Reborn as the Nightingale: Escaping the Duke's Poisoned Marriage

Chapter 3

Word Count: 817 | Released on: 16/06/2026

ten full seconds before curdling

d, a smirk twisting his lips. "A

saying. It means I will n

illing the room. His eyes landed on her writing desk, on the neat stacks of papers she

unt your pennies, then threaten to leave. This is

g him. Her silence infuriate

marriage!" He jabbed a finger at her, voice dripping with contempt. "You think I don't know? Your father, begging

alms. It was the truth, a gild

itle, the prestige of being future Duchess of Blackwood. And now you want to back out?" He leaned in, his voice dropping t

ou should look at yourself for the reason. You're like a col

blow. A cold numbness

e you? Nothing. The disgraced daughter of a min

in her throat and Kian watching her die. For three weeks, the same cold anger had carried her through every mi

eeting his with a hard clar

not call

nished, Duk

m flinch as if she'd slapped him. She addres

am cold, unwanted, talentless, and worth nothing without your name. Sharin

ant smile tou

lieve you of this unbearable wife,

ession h

I had no idea my worthlessness

t my words,"

You have made the

quest, Your Grace. I am not asking you to surrender anything valuable. I am offering to remo

the mockery in her ga

ed to imprison a worthless woman merel

tion of war. It enraged him

. "You wish!" His face contorted with fury. "This ma

ways out, Adeline. In a coffin, or with my expl

hip hitting the sharp corner of the vanity.

on his heel, strode out, and slammed

down the hall, then slowly pushed herself upright, one ha

s was no longer a marriage he inten

not be negotiated. It would

Chapter End

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Reborn as the Nightingale: Escaping the Duke's Poisoned Marriage

Xin Miaomiao History

“I died with the taste of bitter almonds burning in my throat. My husband, Kian Ferguson, watched me collapse over the poisoned wine. He did not call for help. He did not kneel beside me. He only looked at me with cold, satisfied eyes, as if my death had finally made room for the woman he truly wanted-his delicate cousin, Isabelle. In my first life, I begged for his love. I endured his family's humiliation. I drank the bitter tonics they forced upon me in the name of fertility, even as my body grew weaker by the day. I was blamed for an empty nursery, mocked as a barren wife, and trapped in a marriage that was slowly killing me. Then I opened my eyes again. I was back five years in the past, riding beside Kian at the King's autumn hunt-the very day I first saw how he looked at Isabelle. This time, I did not weep. I did not fight for him. I returned to Blackwood Manor and asked for an annulment. Kian laughed in my face. "You want to leave?" he said, seizing my arms. "There are only two ways out of this marriage, Adeline. In a coffin, or with my permission. And I will grant you neither." I went to the King for justice. The Crown turned me away. They all believed I had nowhere left to run. A discarded wife. A useless vine. A woman with no power, no allies, and no future beyond the Duke's gilded cage. They were wrong. I sold my dowry in secret. I bought merchant ships under a hidden name. I gathered remedies, debts, secrets, and gold. If no one would grant me freedom, I would purchase it myself. If no one would give me justice, I would become powerful enough to demand it. And by the time Kian Ferguson realizes his unwanted wife has become the mysterious Nightingale, it will be far too late to cage me again.”