Book 2 Six-1
2267 คำ
She’s seen me kill. Seen the true monster that I am. So, now that she’s seen me, the question is what will she do?
Day 48I THOUGHT TAKING a shower and scrubbing away the remnants of last night would make me feel slightly better, but it hasn’t. All I can think about is how Hans and Chow will never have that privilege again.
When I could no longer distinguish between my tears and the running water, I decided to switch off the faucets because I couldn’t hide forever. I hunted through the closet, wanting nothing more than to wear a pair of sweats and a baggy T-shirt, but I settled on skinny jeans and a blouse instead. It’s forbidden, it seems, to dress in anything casual.
I’m in the bathroom brushing my teeth when I hear the bedroom door open.
I wanted to go to Saint, but after my revelation, I needed some time to clear my head. I always knew that the feelings I had for him resembled love, but after last night, it seems all the smokescreens had faded and I was left faced with the stark truth.
Ironic, isn’t it? Seeing him take someone’s life was the key to unearthing what lingered under the surface all along. I know how incredibly f****d up that is.
Rinsing out my mouth, I know it’s now or never. I can run and hide, but I’m not going to be a coward now. Taking a deep breath, I open the door and brace myself for anything and everything. However, when I see a disheveled Zoey standing in my room with her hands behind her back, it appears I’m not prepared at all.
Before I have a chance to speak, she reveals why she’s here. “He took you. And Sara,” she spits, her eyes on fire.
After everything I’ve seen, her jealousy is so trivial. “Believe me, it was against both our wills.”
“That’s what I don’t understand! He never kidnapped me. He chose me. He wanted me. And I wanted him!” Just how Saint once said, Zoey, just like all the others, have stayed with Alek by choice. “You don’t want anything to do with him, but he is smitten by you. Why?” she questions, shaking her head in bewilderment. “What do you have that I don’t?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to express the obvious—like morals and that I’m a good person—but when I think about my feelings for her brother, I remain quiet.
She’s angry, but more so, she’s hurt. She loves Alek with all her heart, and in return, he trades her in for another. I understand why she resents me, but she seems to be missing the vital point that I don’t want to be here.
When she saunters forward, I stand my ground, wondering what she plans on doing. She reveals what a moment later.
“It’s ’cause you’re a new shiny toy. That’s all,” she reasons with herself. The last time I saw her, she was naked and being exploited by Alek’s “friends.” It seems she’s forgotten all about that because why would he do that to her if he loved her in return?
“But if you weren’t so…shiny”—her pause has me swallowing, suddenly nervous—“then things would go back to the way they were.”
“Zoey…” However, my words die in a garbled mess when she uncovers what she’s holding behind her back.
“He loves me. Not you.” The sunlight streaming in from the windows reflects off the pair of silver scissors she holds. She opens and closes them, the clear-cut noise displaying just how sharp they are.
Instantly, I retreat with my hands raised in surrender. But Zoey isn’t interested in waving a white flag.
“You think you’re better than me,” she exclaims, cutting the air with the scissors.
“No, I don’t. I’m nothing,” I state, unable to keep the panic from my voice as I continue backing away from her.
“That’s right. You are nothing. You may have Alek and my brother fooled, but I see you. And now, it’s time they do too.”
She lunges for me, but I make a mad dash for the en suite door. Sadly, it seems anger has turned Zoey into a superhero because she grips the back of my blouse, preventing me from escaping. I twist and turn, attempting to flee, but she only holds on tighter. Saint’s training is now obsolete because there is no fighting Zoey. I’ve made a rookie move and lowered my defenses.
My heart sits in my throat because I don’t know what she intends to do with those scissors. The thought has me thrusting my elbow backward, connecting with something soft. When she howls in pain, I think I’ve struck her in the stomach.
When she lets me go, I don’t waste a second and dive for the safety of the en suite. But Zoey reads my intentions, and I curse my decision to leave my hair down. She grabs a fistful and yanks hard. On instinct, I claw at her hand, hoping to pry myself free, but she only pulls harder.
“Let’s see who Alek prefers now!” she cries, dragging me by my hair back into the room.
“Zoey!” I scream, violently trying to escape, but it’s futile. She comes up behind me, cups my head, and slams my face into the wall. A lump instantly forms on my forehead, and I see painful stars. To ensure I don’t fight back, she presses on my tender shoulder where I’m still recovering from the gunshot wound.
She doesn’t give me time to recover before smashes my face into the wall again. And again.
By the third blow, the world tips, and everything grows blurry. I attempt to reach out for something to hold on to, but the blood dripping into my eyes from the gash to my brow prevents me from focusing on anything other than passing out.
“Everything was perfect until you came along and ruined it!”
Bang.
“This is your fault, you b***h!”
Bang.
Each knock against the wall has my grip on reality fading, and it won’t be long until the darkness pervades me. And I welcome it.
“He thinks you’re the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. Well, we will see.”
I brace for another blow, but instead, all that comes is the sharp slicing of scissors cutting. At first, I have no idea what she’s cut because I don’t feel any pain. But when I sag forward because the pressure in my head is no longer, I realize that’s because my hair is no longer.
