Unexpected Vows In A Frontier Town Chapter 08

Unexpected Vows In A Frontier Town Chapter 08

People in the gallery rose to make way.

Alistair raised a hand, signaling for quiet. His gaze swept coldly across the room, finally landing on disheveled Martha. A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“My wife and I heard there was a spectacle at Whisper Valley. We came to see for ourselves.”

“Didn’t expect it to involve us too.”

My sister let go of Alistair’s arm and walked quickly toward me.

Her eyes scanned my face, and only after confirming I was unharmed did the worry in her gaze finally ease.

She took my hands. Her fingers were slightly cool.

“Wren. I’m late.”

My eyes burned.

In my past life, I’d heard she died in labor. I drove all night, only to see hydrangea pots at the Van der Berg gates and a hall full of guests for a new wedding.

In this life, she stood before me.

Her hands were warm. Her voice was calm. And beneath the gentle swell of her belly, her child grew.

“Sage.”

I squeezed her hands, my voice catching.

Martha stared wide-eyed at my sister.

“You… you…”

Her voice went thin and reedy, like someone had their hand around her throat.

“Aren’t you supposed to be dying?”

My sister turned to face her, looking down from her full height. A cold smile curled at the corner of her mouth.

“Thanks to you, I’m doing just fine.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but every word cut like a blade.

“You sent herbs to the Van der Berg estate in Wren’s name. Said she’d picked them herself. And yes, the women in Silver Creek do use herbal incense during pregnancy. If Wren hadn’t written to me ahead of time, I might have believed it.”

She paused, her gaze turning colder by the second.

“I had a doctor examine them. Those herbs only made me nauseous. If I’d kept using that incense, I would have lost the baby for sure.”

“If my sister hadn’t seen through your scheme and swapped out my herbs, I would have miscarried long ago.”

A roar of shock rippled through the crowd.

The spectators, who’d only looked on with disdain moments earlier, all paled at once.

Ruining someone’s reputation was one thing. Trying to kill a Van der Berg heir was something else entirely.

That was a crime severe enough to bring the full weight of retribution down on Silver Creek.

Alistair’s face darkened like a storm cloud.

He walked toward Martha, step by deliberate step.

“Vicious woman.”

His voice was cold as a winter night’s wind, each word ground out between his teeth.

“You dared to touch a child of the Van der Berg bloodline.”

Before the words finished leaving his mouth, his boot slammed into Martha’s shoulder.

She went flying sideways, her shoulder cracking against the floor tiles with a dull thud.

She lay sprawled on the ground, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She tried to push herself up, but two female officers pinned her down.

“No… it wasn’t me…”

Her voice finally shattered.

My sister took my hand and turned to face the full gallery.

“You’ve all seen it today. Martha Pike, hiding behind the name of a teacher’s widow, has been scheming against us sisters from the start. She spread lies to ruin my sister’s name, and she poisoned the herbs meant for me, trying to kill the Van der Berg heir.”

“She should burn in hell!”

She squeezed my hand, a small gesture, passing something unspoken to me.

“I want every one of you as witness. I, Sage, as Mrs. Van der Berg, swear today, if anyone dares to throw filth at my sister again, they make an enemy of the Van der Berg family.”

Sebastian stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with me.

His shoulder nearly brushed mine, and I caught the faint scent of pine.

“And the Wolfram family stands with her.”

His voice was flat, but carried unshakable weight.

“Today’s matter will be brought before your courts and the state prosecutor, with evidence jointly filed by the Wolfram and Van der Berg families. We will see this through to the end.”