They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 602: She Lied About the Poison

"So tell me... what’s your plan? Poison him slowly? Break him down until he dies? All because he doesn’t love you back?"

Her words hit like a blade of their own. "Isn’t that kind of stupid?" she pressed, her tone sharp but not cruel. "Killing someone you claim to love?"

"The plan was never to poison him," Cynthia snapped, her voice trembling as if she was convincing herself as much as Nnenna. "I could never do that to Carl. But when I saw how badly he was being affected, how much of it was because of you, I realized his feelings for you were only growing firmer each day that passed. I had to do something."

Her eyes flickered with desperation. "At first... I thought maybe I could poison him just enough to make him weak, then swoop in and save the day. Who wouldn’t love the person who risked their life to save them? Maybe then he would see me as someone worth spending the rest of his life with. That’s all. I never meant to let it go too far. I could never hurt him."

Her grip on the knife shook. "And then you showed up out of nowhere." Her face twisted, hatred spilling out. "So I thought... why not adjust the plan? If I framed you for Carl’s attempted murder, you would be executed for treason, and I would be the hero who exposed you. Then he would finally see me, love me, more than you. It was perfect." Cynthia’s voice cracked into a shout. "But you ruined everything with your stupid investigations! And now you’re trying to get my parents killed on top of it!"

Nnenna’s chest tightened, but she refused to back down. "Don’t you see what you’ve done?" she demanded. Her words cut through the room’s chill like fire. "When I came here, Carl had one month left to live. One month! If I hadn’t stepped in, he would already be dead. You talk about never letting it go too far, but every step you took brought him closer to the edge."

"That’s not true!" Cynthia shouted, but her voice shook, weaker than before. Her denial faltered as her hands trembled.

"Then why was he dying?" Nnenna pressed, eyes narrowing.

"I—I was told nothing would happen to him," Cynthia stammered, shaking her head violently. "I was told... he would still have six months even with the dose I give him..."

trailed off, fear creeping

asked, her

done nothing wrong. "She told me Carl would be fine, that even if I gave him the dose, he would still have

her hand trembled, but Nnenna was no longer focused

Her breath caught. Athena.

a curse. First the housekeeper, then Nanny, now Cynthia. She had dismissed it, thought it coincidence, thought the housekeeper and nanny were just latching onto that name to make the crime seem convincing. But Cynthia’s

It was you, Aunt...

I love? First

Athena seemed desperate to not let that figure see her. As if she actually

making her next move barely two months after the cliff. Arthur had guessed she would stay in hiding

other thought hit her, cold as steel. That thing in the black cloak... is

much strength she threw at it, it simply refused to die. The fear of it coiled in her

is what Athena is planning... if she’s not going to stop... then I have no choice but

her voice steady

exactly what she was doing, betting on your willingness to hurt Carl if you couldn’t have him. Cynthia, open your eyes. Athena is using you. She lied about the poison, and she knew you would end up here. Drop the knife. Don’t let her win. Trust me, you’ll