Lahat ng Kabanata ng Healing The Devil I Once Loved: Kabanata 161 - Kabanata 170

ZARIA 161:“...ah, what about Paris? The Dominico… okay. I understand. Merci.” I turned to Wang. “Well, nothing concrete.”Wang narrowed his eyes. “So no one can find Rosita?”I shrugged, dialling another number. Immediately they picked, I used my tactics. “Try harder,” I gritted into the phone. “You didn’t hear this from me,” the woman said quietly, “but something happened to the heir of Dominico's fortune five years ago.”My grip tightened slightly on the phone. “What kind of something?”“A break-in.”I straightened. “That doesn’t make sense.”“I know. That’s why it’s a problem.”“Who got in?”“I don’t know. But someone very close to the family got hurt.”My chest tightened. “Who?”“Rosita.”Instantly, the line went dead. I lowered the phone slowly, my thoughts already racing ahead of me.A break-in… at Renzo’s mansion?That alone didn’t add up. I mean, places like that didn’t get broken into unless someone wanted it to happen or gave the blueprint. That was a Mafia Boss' house for

MAY 163:The bass was loud enough to settle into my bones.It didn’t just stay in the air—it pressed into my chest, into my ribs, into my head, until everything else started to blur around the edges. That was the point. That was always the point.I tilted my head back slightly, letting the music take over as the dark track bled into the room. It wasn’t the kind of song people danced happily to. It was slower, heavier, and almost haunting. My lips moved along with the singer’s voice. “...bury the light, let it crawl through the veins…”Someone brushed past me.I didn’t pay attention at first. That happened all the time in places like this. Bodies moved. People pushed. Drinks spilled. It was part of the environment.Then the shove came. I staggered half a step, catching myself before I lost balance completely.“Watch it,” I said, turning slightly.The girl didn’t stop walking at first.Then she did, turning back toward me with her eyes already narrowed. “Or what?” she asked.I frowned

MAY 165:“That’s the point.”“It’s more than risky,” Raven grumbled. “It’s borderline suicidal if we get caught.”“We won’t get caught.”“That’s not a plan,” Arnie snapped. “You just told her to throw some C4. I love my life, and I ain't going to die for some mafia bitch.”“Hey! May is working for that Mafia bitch. Be careful or you'll end up like Will.” Noreo gritted out. “We might kill a few people. No big deal.”“No big deal?” Archie repeated, his voice cracking under the weight of disbelief. “How can you stand there and say that so casually?”“Enough,” I said quietly. “You think I don’t understand what this is? You think I dragged all of you here, into this, without thinking it through?”No one answered. Even Noreo, who always had something to say, stayed quiet.“Do you remember how we met?” I asked. Confusion flickered across their faces.Noreo frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”“Everything,” I said, not missing a beat.I turned to Arnie first. “You were wasting

ZARIA 167:I did not plan to walk into a place like this.That was the first thing that crossed my mind as I stood just outside the glass doors, taking in the quiet luxury of Maison Verre Noir. The lighting of this beautiful place alone told you everything. Wang stood beside me, hands in his pockets, his gaze sweeping the building once before settling on me.“This doesn’t look like your usual thrift stop,” he said.“It isn’t,” I replied. “We aren't in China anymore.”“Then why are we here?”I tilted my head slightly, letting my eyes drift across the entrance again before stepping forward. “Because I can,” I said simply.He let out a low breath, amused. “That’s not an explanation.”“It’s enough of one.”The doors opened smoothly as we approached, and the air inside wrapped around us with a faint clean scent of leather and shampoo or something.Jesus.It smelled so good here.Wang followed, slower, more observant. He didn’t speak immediately, but I could feel his attention everywhere b

ZARIA 169:The moment a slapping sound filled my ears, I stopped. And it wasn't because I was surprised but because I knew exactly what would happen next if I didn’t step in.You see, I had wanted to overlook Renzo and his trophy princess—that is if they didn't notice my little stunt of closing off the entire closet—by walking away.But that sound was awful. “Did you hear that?”Wang was on his way back already. “That sounds like some poor attendant being bullied.” We both came out to see that the attendant’s head had barely turned back when Elix’s fingers dug into her chin, forcing her face up like she was nothing more than an object placed there for her convenience.I felt Wang shift beside me. I knew he was itching to do something even when it wasn't his business. But it was our business since I caused this. Before I knew it, I was right up in their business, asking the question about bullying.It was an understatement of how I actually felt being so close to Renzo.My heart was