A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 61

“She’s sick, Darleen. She has severe depression. What more do you want from her?” Darleen’s voice was strained over the phone, clearly holding back her temper.

“Do you really think she wants to see you? She wants to see your face because you and your brother are identical twins! She hasn’t eaten a thing since yesterday. Get to the hospital, make sure she eats something, and then you can go do whatever the hell you want.”

Darleen didn’t have the energy to deal with Fairfax’s current attitude toward Starla. Right now, her only priority was taking care of Brinley. But it seemed even that simple task was beyond her control now.

“Stop ordering me around,” Fairfax retorted coldly. “If she doesn’t want to eat, then don’t force her. Let her starve until she’s willing to eat.”

Starla, sitting nearby, couldn’t help but glance at him, surprised by his harsh tone.

“You…” Darleen sputtered.

“And don’t you dare bring my brother into this. I’ve done more than enough for Faraday’s sake!”

Fairfax’s eyes narrowed as he stared out at the bustling city below, his voice so cold and detached it was suffocating.

Darleen was speechless. As she was trying to respond, a piercing scream erupted from Brinley, followed by the sound of a phone shattering and then frantic, hysterical sobs.

Darleen jumped, startled by the sudden outburst, and rushed to console her.

The hospital room descended into chaos. It was only then that Darleen realized the online scandal had escalated dramatically.

Yesterday, it was Fairfax and Starla’s marriage license and divorce agreement. Then, last night, Brinley’s dramatic rooftop plea for sympathy had managed to sway public opinion just a little. But now… Starla’s miscarriage report had been leaked.

Darleen roared into the phone, “Fairfax, you ask Starla what the hell she’s doing! Is she trying to drive Brinley to suicide?”

“Well, you can tell her that if anything happens to Brinley, she won’t live to see another day!” she shrieked, her voice thick with rage.

Fairfax turned to look at Starla, who was trapped in his office, sitting calmly on the sofa. Despite the distance between them, the office was quiet enough for her to hear Darleen’s hysterical screams through the phone. She met his gaze and gave a small, unbothered shrug.

Fairfax’s jaw tightened.

“You… you… you need to get over here, now! Brinley, she’s…” Darleen’s voice trailed off. “Brinley, no! Don’t do that!”

Her tone shifted from fury to sheer terror before the line went dead.

Fairfax quickly pulled up several news apps on his phone. The more he scrolled, the darker his expression became. Finally, with a roar of frustration, he hurled his phone across the room. It slammed into the plush carpet near Starla, bounced up, and struck her sharply on the knee.

“So you do realize it,” she replied, her voice dangerously soft. “I wasn’t vindictive before because I had no one in my corner. Because I didn’t have you in my corner. Is that it?”

A woman without support learns to endure, to swallow her pride. But when that same woman finally finds her strength, she becomes a predator, aiming straight for the jugular.

And right now, Starla was ready to bite.

This time, it was Fairfax who fell silent.

“Don’t you see how absurd this is?” she asked, a bitter smile playing on her lips. “You’re my husband, yet all the power and confidence you provide, you gave to Brinley. You armed her, time and time again, so she could trample all over me.”

Brinley’s malice toward her over the past six months hadn’t just been fueled by her mother and the Yelchin family. The root of it all was Fairfax.

He steepled his fingers, his presence suddenly imposing. “How could she trample on you? Can’t you stop imagining things?”

Starla just stared at him.

*How could she?* he’d asked. As if it were impossible. He thought she was just imagining things.