Novel-novel oleh Vermilion

James stood silent for a long time, his eyes wide with shock at the news about Zia. His body shook violently, as if rejecting the information he had just heard, and the tremors spread throughout his entire body.Seeing James' reaction, no one dared to say anything else.“W—what did you just say? Repeat it..." James whispered. So softly it was almost inaudible.“Sorry, Sir?” asked the Gardener.“SAY IT AGAIN!” he shouted, barking at the Gardener who had mentioned Zia to him.With a hint of fear, the gardener looked at his friends, who could only nod their heads as if begging him to explain what had actually happened clearly. No one knew what would happen next.“Sir, Mrs. Zia... she... was found dead with her body completely burned.”A blow landed on the face of the gardener. His eyes were red with rage, and he was ready to kill the gardener who had told him bad things about Zia. James felt a strong urge to keep hitting the gardener who was working at his house.Since no one dared to st

James looked restless. He kept looking at his watch without saying anything. If someone opened the restaurant entrance, his head would suddenly turn toward it, as if he were worried that Zia wouldn't come to meet him.This made Bella feel a little sick.“How much longer do you want to punish Zia, James?” Bella asked.James immediately looked at Bella seriously, disturbed by her question. But Bella also felt she had the right to ask that because James had involved her in his plan to take revenge on Zia for Audrey's death.The fact that Bella was also in love with James made her hate seeing how much James loved Audrey, who was no longer alive.“Why? Do you regret what you did to Zia?” James asked back.Bella shook her head. “Not at all. I mean, end your relationship with Zia without waiting for Zia to give up on your relationship.”“I invite her here to end everything, Bella.”Hearing that, Bella felt relieved. At least she could see that James also didn't want to have a relatio

“Bastards! Don't do that!” Zia screamed when one of the men tried to take off her clothes one by one.No one paid any attention to her screams and cries. Zia's voice was hoarse from screaming continuously for help, hoping that someone would come to her rescue from the depraved men in front of her.They all laughed heartily, enjoying the crime they were about to commit. Their gazes were dirtier than those of dogs in heat. Zia's rebellion was futile as she had to fight five large men.“Calm down, Pretty. We'll treat you gently until you don't want it to end,” one of them said as he stroked Zia's face.Zia spat at the man without thinking twice, hitting him in the face. She was furious because he was the one who had intended to tear off her last layer of clothing. With her hands and feet held by the other men, Zia could only fight back using other means.For a moment, the atmosphere grew silent. All eyes were on the man Zia had spat on. Meanwhile, the man himself glared at Zia with

The next day, Zia found James and Bella going out together, dressed warmly and neatly. Both acted normally, as if the previous night's events had only happened in Zia's dream-dream that left so many wounds in real life.There was nothing else Zia wanted. Except to leave James's life as soon as possible.Zia knew it was impossible. James would never let her go until his desire was fulfilled. But she truly wanted to forget everything related to James. Even though she loved him, she wanted to forget it, no matter how painful it would be.“Mrs. Zia, what are you carrying?” asked a housekeeper as she approached Zia, carrying a large cardboard box out of her room.“Oh, just some unimportant things,” Zia lied.All the things she intended to throw away were very important to her. All her memories with James were there. But for Zia, simply removing James from her life wouldn't be enough if something still tied her to him.“Mr. James asked me to take care of your leg wound, ma'am.”Zia s

Zia opened her eyes and found herself in her room. She had completely forgotten what happened after she drowned because at that moment, she had accepted that death had come for her.The clock on the wall showed exactly eleven o'clock, and the sky visible from Zia's window was dark. That meant Zia had been unconscious for quite a long time without knowing who had helped her and brought her home.Feeling extremely thirsty, Zia got up despite the pain in her body. She walked slowly and unsteadily, barefoot, toward the kitchen.However, when she was about to return to her room with a tray of drinks and warm soup, Zia found James's door, which had been closed when she went to the kitchen, now open.As Bella suggested, Zia and James's rooms had been separated. Bella said James needed to sleep alone to get good quality rest and aid his recovery. Of course, Zia didn't mind if it was good for James.“I can't sleep without you.”Zia's steps stopped instantly when she heard a woman's voice

“You're beautiful,” James said, gently caressing Bella's lips. Zia's face instantly paled as she watched her husband kiss and praise another woman's beauty. She took a few steps back from the slightly open door of James's office. Zia's world seemed to collapse when she found out her husband was having an affair with the person closest to her. James's nurse was none other than Zia's best friend, Bella. Ten minutes earlier, Bella had called Zia to inform her that James was having a seizure and asked her to bring the medication to James's office immediately. Upon hearing the bad news about her husband's condition, Zia braved the heavy snowstorm without wearing any warm clothes, unwilling to make her husband suffer any longer while waiting for her to bring him medicine. It never crossed Zia's mind that she would see her husband being affectionate with his nurse. “James, how long will you keep up this charade of pretending you have a heart condition and lost your memory?” Bella asked