I slump into the wall, splaying my hands against it to support myself from falling, but Zoey is on me like a rabid dog, hacking into my hair and cutting it away while I detach myself from my body, helpless to stop her.
She came here to take my beauty, and she isn’t leaving until she’s satisfied she’s won. Her maniacal laughter has me closing my eyes, wondering what happens when merely cutting off my hair isn’t enough. The blood pouring from the wound on my forehead trickles into my mouth as I gasp for breath. I’m growing accustomed to the metallic burn.
At some stage, I collapse to my knees, head bowed as I cradle my waist, but that doesn’t deter Zoey. She continues mumbling to herself while slashing away at my hair. When she cries in victory minutes later, I know that she’s done.
“Much better,” she sings with one final slice.
I’m too far gone to care what comes next. My soul and body are finally defeated by this cruel world. If she were to take those scissors and pierce my heart, she’d be doing me a favor because at least in death, there will no longer be pain.
But she doesn’t show me the mercy because killing me would be easy. Instead, she exits the room, leaving me to deal with the aftermath alone.
With trembling fingers, I attempt to gauge the damage, and when I’m met with uneven, frayed clumps of hair, I realize it’s worse than I thought. The coagulated blood has sealed my eyes shut, but I don’t need to see it. The remaining strands of hair barely cover the back of my neck. She missed a few locks which fall around my face, but the only way to fix this mess is to start afresh. To shave it all off.
“Aнгел!”
His voice shouldn’t soothe me after everything I’ve seen, but it does. In this dark, cruel world, he is the only light I have.
“What happened?” The panic is clear as Saint runs into the room and drop to his knees in front of me.
He attempts to raise my chin so he can see the damage, but I curl myself into a ball, shielding my face into my palms.
“Let me see!” he demands, but I shake my head, ashamed of what he’ll see.
The fact clumps of my hair litter the room doesn’t leave him guessing to what happened. But my bloodied hands point at something a lot more sinister than me deciding to cut my hair because I needed a change.
“Who did this to you?” His voice is murderous, and I suddenly want to save him the pain of knowing his sister is the antichrist reincarnate. So I remain silent.
He places his hands over mine, his touch filled with desperation and fear. “Please, let me see.”
“Go away,” I whisper, but he inhales sharply, hinting that isn’t an option.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he presses, drawing me into his chest, and God strike me down, I go willingly.
He rocks me gently, allowing me to weep, not for my hair—because that will grow back—but for my soul. What has happened to me? How can I allow those hands to touch me after everything I’ve seen them do? I may have been able to admit my feelings for Saint, but that doesn’t make me feel any less ashamed for them.
“I’m sorry you saw me do…that last night. I wish you didn’t have to see any of this,” he says with his lips pressed to my head.
More tears follow, flowing a deep crimson to reflect the heartache buried deep within. “They’ll be here s-soon,” I manage to get out between stilted breaths as I bury myself deeper into his chest.
Saint said my room is under surveillance. No doubt, Zoey convinced Alek’s men to turn a blind eye for five minutes while she wreaked havoc. Her time is up, though, because when we hear footsteps pound down the hallway, it’s time to slip into character.
“Боже мой!” Panicked, Alek bursts into the room. I can only imagine what he sees.
To my surprise, Saint doesn’t let me go. But no matter how good it feels, I slowly untangle myself from his arms and gradually pry open my eyes. Dried blood cakes my eyelashes, causing my vision to blur. Alek and Saint both gasp when they see me.
“Zoey did this to you, didn’t she?” It’s Alek who speaks. I’m surprised he knows it’s her, but who else would do this?
I meet Saint’s wide eyes as he shakes his head slowly. It’s evident everyone can see Zoey for what she is, bar him. I wish I could save him this heartache, but I can’t. With vengeance running through my veins, I nod, my heart breaking with his.
Alek roars, startling me because if I didn’t know any better, I’d say he cares about me. “She must be punished,” he snarls, staring down at me and Saint. “Look what she’s done to you.”
When he curls his lip in disgust, I wonder if maybe I’ve been looking at this the wrong way. Has Zoey just done me a favor? If Alek no longer finds me desirable, will he let me go?
“Saint, find your sister and leave her downstairs. I will tell Igor to expect her.”
When Saint closes his eyes for the briefest of moments, appearing to say a prayer for Zoey, I wonder who Igor is. But more importantly, what’s downstairs.
Alek also notices Saint’s reaction. “If this is too personal for you, I will get someone else to find her.”
Saint lifts his chin slowly, deadpanning Alek. The room turns violent. “This is personal. Just not for the reasons you think.”
I gulp because the tension is thick as Saint has openly expressed to Alek that reason is…me. There is no doubt about it. What is he doing? But when he comes to a slow stand, it seems he doesn’t care anymore. “I’ll find her,” he promises, unflinching, as Alek stares him down.
There is no question who the alpha is when Alek eventually averts his gaze. “Good.”
“Come.” Saint offers me his hand, which I look at confused. “I will help clean you up.”
Is he trying to get us killed? When I hesitate, he nods, promising me it’s okay. The gun at his hip assures it.
- ผู้เขียน
