I Should Have Read The Ending - Chapter 53

Chapter 53 – Trisha Remembers

“Take it out.”

At the guard’s instruction, two men came and held Trisha. She struggled against their grip but the difference in strength was too great. Diana was right in front of her, and she’ll recognize her when she sees her, but she cannot escape from the guards, which was a great despair for Trisha.

“It’s a misunderstanding, I’m really Lady Diana’s best friend!”

“That’s what delusion always says.” The guard ignored Trisha‘s pleas. Rather, it was evident that he thought of her as a crazy woman. Tears of resentment poured from Trisha’s eyes.

“I’m not delusional, I’m not! Let me see Diana, so I can clear up the misunderstanding.”

“Noisy! How dare you keep smearing that name.”

One guard kicked Trisha in the ribs with his knee to prevent her from making further fuss. Although Trisha was always exposed to violence, the kick of the trained guard seemed as heavy as a rock compared to the touch of his drunken old father. She was dizzy and out of breath as she felt the pain pierce her abdomen.

“You…you’ll regret it.”

“Take her away.”

“I’ll tell you everything! You’re going to have your throats slit!”

Some of the guests at the banquet glimpsed at this unsavory sight. Later, guards were sure to be reprimanded.

” Hurry!” The guard commanded. The two men lifted Trisha and dragged her behind the banquet hall. Awaiting Trisha behind the walls was violence — the conventional punishment. Trisha, 17, was a tough force to bear. She was thrown to the ground, and her consciousness faded from several kicks. Nevertheless, it did not stop. Blood spattered on the floor as she coughed.

“Okay, let’s go now.”

“Yes, this should be enough.”

Soon, the guards’ voices were heard afar. The violence had stopped, but the searing pain lingered. Immense fear paralyzed Trisha’s senses.

***

Trisha’s whole body was bruised and sore. She recalled the last moment when she was unconsciously dragged by the guards, and the contemptuous gaze of the nobles who had noticed. There was an invisible line between them and Trisha, as if they were looking at a street madman.

It began to rain. Trisha vomited blood in her mouth, still dizzy from being battered.

Oh, was Diana there? 

Possibly. She must have been looking at Trisha with a taunting look. Diana’s deep blue eyes that see through everything made Trisha feel infinitely shabby.

“How much will you make me miserable…”

Trisha, who barely opened her eyes and was crawling in the shade of a tree to escape the rain, lost consciousness once again. A dreamlike fantasy quickly passed through the boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness.

In the dream, Trisha was smiling. And in front of her was Lucas. She was smiling ear to ear at Lucas, who looked at him equally affectionately.

“I…?”

Trisha couldn’t tell where it was from. She didn’t feel sick anymore. Trisha was watching the vision from the observer’s point of view.

Trisha and Lucas appeared older but the two looked happy. Looking at each other, they burst into laughter while they strolled in the garden hand in hand. Occasionally, they would play hide-and-seek.

“A dream?”

But Trisha’s voice could not be heard. There were only Lucas and a happy Trisha. It occurred to her that too vivid a scene could not be a dream nor a fantasy.

“A dream… No.”

Trisha was convinced. What was clear could not have been just a dream. But if this is the future, what happened to Diana?

As if to answer the question, Diana looked at the two in fantasy. As an adult, Diana was still beautiful, but like a withered flower with no life.

Trisha clearly saw Diana, who looked miserable on herself standing beside the window. She gazed at Lucas who was playing around.

“…Really?”

At that moment, Trisha’s eyes met with Diana. She was merely a ghostly observer, but Diana seemed to see her.

“You took my husband away. You took everything from me, I lost my child, my life. I shouldn’t have made you my friend from the beginning.”

Trisha’s vision was dizzy so she closed her eyes tightly.

“I’m going back to the past. And I’m gonna fix this wrong future. Trisha, I’m done with you.”

Diana’s voice cracked, and then all of a sudden, she felt like she was dragged into a deep hole. No matter how much she struggled, Trisha couldn’t seem to break away from the darkness.

The moment she finally reached the bottom, she saw a panorama of scattering images in her head.

“Ah…”

It was not a fantasy, either. It was Trisha’s past and future.

Trisha slowly opened her eyes. Her whole body began to throb again, but Trisha was smiling as if she were out of her mind.

“Yes…it was me!” Trisha’s cry echoed soundlessly in the rain.

“Ha, yes. I’m back in the past.” Trisha’s memory resurfaced. What Trisha needed to know was obvious. The illusion was not her future but the past.

“Diana knew.” And now that she knew it, she had the power to make the end the same.

“Haha! Yes, it was…”

Trisha understood the memories that had passed by.

“You have something to do before that, don’t you?”

Trisha managed to raise her hurting body, an eerie smile still painted on her lips. Now there was no misery or humiliation. It was Trisha who had everything anyway. The future could be made that way.