Cut Off For Good のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

When I held my father's body, which was stiffening in my arms, I felt my blood run cold to the point of freezing. I couldn’t speak, even if I wanted to.A sharp, shrill phone call snapped me out of it. It was Alice calling.I answered without thinking.Her nonchalant voice came through the speaker. “Oliver, I’m getting married to Gregory tonight, and we’re all out of condoms. Bring a box over for me.”My fingers were shaking. Just as I was about to hang up on her, she spoke again, “Oh, buy a box of candy for me too. The kid has a sweet tooth, and I can win him over with it.”A memory flashed across my mind. I recalled Alice picking up my father and me from our run-down rental apartment.She gently slipped the ring onto my finger. “Have you been trying to hide from me? I’ve been searching for you for ages.“Even if you're not the Barton heir, you’re still my husband. I promise you I’ll give you the perfect wedding.”The first time we did it, I was very nervous. I remembered how

My eyes were bloodshot when I slapped him across the face.“Gregory, you crossed a line!”Gregory covered his face and seemed aghast. Then, he turned to Alice, who was behind him and cried out, looking aggrieved, “Alice, I didn't mean it! I tried to apologize to him!”What came after was a terrific, burning sensation across my face.…Alice had put everything into the slap and threw me to the ground. She barely even cared to look at me.Instead, she went straight to Gregory, where she carefully looked after him. “There, do you feel better?”Gregory embraced her. “It's my fault. I shouldn’t have thrown up on those sheets and ruined them.”It was then that Alice cast a look at the grotesque stain on the sheet before ordering icily, “Burn it.”“No, it was the last thing my father left for me! I can clean it myself, don't burn it!”Alice of all people should know that I suffered from nightmares every night. The only way I could fall asleep was when I was hugging the blanket.Des

Alice’s eyes reddened when she picked up the blood-stained ring from the severed hand. She murmured to no one in particular, “This is the engagement ring I exchanged with Oliver. He never takes it off.”She was too afraid to even entertain the thought that this might be Oliver’s severed hand.“You, get over here!”Her eyes were swollen and red as she snapped at the bodyguard, “Where is the mister?”Gregory finally caught up to her. He affectionately took her hand and asked, “Alice, were you looking for me? Why were you ignoring me just now?”Alice impatiently shrugged him off before repeating the same question, “Where is the mister?”The bodyguards all lowered their heads and were too afraid to speak.Gregory tried to smooth things over, “Alice, why are you being so upset? I'm right here!“I just took my friends out to get something to eat and some drinks. You were the one who told me I could do whatever I wanted on my birthday!”Smack!She slapped Gregory across the face and

Alice grimaced. “Grandpa, what are you doing here?”Carl jabbed his walking cane forcefully on the floor. “I heard you were knocked up by that Barton kid? And where is Oliver?"…I was lying in the hospital and haunted by nightmares.The moment I awoke from another one of these nightmares, I was greeted by an elderly man with gray hair by my bedside. He was quietly wiping away his tears.Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught another stoic-looking man standing in the corner.Upon noticing that I was awake, the old man excitedly grabbed my hand, “Oliver, you’re finally awake! It’s me, your grandfather!”I furrowed my brows so I could get a closer look at the middle-aged man behind him.“Mr. Clarke, I was the one who contacted you to help you find your father’s ancestry. Do you remember me?“This gentleman here is the one you’ve been looking for. He’s your grandfather.”The mention of my father made me burst out in tears again. I looked at the old man with my vision blurre

The women who had been lusting after me were now trembling like leaves, hiding behind the crowd.Charlotte went toward them and produced a knife out of nowhere. She moved as swiftly as lightning.In an instant, they fell to the ground and cried out in anguish, shielding their faces.Charlotte returned to me and casually sheathed her knife and instructed her subordinates, “Send them to the brothels.”That was when another group of people got on their knees and pleaded, “Mr. Beckett, please spare them! They are our family's only heirs!”“Please, don’t do this to them!”My grandfather chuckled heartily at their misery. He motioned for me to sit with him and enjoy the spectacle.Then, he remarked condescendingly while gesturing at Charlotte, “This subordinate of mine has a strange nature and never listens to me. Maybe you all should try pleading with her instead.”With that, they groveled before Charlotte. She responded by suddenly seizing a young woman's hand and slicing off her f