Chapter Seventy-Four – Shiver. The sheer authority with which Chen said it made the Aunt Jenna know he wasn’t joking around. Her legs finally gave way and she wobbled to the ground. What had she put herself into? What menace has she summoned upon herself? In her bid to hide her sins, she had not only sinned more but placed curses on herself. Now kids intimidated her. Chen retracted the knife. “That said, that was one of your complains, right? Nine hundred and ninety nine thousand more to go. I was told to hear all.” Aunt Jenna shot her head up. But she didn’t have that many. Would he kill her if she repeated? Or she should say all her life issues? Was he going to do anything about the house? She looked downwards. “That house meant a lot to Stark. I temporarily moved him to my apartment since Debby said she wanted it to be where Arya gets trapped in. I never thought…” “That was my idea.” Chen interrupted. “Blowing it up.” She glared at him. “That was wrong. That apartment was…
Chapter Seventy-Five – Nut Job. There was music in the background. Someone was eating besides her. She could tell from the plate and spoon clashing, and also because her stomach reacted to the aroma of the food. Arya opened her eyes slowly. The ceiling didn’t look familiar. They were surely not in the hotel. Her body was quite numb but she knew she could move if she tried. The person besides her stood up, and she made a sound. Damien turned to her, then rushed to her side. “Arya, are you feeling better now?” he placed his hand on her head. She smiled. “Yeah, don’t worry. Just a bit numb but it’d go away soon.” Her legs felt light but she didn’t fear. “It won’t go away soon.” Damien smiled back. “You had anesthetics so your body will be quite useless for a while.” She didn’t feel that weak but she nodded. As long as she was in a safe place, she wouldn’t mind not being able to move. “We are at the Wades Mansion, right? The ceiling isn’t like our room but it’s similar.” She poin
Chapter Seventy-Six – Strange. An 'all you can buffet’ should be an 'all you can eat’ buffet, not an ‘all you are permitted’ to eat buffet! Why can’t the chef of the mansion understand that! And the fact they had selected the food out for her in a cart already, waiting for her to retrieve it. She didn’t even pick what she would eat. Arya stomped back to her room, pushing the cart of food she had. She passed by Connor’s room and paused. She had taken a snack for him, but she wasn’t sure if he was awake. She hadn’t set her eyes on him since yesterday when they returned from the incident. But she knew he was okay, she hoped. “Hey Connor.” She knocked on his door. There was no response before someone said “Come in, Arya.” Arya knew it was Mrs. Wade. Damien earlier told her that she stayed with Connor yesterday but Arya didn’t think she would still be with him. “Oh sure.” She walked in. “Good morning, mother.” She made a small bow. Mrs. Wade smiled. “Good morning, Arya.” Arya’s ey
Chapter Seventy-Seven – Threaten. Being cooped up at home wasn’t very fun to Arya. She wasn’t an extrovert or anything but she liked the idea of being free, knowing she could stroll out if she liked. But with recent happenings, she only had the kitchen and her room to go to. Connor who kept her company, she wrecked him. “I’m so amazing, aren’t I?” she groaned loudly. At least, she could sprawl on the bed and had free time to watch tons of anime. Except her collection had nearly been exhausted and she was bored once again. “I wonder if Winx is free, now?” She sighed, dragging her phone to herself. She didn’t want to distract Winx at school, since at least one of them should be learning. Still, she sent her a message hoping for one back. She just need to ask how Seth was, not that she was curious. It felt odd that she wasn’t curious. She used to be always curious. Maybe she was accepting her place in his life? Or was something distracting her? “I don’t think I should get too in
Chapter Seventy-Eight – Jim. Lucy washed her face with cold water from the tap. Her head was burning up. She looked at the voice note from the call she just had. She wanted to listen to it again but she was scared to. What was that those girls said? Her mother did what? Tried killing Arya? Blew up Uncle Stark’s house? Was dating Uncle Stark? Did that make sense? It didn’t even correlate. “If mother was dating Uncle Stark, why will he let her blow up his house?” Lucy wondered. “Or was he part of the plan too?” Lucy knew Arya and Anna weren’t lying. The matter was so big of an issue to lie about. And Lucy had been hearing news about attacks on the Wades group. Could it be her mother too? Was she finally psycho? “That woman couldn’t get me a job! She couldn’t provide anything for me! Why is she trying to ruin the biggest connection I have!” Lucy cried to herself. The company she worked for were friends with the Wades group. If they find out her mother was attacking one of their
Chapter Seventy-Nine – Movies.Arya couldn’t remember the last time she laughed so hard, and cried so hard. The movie her sister gave to her were romance comedies that brought different emotions in her. They were also really sad tales amongst them but she didn’t agree to how most of them had ended. “Why does the handsome guy end up with the girl? Why not the smart one? He’s not a nerd, he’s just smarter than you!” Arya fumed as the second male lead had his heart broken. She slammed her laptop shut and frowned, glaring at space. “The bad boy always win, right? When he was clearly abusive to her in the first place, huh?” Arya couldn’t get why abusive male leads were a trend. They didn’t seem compatible with the calm shy girl yet the girl always fell for them? Like she wouldn’t mind cold guys who act uninterested at first but the blatant violent ones were a no-no. “Do red flags only happen in real life?” she asked herself. Her mother and father marriage might be identical too. Ev
Chapter Eighty – Diablo.Damien knocked on the small door of the bar. A huge man opened up and he strolled in, not sparing the man a word. The place was teeming with young men and women. It looked like a club house, as well as a drug baron’s base. It irked him to be around such place but that was the only place he knew to get the help he needed. He arrived at a door, after walking down the hall for seconds. It was rough like someone usually scraped it with spoons. Damien ignored it and knocked on the door twice. “Come in, boss.” A deep voice replied. Damien walked in, adjusting his mask. “Thank you, Diablo.” The Diablo smiled, flicking his pen. “Whenever I see you wear a mask when walking in here, it makes me want to laugh.” Damien rolled his eyes, taking the mask off. “It’s because you run this place like it’s some illegal place when it’s not. I can’t risk my identity being exposed.” A young girl ran into the room and Damien hurriedly covered his face. “Oh, it’s my daughter.”
