Ariella's POV
The day before, I watched Francis drain the last of the poisoned wine, and my heart pounded so hard in my chest that it felt like it would burst. I had planned every detail meticulously, thinking of every possible outcome, but as the reality of the situation unfolded before my eyes, fear gripped me like a vice. The sight of Francis closing his eyes and sinking into a deathlike slumber shook me to my core.
I couldn’t stop the cascade of "what ifs" that began to flood my mind. What if the antidote didn’t work? What if something went wrong? What if I never saw him open his eyes again? The plan I had devised seemed so necessary and brilliant in theory but now felt like a reckless gamble with his life. I tried to reassure myself that I had accounted for every variable, but the
