much they despise us! Despise me! Love is the reason I madly jumped into the sea to catch a leaving ship, only to get drowned! Love is the reason that, since the age of sixteen, I have tried to keep myself protected from those vultures like Salts, Marcus, and even your friend Dorset, who were hoping to claim my body! They all gave me hope to reunite me with my loved ones, and in truth, they were hoping to take advantage of me!"
Kate looked down as if she were ashamed to admit something. "You called me a whore, but tell me what an orphan young girl should do to survive in this harsh world. There were times I almost lost my virtue, but not because I entrapped any men, because the truth is, those men do not need traps to go after a woman they set their eyes on. Your friend Dorset pretended to be my friend, and yet in time when I needed him, he jumped on a chance to claim me, but Anthony, believe me when I say this, I only accept his proposal because of my love for my family."
"And did love make you a murderer too!? You stole Lady Katherine's identity after killing her? So tell me, what kind of love is that?"
"I did not kill anyone!" Kate screamed desperately. "I admit I took her identity when she died, but only because I was desperate to reach England, and it was she who insisted because she knew how much I needed to reach here, but Anthony, please believe me! I did not kill anyone!"
"Liar! Liar! Liar! You killed Lady Katherine! You killed Heston! You killed all the love and trust I ever felt for you! You killed my soul, my heart that was filled with love for you, so now I will kill you!"
"Then shoot! If you truly believe the person you accused me of being, then pull the trigger and shoot!"
Anthony's eyes were bloodshot as Kate moved bravely closer, as if she did not have any fear in her life. "Go on, kill me, Lord Bridgerton, but remember this: in all my lies, there was one truth that was bigger than anything in this entire world, and that was my love for you. So kill me; I will die peacefully, knowing it was my love who took my life.
And right that moment, Anthony cried in agony as he dropped down on his knees in front of this woman who had destroyed his life, yet he could never take her life.
"Why? Why did you come into my life?" He cried brokenly.
"I never wanted to love anyone, and then you came into my life like a living manifestation of love itself. Please! Please take your love away from my heart, because all you are now is the bane of my existence and the object of all my desires. Please, Kate, please, Kathani, end my miserable existence and free me from this torment you have caused me."
Like a beggar, he offers his pistol to the woman whose love is now running like poison in his body. "Take it! End my life! I know your lover will protect you! I am already dead from inside, so please just end it for once."
All this time, she was looking scared, as if she could not stand the words he was speaking. Anthony could not understand; she was brave when he pointed his pistol at her, and yet now she is terrified when he is about to end his life.
"Can't you grant me a dying wish? Is it too much to ask after all the pain you have caused?"Anthony was now angry as she kept shaking her head.
"Alright, alright, if you will not take your love from my heart, then I will take it out of myself."
"Anthony no!" Kate's voice was horrified as he turned the pistol towards his own heart. "Anthony please! Please drop the gun; we can talk! I am so sorry for everything, but please hear me out."
But as more moments passed, Anthony was sure this was how this tragic love story ended. To die in front of his lover's feet—what a wonderful way to die!
He could see she was slowly moving, but all he could see were those beautiful moments he spent falling in love with his beautiful wife, Kate. "Good bye, my love."
He closed his eyes, and as the fireworks began, the sound of gunfire was only heard by two people inside that room, while the rest of the world remained oblivious to their pain.