LUSCIOUS VENGEANCE

“I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” Her voice kept shaking, and it made everything worse. I could hear how broken she sounded, but it only made the tears fall faster from my eyes. I wiped them away, but they kept coming, blurring my vision as I stared at her. I don’t accept this. I don’t want to accept this. How could she say something like that now after everything she did? “I know I sound terrible right now,” she continued, her hands trembling around the steering wheel. “But I hope you try to understand me too. I’ve been waiting for this moment to come—” A sharp breath escaped me. Waiting? She was waiting for this? “You don’t even realize how selfish that sounds, do you?” I said, my voice rising despite myself. She did not answer immediately. Her lips trembled, and more tears slipped down her cheeks. Her eyes stayed on the road, but I could see how unfocused they were. Her grip on the wheel was unsteady. This is bad. I shut my eyes in annoyance. I glanced at her hands again, then at the road ahead. Should we stop? No. We cannot stop. If we stop, something will happen…but if she keeps driving like this, we might crash anyway. My chest tightened as I tried to calm myself down, even though my thoughts were racing. I hated this. I hated that she chose this decision. I hated that I had no choice. I hated that I had to stay calm when all I wanted was to scream at her. “Athena…” she called softly. “Just drive safely, Mom,” I said, forcing the words out even though my voice was shaking. “Please. Just focus on the road. We can escape from her—” She shook her head slightly, like she could not even control herself anymore. “Please. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” My patience snapped as my fear and anger mixed inside me. “Jesus, could you stop apologizing and just drive?” I shouted. “We need to go somewhere safe!” Safe. The word felt empty the moment I said it. I turned my head and looked behind us again, and the moment I saw it, my stomach dropped. My hand is shaking as I tried to search for my phone in my bag. Bullshit. I left it in the office! The black Land Cruiser was still there. “Let’s just face her anger and apologize—” She shook her head. “NO!” Shit! Just…bullshit. Before I could say anything else, the engine sound behind us suddenly grew louder. I froze. The Land Cruiser was speeding up and it was getting closer. “Mom…” I whispered, my anger fading into something colder. She pressed the gas, but the car still jerked. Her hands were shaking on the steering wheel like she was forcing herself to stay in control. The speed increased slightly, but it was not enough. I turned my head again and saw the black Land Cruiser shift to the side, moving in a way that made my stomach tighten. My heart started pounding hard against my chest. What is it doing? It was not slowing down anymore. It was getting closer, coming up beside us like it had made a decision. No. This is not right. “Mom, watch out—” Before I could finish my sentence, it slammed into us without warning. The impact was violent. My body was thrown hard against the door, and my head hit the window with a sharp pain that made my vision blur. A loud ringing filled my ears immediately after, drowning out everything else. The car spun out of control. I could not breathe properly. My chest felt tight, and when I tried to reach for something to hold onto, my hands missed everything. My body moved with the spinning car, but nothing felt stable enough to stop it. The car kept turning, and then there was another strong impact. Something hit us hard again, and the force made my whole body jolt forward. Pain spread through my shoulder and side, and my vision flickered as I tried to stay conscious. Through the spinning and the noise, I forced my eyes open again, trying to see what was happening outside. The Land Cruiser was no longer beside us. It had gone ahead and no longer following a clear path. It was drifting toward the side of the road, and then I saw it heading straight toward a large tree. I could not process it fully. My mind felt slow, like it could not keep up with what my eyes were seeing. The car hit the tree with a force that made everything around it shake. A bright flash followed immediately, then an explosion that filled the air with a loud, heavy sound that made my ears ring even more. Heat rushed toward us after that, even from a distance. It reached our car in waves, making the air feel heavier and harder to breathe. My thoughts started to slow down. I could not focus on anything clearly anymore, not the car, not the road, not even my own body. Everything felt distant, like it was slipping away from me. My eyelids grew heavier, and my grip on awareness started to fade without me being able to stop it. And then everything went black.