5
I expected my repeated rejections to make Leo angry, to make him revert to his usual passive–aggressive digs.
But he did none of that. He just looked at me, his eyes slowly filling with tears.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he finally said, then turned and left.
I turned back to the silent Joey.
“You two seem close,” he said, his expression still cold, but a storm was brewing in his
eyes.
“We’re alright. I raised him, after all.” This was the first time I had ever revealed my connection to Leo. The shameful past of his time lost in the slums had been well–hidden by the Sterling family. No one knew how he had survived, or with whom.
The next second, the world spun.
Joey slammed me down onto the sofa, his hands once again finding my neck. Unlike before, his touch was light, almost gentle, the position disturbingly intimate.
I stared at him, our eyes locked in a silent standoff.
After a long moment, he seemed to relent. With a soft sigh, he released me. His thumb traced the bruises he’d left on my skin, and
11:02
Chapter 1
when he spoke, his voice held a hint of affection. “Let’s stop fighting.”
“Tell me where Sera is now. Please?”
For a second, I saw something like deep emotion in his eyes, the same look he’d had not long ago when he knelt before me with a
ring.
“No matter what happened in the past,” he’d said then, “if you behave from now on, if you stop causing trouble, we can be happy together forever.”
But by then, I already knew he was only with me for Sera’s sake. My heart was already dead to him. Still, for the mission, I had sup- pressed my humiliation and accepted the ring he offered me for another woman. The moment it was on my finger, a wave of relief washed over Joey’s face. He even kissed me passionately for the cheering crowd, though moments later he was called away with the excuse that Sera had been in a car accident.
Now, looking at his face again, I slowly smiled.
Joey’s eyes lit up, a flicker of hope in his voice. “Faye, be good. I can overlook what happened this time. As long as you don’t hurt Sera again, we can be happy together.“”
“In your dreams.”
My voice cut him off.
“Telling you where Sera is, or living happily ever after with you–both are fantasies,” I said. “If you have the guts, kill me.”
“Don’t think I won’t,” his voice turned to ice.
“Go on. If you can’t kill me, you’re nothing.” My taunt was out. But soon after, exhaustion overwhelmed me. The world went black, and I passed out.
While I was unconscious, the System reminded me that time was running out. I needed to leave this world soon.
As I started to wake, my head was heavy and clouded. A warm hand stroked my face, and occasionally, a soft, warm kiss would brush against my skin. It must be a hallucination, Ithought. In the seven years I’d tried to win him over, the five I’d spent as his girlf-
riend, the number of times he’d kissed me could be counted on one hand.
But the hallucination felt more and more real. I could even hear his deep, helpless voice in my ear. “Faye, what am I supposed to do with you?”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I opened my eyes and met Joey’s gaze, catching emotion he couldn’t hide in time. I was stunned. He was always so calm and controlled around me. I had never seen him look like this–a tangled mess of pity, loathing, restraint, and regret. He looked like a complete stranger.
But the strangeness lasted only for a second. His expression hardened, becoming resolute once more.
“Tell me where Sera is,” he said, his voice a low, seductive murmur. But in his
he was casually toying with a syringe. Seeing
my eyes fix on it, he helpfully explained, “Something that only circulates in high society. A single milliliter is worth millions. It can kill a person in three minutes of agony, and the coroner will only find evidence of a heart attack.”
I smiled. Joey thought I’d finally caved. A look of relief flickered in his eyes, quickly replaced by shock. Because I grabbed his hand–the one holding the syringe–and plunged the needle into my own neck.
17:02
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“Joey, I’ll tell you a secret,” I whispered, my life fading as I looked into his stunned, helpless eyes.
“I was good to you because I loved you.”
“I know, I know,” he stammered, pulling me into a desperate embrace, roaring for someone to call a doctor.
I leaned against his shoulder and finished my sentence.
“I loved you, but you never once trusted me. And now, the thought of you disgusts me. So much that I can’t bear to live in the same world as you.”
With my last ounce of strength, I pushed against his chest, shoving him away. I tumbled from his arms. As I fell, time seemed to slow down. I could clearly see the confusion and… grief on his face.
Could Joey feel grief for me?
It’s over, I thought. I’m finally going home.
“Faye! Faye!” Dimly, I heard the basement door burst open and a familiar voice call out. It was Ethan Cross, the neighbor boy who had always looked out for me, the main male lead of this story.
I heard his hurried footsteps, his voice cracking with urgency. “We found Sera! It was one of the Roswell family’s rivals!”
“What did you say?” Joey’s trembling voice asked.
I couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation clearly. My consciousness grew light; my soul felt like it was floating upwards.
My parents‘ gentle, smiling faces were so close. I reached out to embrace them…
But a powerful force yanked me back.
When I opened my eyes again, I was still in this body, staring at the sterile white ceiling of a hospital room.
“You’re awake?” a gentle male voice asked. I turned my head and met Ethan’s concerned gaze. He wore a white shirt and silver- rimmed glasses. As the story’s hero, he had an air of cool elegance without even trying.
But I didn’t care about any of that. Only one thought consumed me.
“Why am I not dead?” My voice was thick with undisguised disappointment.
Ethan’s hand, which had been peeling an apple for me, froze. After a long moment, he sighed, put the apple down, and came to tuck me in. He looked down at me, his eyes soft.
“I’ve explained everything to them. Joey is too ashamed to face you. They wronged you. Don’t overthink it.” He gently patted my head. “You still have me, your big brother.”
I watched him from under the covers and let out a sarcastic laugh. “In that case, brother, your ing I was the culprit. Shouldn’t she make a public apology to me?”
Ethan’s expression stiffened. This time, he had no reply.
