A visceral, jagged sensation tore through Olivia's chest—a frigid amalgamation of grief and sheer, unadulterated horror.
She stood paralyzed, her breath trapped in a jagged, painful gasp that felt like swallowing broken glass. Her eyes were fixed upon the executioner's dais, staring with a wide-eyed refusal to acknowledge the macabre reality before her.
There, mounted upon a cold, indifferent iron spike, was a severed head.
Those eyes, which had once burned with the intensity of piercing emeralds, were now clouded, filmed over by the dull haze of the afterlife. His raven hair, once thick and commanding, was now a matted, grotesque crown of crimson gore.
It was him. Matthias.
The tears began their irreversible descent, carving scalding paths through the grime on her cheeks. The man who had been her husband—the man she had systematically betrayed—was gone.
"Look closely at this masterpiece, dearest sister."
A poisonous whisper slithered into her ear. Olivia didn't need to turn to recognize the saccharine malice of Elvira's voice.
Her sister leaned closer, her tone dripping with a dark, celebratory glee. "Drink it in. Soon, your head will find its place right beside your beloved husband's."
Olivia's vision blurred. The world began to tilt on its axis, and the echoes of the last few hours surged into her mind like a tempestuous sea, dragging her back into the darkness.
One Hour Earlier
The heavy iron door of the dungeon groaned open, a shrill screech that pierced the oppressive, stagnant air.
Two guards, indifferent to her frailty, seized Olivia by her thin arms and dragged her forward. Her wrists were raw, the iron manacles having bitten deep into her skin, leaving weeping red welts.
With a callous shove, they hurled her onto the freezing stone floor.
"Enjoy your husband's charming company," one of them sneered, his laughter echoing against the damp walls. "It's your last night together, after all."
Thud.
The door slammed shut, leaving behind a silence so heavy it felt suffocating.
Slowly, painfully, Olivia pushed herself up. Her limbs trembled violently as she leaned against the icy stone for support. When she finally turned her head, her heart seemed to stop mid-beat.
He was there.
In the guttering, dim light of the cell, Matthias sat in the far corner. His piercing green eyes were fixed on her, steady despite the wreckage of his body.
He was broken. Heavy chains bound his hands, and his skin was a canvas of purple bruises and jagged lacerations. His silken clothes were now mere rags, failing to hide the wounds of a thousand lashes.
It was an impossible sight. Matthias—the man whose single word could mobilize the King's legions—sat shackled like a common thief, waiting for the end.
Olivia opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was constricted by a suffocating mix of shame and regret.
"So... they discarded you too, didn't they?"
Matthias's voice was low and rasping, cutting through the silence like a blade.
"No..." she whispered, forcing a hollow, trembling smile. "My father... he hasn't abandoned me. What nonsense are you speaking?"
Matthias let out a dry, bitter laugh that ended in a cough.
"Wake up, Olivia! You are in a cage just like I am. Tomorrow, we both face the headsman's steel. Do you even realize the gravity of your 'loyalty'?"
The cold, hard truth finally settled in her gut. The father she had spent her life defending had tossed her aside like a shattered tool.
She had betrayed the man who shared her bed for a father who didn't care if she drew another breath.
"Olivia... listen to me," Matthias said, his voice dropping to a weary whisper. "We were married for three years. It was a forced union, a political knot I never wanted to tie."
He paused, his jaw tightening.
"But I swore an oath to myself. I swore to honor that bond. I stayed faithful to you... because you were my wife. I even closed my eyes to your sins. When you drove my sister away... when she took her own life because of your cruelty..."
His voice cracked, and a single, solitary tear escaped, tracing a path through the dried blood on his cheek.
"I defended you against the world. I truly believed you could become someone better. But you proved them all right. You betrayed me, Olivia. Completely."
"You were never kind to me!" Olivia screamed, her voice shaking with years of repressed resentment. "I felt like an object! A tool! You never looked at me as a wife!"
"A tool?"
Matthias's eyes flared with a sudden, dying ember of rage. "What are you saying? Would I treat a tool with such restraint? I never laid a finger on you in anger, even as you led me to my execution. Tell me, Olivia—did I ever harm you? Did I ever lift a hand against you?"
Olivia recoiled, unable to meet his gaze. The silence that followed was an indictment.
"Even with how cruel you were to me," Matthias said, his voice now draped in exhaustion, "I never betrayed you. Not even in my dreams. You were always my wife. My only wife."
The heavy clatter of boots returned.
"What a touching reunion," the guards mocked. "Time's up. Say your goodbyes."
Matthias stood with a rattling of chains and approached her. Before she could pull away, he leaned down and pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to her forehead.
Olivia froze, her tears flowing unrestrained. He leaned into her ear, his breath warm against her skin one last time.
"After I am gone, I hope you live in peace... and that you find your freedom."
"Wait—"
She reached out, her fingers brushing his sleeve, but the guards ripped him away with brutal efficiency. "Enough! Be grateful we let you speak at all."
He looked back at her one last time, a sad, haunting smile gracing his lips, and then he was gone into the dark corridor.
Freedom? she wondered, her heart heavy as lead. How can I be free when I am to be executed?
The Executioner's Block
The memory dissolved as the guards gripped Olivia's arms, dragging her toward the guillotine. The wooden planks of the stage creaked under her weight.
She looked at Matthias's head one last time. His final words echoed in the hollow chambers of her mind: "I hope you find your freedom."
How could he wish her peace after the ruin she had brought upon him?
"It is time," the guard barked.
As the heavy blade began its swift, whistling descent, Olivia closed her eyes. Her heart let out one final, silent scream of soul-consuming regret.
If only I could go back...
If only I could be the wife you deserved...