جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 130

He doesn't respond or take his eyes away from me. He doesn't move either. He just stands five feet away, his chest heaving slightly under his unbuttoned overcoat, his raw knuckles glistening faintly in the dim light. He looks like he’s completely off guard, caught in the middle of a heinous crime. He takes a step toward me. “You shouldn't be down here.” “What have you done to them?” I gesture toward the glass cage, my hands trembling. “Look at them. Look at Daniel. Look at Barbara. Are you—are you starving them to death? Is that what you plan to do?” Zayn’s expression hardens instantly. He doesn't look at the cage like I asked him to. His eyes stay locked onto mine. “I'm doing exactly what needs to be done. They forfeited their right to humanity the moment they laid their hands on you.” “This isn’t justice!” I cry, taking a step toward him, my hands clenching the fabric of his robe draped over my small frame. “This is torture, Zayn! If they stay down here another day, their organs

~MARIE~I haven't seen a fierce woman like Barbara. She’s more money hungry than I am. I’ve known her since she was a little girl and I can’t believe she’s grown up to become this cruel. Jade is surrounded by snakes. She’s lucky to have escaped. I wish luck had never shone on her. I want that money more than I want her to breathe. By the time I drag my exhausted, humiliated body back to the house we’ve called home for the past couple of years, the worst had already happened. The front lawn is chaotic. Three heavy-duty moving trucks are backed up to the entrance, and uniform-clad workers are ruthlessly hauling out our dining sets, armchairs, and racks of clothes, tossing them carelessly into the cargo holds.“What is the meaning of this?!” I scream, running up to the foreman, who is checking items off a digital clipboard. “Our grace period isn't up until midnight! You can't touch our things!”The foreman doesn't even look up. “Rental agreement was terminated legally at 8:00 AM today,

“I'm asking you to be the daughter I always wished Victoria was.”Henry Bennett’s voice echoes in my head as I fasten the cuffs of my sleeves. I stare at myself in the vanity mirror, my fingers tracing the gold-embossed business card sitting on the counter. He told me he has less than a year. He is dying. A billionaire titan, surrounded by unparalleled luxury, yet completely and utterly alone. I stare at my left wrist. The number under my skin is exactly 100. Eight months have gone by since I opened my eyes and saw myself standing at the altar where Daniel and I first said ‘I do’ before he and my family planned my death. I have three months and a few days left. Will I be able to escape death this time? Will I be able to live on as every normal person? Or would death eventually find me once the number on my wrist hits 0?Just like Mr. Bennett, my fate is unknown. He said he might die before it’s even a year. Maybe that’s why I feel the sudden, fierce pull toward him. I don't understa

What’s not possible, I wonder. The woman stares at me, her gaze darting to the oil painting behind me, and then back to my face. It is as if she is looking at a ghost that had crawled straight out of the canvas.“You…” she whispers. Then she takes a step closer, her sharp eyes scanning every single line of my face, searching desperately for a flaw, a difference—anything to prove her eyes wrong. The terror in her expression quickly changes into malice. “Jade Hemsworth?”“Yes.”“I see… Who allowed you in this wing?”“I—”“Victoria told me about you. Don’t you have manners? Wandering into private areas of a place you don't belong in?”What? She just met me and she’s this mean. Zayn’a right. Victoria’s just like her mother. They look alike as well.“Mr. Bennett gave me permission to look around,” I reply, keeping my voice perfectly calm and even. “I apologize if I—”“I don't care what he told you.” She steps right up to me, her flowery perfume choking the air between us. “You might have t

JADEMr. Bennett’s personal driver drives me back home. The time was past seven when I left his estate. I’d lost track of time, laughing, talking, and listening to stories about his youth. It seemed like we’ve known each other forever. Twenty-four years ago, I think to myself, my fingers tightly interlacing in my lap as I stare out the tinted window at the blurred city lights. His wife, Diana died the exact year I was born. And the face... how can two strangers share the exact same face? If life isn't as crazy as it is, I might say I could be a reincarnation of Diana. Ha ha! That’s funny. Maybe not as funny as I think because Mr. Bennett and I act as if we’ve known each other in a past life we both must have shared.As the car pulls up my driveway, a flutter of excitement replaces the mystery in my chest. For the first time in a long time, I walk into our home with a bright smile on my face, knowing Zayn is already at home, waiting for me. I’m super excited to see him. I swing the f