Violetta's POV

Of all the ways I could die, I had never imagined it'd be this.

Bleeding to death on the cold floor while my best friend watched with a smile.

I was splayed on the floor, bleeding from more injuries than I could count. Every part of my body was bleeding from a hundred cuts. But my physical pain was minor compared to my emotional pain.

I stared up at the girl standing over my broken body, her mouth twisted in an evil smirk. She looked as beautiful as ever today, but the way her mouth curved up reminded me of a snake.

"Thalia," I croaked, glaring up at her in hatred. "You and Lancelot…you'll all face retribution for your actions."

"Retribution?" Thalia laughed. "Lancelot and I are getting married soon, and we will be the one and only king and queen of Fera. Our children will be the next in line for the throne. How's that for retribution?"

Lancelot. Just that name made my heart twist in fury and pain. After all the sacrifices I'd made as his crown princess, he cheated on me with Thalia. I'd caught them redhanded, bursting into the room when they were in the act. I'd stopped dead at the door, not believing my eyes.

"Lancelot…Thalia…why?" I'd asked in a trembling voice.

"Why?" Lancelot had laughed coldly. "I never loved you in the first place, Violetta. Everything I've done is for Thalia. I can't believe you were naive enough to think I loved you."

I had been frozen in shock. "You…I didn't know you were such bottom feeding scum. You should be ashamed to represent my country!"

Lancelot had slapped me so hard that my mouth had started bleeding. "Shut up, you worthless bitch!" he'd spat.

"Your Highness, don't be too harsh on her," Thalia had said with a villainous smirk. "She might not be able to handle it. Look at how hard she's shivering."

"My love, we've already won. Why do you still have pity for that little bitch?" Lancelot had mocked. "She never even let me touch her. Preserving her purity for some street beggar or something. She doesn't deserve your pity."

"Oh, I can't help it. When I see her lower than a dog like this, I can't help but feel bad for her. After all, she was once the high and mighty queen who oppressed me often," Thalia had sighed as if she were the victim.

"My poor Thalia, those days are over. Never again will she oppress you. I'll throw her to the lions if she dares touch you again." Lancelot had shot a death glare at me.

"Hehe, I knew you would protect me, baby."

The flashback ended, and I thought of everything I'd done for Thalia. The time I'd let her copy my entrance exam to the Royal Academy of Fera and everyone idolized her as a prodigy. The time she'd failed the audition as crown princess candidate, and I'd begged them to give her a second chance. The time she had tumbled from the second floor and I'd broken several bones to ease her fall. The time I'd introduced her to my husband hoping she could get close to the royal family.

And she said I "oppressed" her?

"I treated you like my sister. I gave you opportunities that I didn't even give to my real sister. And this is how you repay me? By drugging my drink, throwing me in a snakes' den, and trying to kill me in a carriage accident?" I looked her squarely in the eye. "Thalia Rochelieu, aren't you afraid of karma?"

"I'm not," Thalia said with a sickeningly sweet smile. "I'm going to be queen, and all you're going to be is a rotting corpse. Does that sound like karma to you?" She seemed to think of something else. "By the way, the carriage accident wasn't my idea. It was Pansiella's."

"Both of you are the same—scum!"

Thalia kicked me hard in the stomach with her high heels. I sputtered from the pain but managed to glare at her.

"Hmph, looks like you still have a lot of strength," Thalia scoffed. "Let me tell you: it was not you who was supposed to be in that carriage. It was Hyacinth."

My eyes widened. "My sister?" I gasped.

"Yes, your precious little sister. She was supposed to die in the accident. Pansiella wanted her to die, because that would hurt you more than your own death. And that turned out to be true, didn't it?" Thalia adjusted her hair as if she were talking about breakfast. I lunged at her with the last bit of strength I had.

"You heartless bitch! I did everything in my power to help you! Why do you hate me to this extent? What have I ever done to you?"

"Why do I hate you?" Thalia's face twisted in fury. Her blue eyes glared at me so hard that I thought they would pop out from her sockets. She seized me by the hair and dragged me up roughly. "I hate you, Violetta Belleford, because you stole everything that was supposed to be mine. It should be me in the spotlight, not a filthy rat like you. You think you're a duke's daughter? Hah, don't make me laugh. You're just the bastard runt of a duke and his servant whore. I am the legitimate daughter of a marquis. Why should you be queen when I'm better than you in every way!? You'll only taint my throne with your dirty blood. You! Shouldn't! Even! Be! Alive!" Thalia's face suddenly twisted with fury, and she slapped me hard in the face. My already bleeding wounds made the pain ten times worse, but I didn't let it show. She thought I had stolen everything from her? So she'd betrayed me, murdered my sister, and cut me to pieces for something as petty as jealousy?

'Why, Violetta, why?' a voice screamed in my head. Tears started to stream off my face, not from the pain, but from bitterness. Anger and regret boiled in my blood until my veins could burst. It had been so stupid. I'd made the wrong decisions. I'd trusted the wrong people. If I could relive it all again, I would definitely…

…make them burn in hell!

"But in the end, I'll have to thank you for being so gullible," Thalia smirked. "I'll live a good life with my husband, and we'll have many children as the two most important people of Fera. And all you'll be is a rotting corpse!" She turned to her guard. "Finish her."

With a yell, the guard hacked his sword down my throat. I didn't feel pain, because all I felt was anger. Anger, betrayal, and regret. I didn't want to die like this. The people who'd betrayed me still hadn't been punished yet. I needed to get my revenge.

Even as blood pooled around my neck, all I could think about was tearing them to pieces.