The Bait, The Ruin のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 71 - チャプター 80

WELLINGTON'S POVI fling the door open right into Victoria’s face, then shove her hard against the hallway wall before she can even gasp properly. My fingers clamp around her throat while I pin her head in place, the rage inside me burning too violently to care that she’s struggling beneath my grip.“You want me? Really?” I growl into her face, curling my hand into her hair and yanking her head back. “Or did your mother put you up to this?”“What are you doing? I’ll…”“Call your mother?” I finish for her with a dry laugh. “You’re so pathetic. You know nothing about this cruel world, just hiding behind your mother and letting her control your thoughts like some puppet. If you want me to truly see you, then that has to change. Or maybe you want me to choose Dahlia all the way.”I watch her expression change instantly.Her eyes widen slightly, disbelief flickering inside them the moment she realizes I’m implying she still has a chance with me.“But you already love her.”“I don’t.” The l

WELLINGTON'S POV“Wait for me, Nani. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”The words leave my mouth the second the elevator doors slide open and I see Nani standing inside. Surprise flashes across her face as she steps out while I move in.“Where are you going?” she asks quickly, her eyes dropping straight to my bandaged arm that is already bleeding through again.“Wait… you can’t leave like that!”The elevator doors slide shut before I can answer her, cutting off the rest of her words. I know she deserves an explanation, but now isn’t the time for one because every second I waste feels like another second closer to Dahlia getting hurt. Nani cares about her too. She’ll understand later.The bandage around my arm keeps soaking with blood every passing second. My joints ache so badly that even breathing feels like work, and I know Nani is right. I need proper treatment. I need sleep. I need to stop pushing myself before my body completely gives out on me again.But I don’t think rest exists for peo

WELLINGTON'S POVMaybe if I run faster, I can escape this place. I just have to keep moving without looking back, and then I’ll be free.Freedom.What does that even taste like? I’d love to know. All I need to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other, never giving up no matter how much my breath burns or how hot my head feels.My small body creates narrow paths through the bushy part of the desert as I run farther into what looks like a hill. There are too many rocks and pebbles beneath my feet, but there is grass everywhere too. Those sharp ones that cut like razor blades when they prick your skin.Or like when a plate breaks, and a tiny piece of it gets stuck in your finger while you try to clean it up before your adoptive parent sees it and reminds you that the broken thing matters more than you ever will.I hear the growls behind me, louder now, closer with every second, even while my legs crash through the bushes as I force myself higher up the hill. I refuse to look bac

DAHLIA'S POV“Dahlia.”Jerome looks almost unrecognizable, even to me, and his voice no longer sounds like it belongs to the confident man I once knew, loved, and respected so deeply.His hair and beard are badly overgrown, swallowing most of his face so I can barely see his lips when he speaks. He doesn’t just look unkempt. He keeps scratching at himself nervously, almost violently, like someone high on heroin.The sight reminds me too much of Vicente.“What’s going on here?”Wellington appears beside me, his voice turning so cold that Jerome instantly takes a step back from me.“I swear, I didn’t touch anything,” Jerome says quickly, lifting his hands slightly. “I just thought you were home, so I came to talk…”He shrugs weakly, like he expects me to understand.And I do.But this is not the time.“We need to get her inside. The doctor is on his way.” Wellington steps back toward the car.“Tell me you came to finalize our divorce,” I say before Jerome can move again. My voice leaves

DAHLIA'S POV I knew he would faint, but I don't know what happened to make him collapse like that, and for once, I am grateful the doctor is still here.At this rate, I might faint next if I don't sit still and breathe slowly.I can barely walk without feeling like my legs will fold beneath me where I swear my bones have cracked apart. Every movement hurts. My head still feels too light for my neck and my body no longer feels like something I completely own.So they rush him back into the house and I try hard not to panic as they start working on him. I sit beside my mother, watching everything with frightened eyes, afraid to even stand up.I want to call Sunny and tell her what is happening because I know she must be losing her mind trying to reach me after I disappeared with her car yesterday, but I don't know where my phone is.Maybe it is lying in a ditch somewhere around Mr. Chane's private road.Maybe it shattered during the crash.Or maybe it is gone forever, just like too man