جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 20

CELESTINE’s POV‘‘Leina!’’ By holding her arm, my mother prevented her from slapping me again, but when she did, Leina jerked her hand away and aggressively pointed her finger at my mother.‘‘Don't put your hands on me, you senile old hag!’’ she pushed mom’s petite and weak body, and I was able to react quickly enough to catch her before she hit the ground. ‘‘You made a commitment to dad that you would move out of the city, right? What are you still doing here?!’’ she ignored mom and was now directing her finger at me.‘‘Shut up, Leina!’’ My mother restrained me just as I was about to hit her back. ‘‘Mom…’’ I protested, but she shook her head.‘‘Don’t hurt your sister, Celestine…’’ she said as tears began to fill her eyes and all I could do was stared at her in disbelief. Why was she protecting this little shit! Leina hurt her! She insulted her! And I can’t take what she was doing to mom anymore. It’s breaking my heart into pieces.Leina fixed her gaze icily on our mother while crossi

‘‘Of course!’’ Ada retorted with a smug grin permanently affixed to her lips as she thought about her response. ‘‘Since I anticipated that Celestine would defy your father’s instructions, I had this prepared in advance. I offered her a way out that would have made her life simpler, but she insisted on venturing into this dungeon instead. I would enjoy myself more if I were to rough her up...’’ Her crooked smile contrasted sharply with her angry eyes. Everything was up to her at that point.‘‘Thank you, Mommy! You are without a doubt the very best!’’ Leina rushed over to her stepmother and gave her a bear hug, acting pampered while in her arms. In her mind, she harbored a deep-seated animosity toward Celestine. The fact that they share an identical appearance bothered her a great deal. She hates it that she has her face.Even more impressive was the fact that she did not give off the impression of being a country bumpkin despite the time she had spent on the island. Instead, she mainta

CELESTINE’s POVThe world seemed to freeze as I entered the room, the people around me took a deep breath, looking at me, shocked. Their eyes widened as they gaze jumped from me to Leina, and from Leina to me.Everyone was stunned as they stared at my calm and relaxed expression but suddenly, my eyes were beginning to hurt from the sudden stinging sensation caused by the flashes of camera that were going off all around me. I lifted my hand to try to cover my face when I heard one of the reporters asked me a question.‘‘Are you sure that it's actually you? The woman in the video?’’‘‘Yes…’’ I didn’t blink my eyes as I stared at the reporter and answered him directly and to the point. ‘‘That woman in the photos and in the video is me...’’That was the only words I was allowed to say.I just stood there motionless with a blank look written all over my face as the crowd jeered at me and barraged me with a never-ending stream of questions and sarcastic comments.After finishing what I had

CELESTINE’s POVEvery step that I made as I walked along the corridor of the hospital felt heavy. My entire body was trembling with misery, remorse, and rage as I realized what happened.I had just left Maxwell’s hospital and was on my way to the mortuary, where my mother's body was being held. The words of Dr. Andrew continued to reverberate in my ear. ‘‘She killed herself. Her wrist was injured when the nurse discovered her in the washroom of the medical facility. She suffered a significant amount of blood loss, and unfortunately, she did not survive…’’What could possibly have prompted mom to act in such a manner? Why on earth didn't she consider me before she did that? Doesn't she love me? She remarked that we are each other's only hope, yet I don't understand why she abandoned me. Why?I came to a stop in front of the mortuary and peered through the glass on the door. And there I saw a nurse standing beside the hospital bed, covering a lifeless body with a white cloth.‘‘Mom…’’ M

ARNOLD'S POV‘‘Congratulations, Mr. Maxwell!’’''Congrats! Finally, you're getting married!''''I wish you all the happiness, Arnold!''I smiled at the guests as they congratulated me on my engagement party. Even though it was supposed to be a joyful day, I couldn't help but feel unsettled. There was a heavy feeling that I was experiencing right now and I couldn't help but wonder why. As if something bad was going to happen.Leina looked absolutely stunning standing next to me. She was wearing a gold-colored long dress without a strap, and it had a high slit that stopped at the highest part of her thighs, matching the three-piece black suit I was wearing with my gold neck tie. But whenever I looked at her face, all I saw was her sister, Celestine…On that particular day, I was present at the press conference, so I saw everything that took place. And as soon as I saw Celestine leave the room, I hurried after her as quickly as I could.The moment I saw her pass out in the rain, my heart