Chapter 252: Fate Cannot be Changed

The Dowager sat alone in the garden, the afternoon sun painting long shadows across the stone paths. The tea in front of her had gone cold, forgotten, its fragrance drifting faintly into the warm air. Her eyes were fixed somewhere between the flowerbeds and the horizon, blank, distant, as if she were lost in thought. But she was thinking of nothing at all.

"You’ve chosen your wickedness again, Isabella."