Falling for his warm touch despite his usual coldness, she loved him only to be disappointed and betrayed in the end. When love turns to darkness, it festers to be poisonous and consumes the soul. The naïve Arabella evolved. *** “Thank you for becoming my wife,” was her cold husband’s last words before he died, coupled with a smile that had never before graced his lips. Not on their wedding day. And not even at the birth of their only child. Emperor Ferdinand, someone Arabella loved so much, killed their son. She became a villainess and vowed revenge for her beloved child. For a decade, she used everything she could to make Ferdinand pay. Until finally… he fell to ruin! With her revenge complete, Arabella's life soon ended with her dead husband in her arms. But fate wasn’t done playing with her. All of a sudden, she was back two decades ago right after their wedding. Was it a curse or a blessing? It didn’t matter. Because there is only one thing she needed to do. “I will ruin you in this lifetime too!” This was her hateful promise to herself upon realizing she was reborn. But in her second life, Arabella was unexpectedly bestowed a gift to uncover the truth. Who was wrong and who was right? Only time will tell.
Arabella had to say this though for Princess Seraphina not to cling to naive thoughts that she would help for free.
If there was something Arabella could do, she was willing to help as she, herself, had received a second chance at life. And she believed that as she had changed from her former ways, Crux could change as well.
However, Arabella was the Empress of Valeria. She needed to uphold Valeria's honor and the welfare of their people.
Crux had not only offended and insulted them with their actions but made a lot of their people suffer. Thus, Arabella needed a good reason to help or else her own people would hate her for helping their oppressors.
Arabella adored Seraphina's determination but she needed to consider what helping the latter would mean for Valeria.
Instead of getting further disheartened, a flicker of relief crossed Seraphina's features as she understood the underlying meaning of Arabella words.
[It wasn't a rejection!]