LOGINLeo clenched his jaw and balled his fists. “You’re a total asshole! You were pretending to be Rose?” James just gave a wry smile. “I could have killed you while you were asleep. Even that guy named Jack.”Leo didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t act rashly when facing James, because it would surely affect Claire. He couldn’t use a weapon. So the only option that crossed his mind was to handcuff James’s hands to stop him from going any further. After a brief scuffle, Leo finally managed to subdue James, though his arm and forehead were slashed by a knife. He was panting as if he’d just run a marathon. It turned out James was getting stronger. James had cursed him with the harshest words, but then lost consciousness after Claire took over. He hurriedly called Paul on his cell phone. “Paul, we’ve got a big problem now.”***Arsen was lost in thought near the glass wall of his apartment. After James had suddenly attacked Andreo by pretending to be Rose earlier, they agreed to give Clai
“Claire, calm down. Don’t force yourself to dwell on the past. Take a deep breath, and exhale slowly. Come on, you can do it,” Paul said, giving her instructions to help her regain her composure.Claire followed the doctor’s advice, just as she had done when she was with Arsen. “Do you feel calmer now?” Paul asked.“My head is spinning so badly,” Claire complained, holding the side of her head.“Alright, you should rest for now. We’ll resume the therapy tomorrow,” Paul said as he took a small syringe filled with clear liquid and injected it into Claire’s arm. “Now we should all leave this room so Claire can rest and clear her mind,” Paul suggested as he packed up his equipment. Leo smiled at Claire briefly, then left the room, followed by Andreo.“You have to be strong, Claire. You have to believe that you can control your alter egos so the therapy process succeeds quickly. The most important thing is to confront James, and you’ll find peace within your heart. Be certain that you a
“Emily! How dare you, James!” Leo shouted as he lunged at James, but he was too slow—James immediately parried Leo’s attack. Andreo hugged James from behind and locked his arms, but James was so strong that Andreo’s energy was immediately drained. Meanwhile, the blond man quickly found the crook of James’s arm and jabbed the syringe there, causing James to curse angrily and rail against the blond man. “Leo, help me! I can’t take it anymore!” Andreo’s muffled scream left Leo momentarily torn between choosing Emily or helping the man. But in the end, he chose to help Andreo. “Paul, please take Emily to the hospital,” Leo pleaded as he helped Andreo restrain James’s thrashing. “No, you’re the one who has to take her. That way I can treat Claire as soon as possible,” Paul replied, holding back James’s increasingly frantic movements.Leo finally obeyed Paul’s words. He hurried over to Emily and untied the rope binding her body. He didn’t dare pull out the knife—it would only make thi
Right now, Emily's body was tied to a wooden chair with rope. Rose just smiled amusedly at Emily’s reaction, then walked back to the red sofa in the corner of the room.“Damn you!” Emily cursed, still unable to free herself from the ropes.Rose turned to face Emily, laughing derisively. “Go to hell!” Emily shouted angrily, breathing heavily.“If you want to come along,” Rose replied casually as she approached Emily. “Do you still love Arsen?” she asked once she was right in front of Emily, bending down so she was eye-level with her. “Of course! I’d have Arsen in a heartbeat if only Claire, that slut, hadn’t stolen him!” Emily shouted loudly.Rose immediately straightened up, and the atmosphere turned silent. For a moment, Emily thought the girl had finally come to her senses, but she was wrong. Rose stared at her with a cold gaze and a blank expression. The sight immediately reminded her of two previous incidents that had successfully driven her paranoid. There was no movement from
Arsen’s eyes widened at her question, then he burst out laughing. He immediately hugged Claire again. “No, you don’t need surgery. You have to believe in yourself—that you’re strong, stronger than all your alter egos—so you can control them.” “If I may ask, what are my alter egos like? I was once spoken to by a Dutch student in his native language, but I didn’t understand a word. He said that I’d often spoken to him in Dutch before,” Claire asked, pulling away from Arsen’s embrace. “That’s your alter ego named Rose. She’s Dutch, 24 years old, and flirty.” Arsen stopped speaking when he saw Claire’s eyes widen and her mouth drop open. “You’re joking! She’s flirty? Flirty… flirty like… like to tease…” Claire’s face flushed instantly when she saw Arsen nod. “Did… did she ever tease you?” Claire asked, biting her lip.“Eh? That… umm…” Arsen was at a loss for words, so he rubbed the back of his neck to hide his awkwardness. “Ahem, let’s move on to the next alter ego. His name is James,
“Claire! Claire, hey! I’m here, don’t be afraid. There’s no one here but the two of us.” Arsen clasped her hand with both of his, realizing that Claire was starting to get scared again. “Come on, let’s talk over there on that white sofa, while we enjoy the red-leaved trees on this sunny Sunday.” Claire could only comply as Arsen pulled her toward the long white sofa near the glass wall. He positioned the sofa facing the wall so they could chat while taking in the view outside the apartment.“Actually, I’ve felt this way for a very long time. It feels like I’ve missed out on so much. When I fell asleep at age 10, I suddenly woke up at age 15. I didn’t even realize my living situation had changed. As far as I remember, I used to live in Russia, then my father kicked me out, and suddenly I was in Jerez, then Australia, Brooklyn, and finally here. I didn’t dare tell anyone about all that. I was afraid they’d think I was crazy, since I could move places on my own without realizing it.”
Emily walked alone toward the empty parking lot without looking back, eager to get to Fireside Grill to meet Arsen. Even though he always rejected her, she refused to give up.She was going to carry out her plan tonight: trap Arsen into sleeping with her and get pregnant, so he would take responsib
Josh and Emily had just arrived at Darkest Nightclub, one of the nightclubs in Portland. They made their way through the crowd packed onto the dance floor, swaying their bodies as they watched the strippers perform. They looked around for someone until they finally spotted him on the long sofa in
Finally, after spending a day and a night at the hospital, Arsen took Claire back to his apartment. After giving it some more thought, he decided to pretend he knew nothing. After all, it wouldn’t be fair to Claire if he suddenly distanced himself from her. They needed to sort out all these issues
Claire slowly opened her eyes and immediately felt pain in various parts of her body. She scanned the room until her gaze settled on the man who had captured her heart.“How are you feeling right now?” Arsen asked with a gentle smile, kissing the back of her hand. “My whole body hurts,” Claire rep







