A FAILED ASSASSINATION
1115 Words
Livvy, my dear! These are for you,” he said, presenting the roses. She stared blankly, as if struggling to focus. Alarm prickled my spine.
“That’s very kind, Your Highness,” I interjected, ”but as you can see, my wife is unwell this evening.”
Livvy touched her head. “I don’t know what’s come over me. I was fine at dinner, but now I feel so strange...”
The prince grasped her hands, face etched with concern. “Let me take you to the hospital, Livvy.”
Panic constricted my chest. Doctors would ask questions, run tests...
“Nonsense!” I forced a laugh. “I’m sure Livvy just needs rest. No need to make a fuss.”
Alexander fixed me with a dubious look. “If you insist. But any sign of worsening, we go straight to the hospital.”
I nodded tightly. Livvy belonged here with me, not under doctors’ scrutiny.
"I'll just get her tucked in. Make yourself comfortable, Your Highness.”
In the bathroom, I pressed a cool cloth to Livvy’s forehead. “Just lie down and sleep this off, my love. You’ll be right as rain in the morning.”
She touched my cheek weakly. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
I kissed her hand, guilt twisting my gut. I had caused this with my meddling. But soon she would see that it was all for us.
After settling Livvy into bed, I returned to the prince. He stood at the window, gazing out pensively.
“My friend, as you can see, this is not a good night. Might I suggest we visit another time?” I said.
He turned, jaw set stubbornly. “I cannot in good conscience leave Livvy unwell. I’ll stay in a guest room to keep watch.”
I suppressed a growl of frustration. Short of dragging him out bodily, I could hardly refuse royalty.
“Of course. Right this way, Your Highness.”
I showed him to a lavish guest suite then retired to my own room, pacing as I plotted desperately. The prince’s diligent interference threatened to ruin everything.
Perhaps a touch more poison could provide the permanent solution I needed. But killing a prince under my own roof was terribly risky. Moreover, I couldn’t stomach the heartbreak it would cause Livvy. My methods had failed me at every turn.
No, if I wanted to regain control, I needed to rob Alexander of the one thing giving him influence - his royal title. Without it, he was just a man, powerless and beneath me.
I summoned my assistant Jonas on a secure line. “There’s been a change of plans,” I said. “Forget the assassination. Instead, I need evidence the prince has been defrauding his kingdom. Something that will invalidate his claim to the crown.”
“Calumny, blackmail...this is a dangerous game, sir,” Jonas replied warily.
“Just do as I ask,” I snapped. “And quickly.”
By morning, my nerves were frayed to the brink. I peered in on Livvy. She was sleeping fitfully, forehead creased in distress. My heart ached at the sight.
In the hall, I collided with Prince Alexander. He gripped my shoulders, eyes wild.
“It’s Livvy - she’s taken a bad turn! We must get her to hospital now!”
Dread settled like a stone in my stomach. “Of course, I’ll call an ambulance straight away.”
Soon paramedics swarmed, loading Livvy into the back of the ambulance. Prince Alexander climbed in after, clutching her limp hand.
“I’ll ride with her. Meet us there,” he called before they peeled away, sirens wailing.
I sat alone in the sudden silence. My schemes to control Livvy had backfired horribly. Perhaps she was better off without me.
At the hospital, we sat in the waiting room, not speaking. When the doctor finally emerged, her face was grim. My legs went weak.
“Your wife’s condition is critical. We’re doing all we can, but her body is shutting down rapidly. I urge you both to prepare for the worst.”
Alexander let out a choked sob, covering his face with shaking hands. I swayed on my feet, the walls closing in around me. This couldn’t be real.
In Livvy’s hospital room, she lay motionless amid tubes and wires. The steady beep of monitors was the only sign of lingering life. I grasped her hand, slick with sweat.
“Livvy, please forgive me,” I whispered hoarsely. “I never meant to hurt you.”
Her eyelashes fluttered briefly, then went still. Fresh guilt throttled me. I had done this to her. My selfishness had led her here, to the brink of death.
I stepped aside to allow Prince Alexander a moment alone with her. He knelt by her bed, pressing her hand to his lips.
“Don’t leave me, Livvy,” he choked out. “I should have protected you from him.”
Red hot rage surged through me. How dare he play the hero when my back was turned?
In the hall, I saw Jonas approaching nervously. “Sir, I have the evidence you requested.”
“Never mind that now!” I spat. “My wife is dying because of your poisons and potions. Pray she survives, or you won’t live long enough to regret it.”
I left him sputtering, returning to Livvy’s room. A team of doctors surrounded her, barking urgent orders. Alexander stood outside the door, staring blankly at nothing.
Then the tone of the heart monitor changed, slowing to a steady whine. The head doctor turned with a grim expression that told me all I needed to know.
Livvy, my beautiful wife, was gone. My chest split open with pain and remorse.
Prince Alexander’s anguished wail echoed down the hall. He turned to me, eyes wild.
“This is your doing, Damien! You’ll pay for this, I swear it!”
He lunged, hands clawing for my throat as chaos erupted around us. As guards dragged the hysterical prince away, I slumped against the wall. My world had crumbled to dust in my grasp.
I sat alone by Livvy’s body, begging her forgiveness, pleading for her to return. But she remained motionless and cold.
When two officers arrived to arrest me for her murder, I went without protest. I deserved whatever justice awaited. My obsession had destroyed the only light in my dark world.
As I was led away in handcuffs, a figure stepped from the shadows - Madame Renard, her eyes full of grim understanding.
“I warned you,” she said simply. “Meddling with love never ends well.”
- Writer
