Semua Bab 100 Days With My Nemesis: Bab 91 - Bab 100

NORA Mars' phone starts ringing again before I can dwell on the disorienting realization brewing in my heart. The sharp sound pierces through the air, and he flinches hard. Both hands fly to his ears. His eyes dart towards the door, the window and the broken phone on the carpet. As though the noise is coming from everywhere at once. "Mars." He doesn't seem to hear me. His breathing turns frantic. I lunge for his phone before it can ring again. DR. ADRIAN I'm about to reject the call when a message slides across the top of the screen. UNKNOWN NUMBER My thumb freezes. The preview contains only one sentence. THE FIRST JUDGMENT HAS BEEN DELIVERED. A shiver runs through me. Another message appears immediately. THE GUILTY WILL CONFESS. THE INNOCENT WILL BE AVENGED. What the hell? The words don't sound like a threat. Not exactly. They read like a proclamation. Like whoever sent them believes they are delivering justice. But justice for whom? For Mars? No. Someone s

NORA By the time I return to the villa, it's nearly 10:30pm.I balance the tray against my hip as I push open the bedroom door. The lights are low. Only the lamp beside the bed is on, casting a soft golden glow across the room.Mars is still asleep.He is lying exactly where I left him hours ago, curled slightly onto his uninjured side. One hand rests beneath his cheek. His dark hair spills over the pillow.I watch his chest, relief settling in when I notice the faint movement.He had barely woken all day. He drank a little water, mumbled something rude when the nurse tried to take his temperature, then slipped back to sleep before she could properly annoy him.Apparently, emotional devastation is exhausting.I place the tray on the nightstand. Soup, soft bread, grilled fish, and enough fruit to feed three men. The kitchen staff must believe heartbreak burns five thousand calories."Mars," I whisper.I sit on the edge of the mattress and touch the back of my fingers to his forehe

MARCELLUS Nora drops the bottles onto the nightstand and wraps both arms around me. At first, I resist.Anger is easier than this. Anger has sharp edges. It gives me something to hold until I no longer have to feel the betrayal rotting in my chest. But Nora's hand starts moving slowly over my back, and it feels like my heart is splintering into pieces."I trusted him," I rasp.Her arms tighten."He knew exactly what those pills would do to me. Then he sat beside my hospital bed and convinced me I'd made a mistake."My throat feels like it's constricting. A hot pressure builds behind my eyes. I pull away before she can see the hurt, but Nora catches my face between her hands.Her expression doesn't change. There is no pity in it. No horror. Only pain that seems to belong to both of us. A tear slips down my cheek, unwelcome.Nora wipes it away with her thumb. Another follows.I grit my teeth and turn my face, but she gently guides it back."You're allowed to be hurt, Mars.""I'm

MARCELLUS Celine arrives just after noon. I know because the security monitor beside the sitting-room door lights up, showing a black car moving slowly through the gates. Nora sits beside me on the couch, her thigh pressed against mine. One of her hands rests over my wrist."You can still change your mind," she says, and I shake my head.Her fingers tighten slightly. I stare at the screen as the car stops near the entrance. A driver steps out first. Then Celine.She is wearing a pale blue dress beneath a long coat. Her hair is pulled into a low knot, but the wind has loosened several strands around her face. She looks frightened.She should be. The front door opens a minute later. Celine steps into the sitting room and freezes.Her eyes land on me first. Then the brace around my leg. Her face crumples."Marcellus."I grip the arm of the couch. "Sit."She does. The chair across from us is several feet away. Two security guards stand outside the room. Celine places her purse ca

NORA Mars' fingers stop clutching my dress. Even the tremors seem to vanish all at once."Mars?"He doesn't answer. Celine takes a desperate step towards us before one of the guards catches her arm."He showed me photographs," she continues. "Every year. He wanted me to understand that they were watching you."I look down at Mars. His eyes are open, but he is no longer looking at me. His gaze is fixed somewhere over my shoulder. Empty."He told me you would die if I approached," Celine sobs. "He said the people who had you would make it slow."Mars' lips part. No sound comes out. I place one hand against his cheek. His skin is cold and damp."Kitten, look at me."His eyes move towards mine, but they don't focus properly. Something about his expression makes my heart lurch. He looks frightened."Did he tell her not to come?" he asks.His voice is so soft I almost don't hear it. Celine breaks down behind me."Yes," she cries. "Yes, sweetheart. He did."Mars flinches at the endea