Chapter 2
883 Words
Beatriz trembled all over, forcing herself to push past the paralyzing fear as she fumbled with the knot. It took her over half an hour of frantic tugging, chafing the skin on her wrists until they were raw, swollen, and bloody, before the tie finally gave way.
The bedroom was a nightmare, alive with slithering snakes.
Beatriz snatched up her nightgown, threw it on, and stumbled blindly toward the door. But just as she reached the threshold, a soft, breathless gasp echoed from downstairs, freezing her in her tracks.
It felt as if she had been pinned to the floor, staring down in absolute horror at the scene below. She felt like she had just plunged into a frozen lake.
Lucas was moving with rough, frantic desperation, pinning Hazel to the sofa, completely consumed by lust. Hazel looked like a spoiled brat who had finally stolen her favorite toy, sporting a wild, triumphant smirk.
"Beatriz is still tied down upstairs getting bitten by snakes, yet here you are, tearing into me," Hazel taunted. "Is this how much you love her? Admit it, Lucas, your body is way more honest than your mouth. You love me so much more than her!"
Lucas frowned, slamming his hand over her lips with an impatient growl. "Shut up! Don't you ever use self-harm to threaten me again!"
Yet despite his words, his movements only grew more feral and out of control.
Beatriz trembled violently, a wave of pure nausea hitting the back of her throat. Her eyes burned crimson. She couldn't take it anymore. Blinded by rage, she grabbed a heavy vase from the hallway table and hurled it straight at Lucas.
The vase sliced through the air, carrying her shattered, heartbroken scream.
"Lucas!"
Smack!
The vase missed, shattering into pieces right next to the sofa. The loud crash instantly broke the trance of the two lost in lust. Lucas snapped his head up, his face instantly draining of color as he violently pushed Hazel off him.
As they fell apart, Hazel let out a soft, theatrical moan, leaning back against the cushions to ensure Beatriz could see the fresh bruises marking her skin.
A flash of sheer panic and regret crossed Lucas's face. He scrambled up and rushed toward the stairs. "Bea? Why are you out of bed? Listen to me, let me explain!"
He lunged forward, trying to grab her.
Beatriz slapped his hand away, dodging him in disgust. "Don't touch me! You make my skin crawl!"
But in her haste to back away, she forgot she was standing at the edge of the second-floor landing. One wrong step, and her foot met empty air.
Lucas’s face twisted in horror. He lunged to catch her. "Bea!"
It was too late. Beatriz went flying, tumbling violently down the entire flight of stairs from the second floor straight to the first.
Her head struck the hard steps, blood pooling and mixing with her tears. She stared up at him in absolute terror, crying silently as the world went completely black.
When she finally opened her eyes, she was in a hospital room.
A blinding, throbbing headache ripped through her skull, but as her senses cleared, she heard Lucas’s ecstatic voice.
"Bea, thank God you're awake!"
His eyes were bloodshot, looking as though he hadn't slept a wink while guarding her bedside.
But the moment Beatriz saw his face, the vivid memory of him aggressively handling Hazel flashed through her mind. Her stomach turned. She violently shoved his hand away, rolled over to the side of the bed, and dry-heaved.
"Get away from me!"
Lucas's face turned white, and he scrambled to salvage the situation. "Bea, I know you're furious right now. Please, just let me explain. Hazel was threatening to slit her wrists and commit suicide last night. I was terrified she'd actually do it, so I had no choice but to give in to her.
"She lost her parents when she was a kid and she's severely traumatized, which makes her emotionally unstable. Please, just be the bigger person here. She promised me that if I gave her that one night, she'd finally move on and let it go. What you saw last night was the first and final time. From now on, she's just my sister, and she'll show you the respect you deserve as my wife."
Listening to his smooth, confident speech, Beatriz wanted to laugh out loud at the sheer absurdity of it.
Did he really think some lines, once crossed, could ever be uncrossed? He wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what he had done, he just took her for a fool who would swallow any lie.
Seeing her icy, dead-eyed indifference, Lucas panicked even more.
"Bea, you're the only one I love. Everyone knows that even though we aren't blood-related, I raised her. Hazel is just a little sister to me, there is absolutely nothing between us. Just trust me one last time, okay?"
The second the words left his mouth, the hospital door clicked open.
Hazel stepped inside.
She had completely dropped her usual arrogant, bratty attitude. Wearing a simple white dress, her face was pale and her eyes were puffy and red.
Without a single word, she walked over and dropped straight to her knees right beside Beatriz's hospital bed.
- Writer
