---- Chapter 7 Jackson's face was a stone mask as he watched the footage. The color drained from his cheeks, leaving him a ghastly white. He stared at the image of the small boy, his son, deliberately trying to murder me. He found Joey in the playroom, building a tower of blocks. "Joey," Jackson said, his voice dangerously quiet. "Did you put the pills in Elena's room?" The boy's face crumpled. He dropped the block he was holding. Tears welled up in his big, brown eyes. "I'm sorry, Daddy," he sobbed, rushing to Jackson and burying his face in his legs. "She's a bad woman. She makes Mommy sad. | wanted her to go away so we could be a family." He looked up at Jackson, his face streaked with tears. "Please don't be mad at me, Daddy. | love you." Jackson stood frozen, his hands clenched at his sides. | saw the fury in his eyes warring with something else-a deep, misguided love for this child The fury lost. He knelt down, his expression softening. He wiped the boy's tears away with his thumb. ---- He brought Joey to my bedside. | lay there, weak and pale, the remnants of the poison still making my body tremble. "Elena," Jackson said, his voice gentle. "Joey has something to say to you." He gave the boy a little push. Joey looked at me, his lip trembling. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. Jackson then turned to me. "He's just a child, Elena. He didn't understand what he was doing. He was just trying to protect his mother. Can you forgive him?" He was asking me to forgive the child who had just tried to kill me. He was making excuses for him. | stared at him, a hysterical laugh bubbling in my chest. | started to cough, a wracking, painful sound. "This is your punishment?" | choked out, looking at the boy, who was now hiding behind Jackson's legs. "A little apology?" Jackson frowned. "What more do you want? | slapped his hand. | told him never to do it again." He patted the boy's head. Joey nodded, his eyes wide and innocent. Candida appeared in the doorway. She shot me a venomous look before scooping the boy up in her arms. "Come, my poor baby. Let's leave this awful woman alone." ---- She carried him out, cooing and comforting him. Jackson watched them go, then turned back to me, trying to smooth over the situation. "See? It's all settled." | laughed again, a raw, broken sound that made him flinch. He knew. Deep down, he knew how monstrous this was. But he was too weak, too ensnared in Candida's web, to do the right thing. He stayed with me that night, a gesture of "care." He sat in a chair by my bed, but his attention was elsewhere. When | woke in the middle of the night, he was gone. | heard them in the next room. Laughing. The happy sounds of a father playing with his son. The pain in my heart was a dull, constant ache. | was completely and utterly alone. A few days later, my body still weak, Jackson came into my room with two boxes. "Our birthdays are coming up," he announced cheerfully. "And it turns out, yours is on the same day as Candida's. What a coincidence!" He opened the boxes. Inside were two beautiful evening gowns. "I'm throwing a party," he said. "For both of you. It will be a way to show everyone that we are one big, happy family. It's ---- also Candida's punishment, having to share her special day." A punishment. He was punishing her by forcing me to share my birthday with my husband's mistress. The logic was so twisted, so insane, it was almost funny. | took the dress without a word. | had already made my plans. | just had to endure a little longer. The party was a lavish affair. The house was filled with flowers and music and all of Jackson's wealthy friends. He gave us our gifts in front of everyone. | received a simple pearl bracelet. Candida received a car. A brand new, top-of-the -line sports car. Throughout the night, he barely spoke to me. He was always at Candida's side, playing the part of the devoted partner. Guests, confused by the situation, kept congratulating Candida, assuming she was the true Mrs. Parks. Each time, Jackson would pull me aside, his face tight with annoyance, and whisper, "Just smile, Elena. Don't make a scene." | smiled. | drank. | let the champagne numb the pain, the humiliation. Late in the evening, | stumbled back to my room, my head spinning. | wanted to be alone. | wanted to crawl into bed and never wake up. The door opened. It was Candida. Her eyes were cold and hard, ---- glittering with a triumphant malice. "Having a good time, Elena?" she purred. "What do you want, Candida?" | slurred, sitting up. She smiled, a slow, cruel curve of her lips. "I just thought you looked a little lonely. So | brought you some company." She stepped aside. Three large, brutish men stepped into my room. They smelled of cheap alcohol and cigarettes. They grinned at me, their eyes full of a leering hunger. "Jackson is so busy with me tonight," Candida said, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "I didn't want you to feel left out. These gentlemen will be happy to keep you entertained." My blood ran cold. The alcohol haze vanished, replaced by a sharp, terrifying clarity. "Get out," | said, my voice trembling. Candida laughed. "Have fun," she said, and closed the door, leaving me alone with them. | scrambled off the bed, grabbing the heaviest thing | could find-a crystal lamp. One of the men lunged at me. | swung the lamp with all my might, smashing it against his head. He crumpled to the floor with a groan. | didn't wait. | ran for the window, my heart pounding in my ears. It was a two-story drop, but it was better than the alternative. ---- "Stop her!" | heard Candida scream from the other side of the door. | kicked away the man who tried to grab my ankle. | climbed onto the windowsill and, without a second thought, | jumped. The impact with the ground was a jarring shock of pain. My ankle twisted beneath me, and a searing agony shot up my leg. But | didn't stop. | scrambled to my feet and ran, limping, into the darkness of the gardens. Headlights cut through the night. A car engine roared to life. It was the sports car Jackson had given her. It swerved onto the lawn, heading straight for me. Candida was behind the wheel, her face a mask of insane fury. "You're not getting away from me, you bitch!" she shrieked. "I'm going to finish what | started five years ago!" The car bore down on me. | tried to run, but my injured ankle gave way. | fell. The last thing | saw was the grille of the car, large and terrifying, just before it hit me. The world exploded in a symphony of pain, and then, mercifully, there was only blackness. Title: A Princess? No! I'm the Female General! In "A Princess? No! I'm the Female General!" by CrushReel, Adela Taylor, a noble family's daughter, disguises herself as her brother to secure their Duke title by joining the army. 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