If I were to let my fear appear on my face at that moment, I would lose. Thus, I gritted my teeth and steeled myself for what I was going to say next. “The game is over. I’m not going to play this anymore. It’s a waste of my time to play a game with someone like you—someone who has no principles and won’t even stick to the rules.”
“When have I not stuck to the rules? I promised that I would leave Anthony alive. Is he not alive right now?” Nathaniel narrowed his eyes as he studied me. “So can I assume that you’ve made a mistake slapping me?”
For a moment, I was so taken aback by his words that no words formed in my head.
However, Nathaniel did not urge me for a quick reply. Instead, he abruptly reached out his hand to grab my chin.
He then leaned his face closer to mine. For a second, I thought his breath was as cold as he was. “Since you’ve done that, you’ll have to endure the punishment. Now, coax me in front of everyone else.”
I thrashed, but that only made him tighten his grip on me. A pang of pain shot up into the top of my skull, and I was forced to relent and mutter, “What do you want?”
“It’s simple.” Nathaniel smiled. “Kiss me. Hug me.”
I frowned when I heard that before silently letting my eyes flick toward Anthony.
At that, Nathaniel tightened his grip and used pain to force me to pay attention to him. “I’ve fulfilled many of your requests, and you should do the same. You shouldn’t reject me. Otherwise, I’ll have to use another way to resolve this misunderstanding.”
With that said, he turned to grin at Anthony and Joseph with a homicidal look in his eyes.
It was right then I realized what kind of situation Anthony was trapped in. He would sacrifice everything to save the one he loved, and so would I.
“Okay.” I dropped my arms and let them hang beside me before closing my eyes. After a heavy sigh, I continued, “I’ll do as you say, so let go of me.”
Instantly, Nathaniel released his grip on me and started caressing me gently instead. “I love the way you are right now.”
What way? The way I’m forced to submit to him even though I feel nothing but hatred? The way I have to let him order me around as if I’m his maid? Forget it. I can’t always have the upper hand in this. That’ll only raise his suspicion.
“Let’s start then.” Nathaniel patted my cheeks before retracting his hand. He then hunched over and waited to receive his reward from me.
There was no use crying over spilled milk, but I could not help but glance at the silent Anthony. All of a sudden, a thought popped into my head. The moment Nathaniel closed his eyes, I raised my hand to swing it downward again, leaving a clear palm print on his face.
Finally, Nathaniel was infuriated. He immediately grabbed my neck and hissed, “You’re pushing your luck!”
“Mrs. Featherstone!” Joseph tried to rush over to rescue me, but after a loud bang, he collapsed onto his knees.
At some point in time, Nathaniel had fished out a gun and shot Joseph’s calf.
By the time I came back to my senses, the warm muzzle of the gun was already pressed against my forehead.
He won’t pull the trigger. That was what I guessed.
However, at the same time, I realized that Nathaniel’s choices were always different from an ordinary person’s choices. That bullet was something I would not be able to avoid.
Bang!
“Ah!”
Before I could think about what I should do next, Nathaniel swung his gun to the side and shot the other leg of Joseph, who was trying to clamber to his feet again. Blood pooled underneath him, and he could only support himself to a partially upright position with his hands.
Perhaps he was afraid that he would infuriate Nathaniel. Joseph bit down hard on his lip as he shook from the pain, forcing down the whimpers that threatened to escape past his lips. He endured it to the point where even the veins on his temples popped.
Meanwhile, Nathaniel was bloodthirsty. He slowly shifted the gun to point it at Anthony, who was already injured.
I have to stop this.
Before anything else passed through my mind, I fixed my eyes on the gun in Nathaniel’s hand.
In the next second, I grabbed his hand and pulled to make the muzzle point at my left shoulder instead. Then, I pressed down on Nathaniel’s index finger and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
It was too late for Nathaniel to stop me. The bullet buried itself into my flesh, and it felt like I had fallen on a pit of spikes. The agonizing pain nearly rendered me unconscious.
Forcing the pain to rest at the back of my mind used up all my strength. I could not gain control over my body anymore, and I gradually lost balance and consciousness.
Even though I knew that the bullet had not hit anything vital, I could not help but look toward Anthony longingly as my vision blurred.
He’s looking at me.
Upon registering that, I let go of everything and fell.
The last bit of memory I had before passing out was a tug on my waist.
My eyes rolled in their socket, and I realized that I was alive. Instantly, I opened them.
From the decor of the space around me and the scent of disinfectants in the air, I deduced that I was in the hospital.
I then moved my fingers and pinched my thigh. The pain told me that I was not in a dream—that I was still alive. Soon, the sharp pain on my shoulder sobered me up for good.
I won. What about Anthony?
In a rush to find out the answer to that, I pulled away from the blanket and struggled upright on the bed despite the pain. Just as I stuck on a foot and before I could put it onto the floor, a familiar low voice above my head said, “Are you that eager to die with Anthony?”
Anthony’s dead? No. He must be lying. If he killed Anthony, then he wouldn’t let me alive either.
“Of course.” I lifted my head to glare daggers at him. “I live only for him. If he dies, there’s no meaning for me to keep living. You can save me once, but you won’t be able to be there in time forever. As long as the opportunity comes to me, I’ll definitely follow in Anthony’s footsteps.”
“Do you think I care?” Nathaniel questioned, his voice devoid of emotions. The icy and prideful look on his face made him seem like a grim reaper who just came from hell.
Of course you do, I thought. Otherwise, you wouldn’t do all these to keep me alive. Soon, you will know how terrifying one person’s intense emotions can be.
“I know you don’t care, so…” Halfway through my sentence, my eyes flickered toward the television stand. A second later, I jerked upright and slammed my head at it.
Although I managed to avoid its sharp corner, the force of the collision made the world spin around me. I slumped against the stand and collapsed.
Nathaniel spun around, so angry that his eyes were as wide as saucers. “Sienna Stanhope, you’re pushing your luck!”
I raised my uninjured hand to press down on the wound. I could barely open my eyes, but still, I forced out a smile. “I know I am, and you are the reason for it. Y-You know that if Anthony dies, I’ll be dead too. If you take his life, you take mine too. You’re playing the role of a nice man visiting me, but who are you playing this role for? Yourself? Hilarious! You’re a joke, Nathaniel!”
Nathaniel was completely still in his spot. The cold light of the filament lamp shone on him, casting a shadow over his eyes. The more I looked at his eyes, the darker they seemed, but the entire time, his expression was a calm one. He was not panicking from getting exposed for his lies, and neither was he refuting my words nor giving any explanations.
The spacious room was engulfed by silence. Perhaps he was ruminating about something, but that was something I could not decipher. Nevertheless, it was evident that my fake suicide attempt was effective.
After a long while, and just as I was about to pass out, Nathaniel reacted.
He walked over and gently held my wrist, about to help me out. “Get up first.”
His voice was soft. It was as if he was afraid of scaring me.
It was then I finally opened my eyes wide to warily watch him. However, I did not plan to listen to him.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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