Chapter Eighty-One – Lady Arya! It was becoming unbearable for Arya, sitting at home, doing nothing, not even chores because she had servants. She could only eat and eat and the movies she took from her sister were almost finished. She was bored out of her head. “Is there anything to do? Anywhere to go that will be safe?” she sprang from her bed and wondered. She looked to her left where Damien’s bed was located. He had been returning home late at night, perhaps being relaxed as he knew she was inside. Arya fell back on the bed and began rolling from side to side. Connor was at school in the morning and afternoon so she had to stay on her own till evening. “I have nothing to watch. No one to speak to. Nowhere to go… The Wade’s company!” She jumped from the bed. She had never been to the Wade’s company except once. She could visit there with snacks for Damien. He’d excuse her if she came with lunch for him. A mischievous grin appeared on her face. “I’d just act like I’m from th
Chapter Ninety-Eight – Interest. It was the second wedding Arya was attending but the first she was feeling really excited about. It was Anna’s wedding. The reception had taken place immediately and ran out to look for Connor. He was with her phone and she needed to take lot’s of pictures of Anna. She has to show them to Winx who couldn’t attend the wedding due to her injury. Arya wished Jim could have taken it back so Winx would attend as a bridesmaid but the groom was in so much haste to marry his bride. One of the reasons being that he had to return to his base as soon as possible. Arya finally caught sight of Connor with some girls. Should she walk over to him or just let him be? She wasn’t sure. He once told her how he grew more popular at school after his issue with the reporters went viral. All she hoped was he didn’t repeat it again, it might take a different turn. Thankfully, Connor turned around to look at something and noticed her watching him. “My phone
Chapter Ninety-Seven – Paired up. Lucy had heard the news on the radio. The part she didn’t hear, however, was how her mother was the murderer of Juliet Marbles, her aunt. How in the world? Lucy was still fighting with the fact her mother conspired to kill Arya, she was hoping her mother was still her mother while holding on the fact she wasn’t the mastermind. But to think she had actually masterminded and perfectly executed the murder of her own sister years ago? It blew Lucy’s mind away. Everyone at the work place was talking about Debby and Winx issue while Lucy racked her brain over her mother’s. It was revealed that one of Debby’s accomplice had been caught, while the other escaped. No name was mentioned. Lucy knew she was safe even still because her mom didn’t share her surname. She divorced her father and went to Mr. Stark so decided to go back to her maiden name. “And to think that Mr. Stark was also killed.” Lucy shivered. Her mother had really gone down a dang
Chapter Ninety-Six – Parting gift. Winx accepted to be a witness to keep Deborah Chan in rehab. Many protesters wanted her to be kept in jail despite her being a minor. She was losing fans by the minute. The media had caught whiff of what happened because a popular celebrity had been in the boutique when it happened, while shooting a video for her fans. She also witnessed that Debby just walked into the store then went after the girls. The identity of the other girl wasn’t necessary to the media, they only wanted to know why the genius attempted murder. Also, it seemed they forgot Debby was once acquainted to the Wades or they’d begin asking barrages of questions. Meanwhile, while detained, Debby desisted from answering unnecessary questions. All she said was she didn’t regret going after the girl because she wanted her dead. The girl being Arya but to the masses, Winx. Debby’s reason was unknown and since there was no prior relationship between Winx and Debby, the med
Chapter Ninety-Five – Sorry end. Chen broke into boisterous laughter, then he pointed the knife at Aunt Jenna and slowly menacingly towards her. “You want to meet your man?" He scoffed."Didn’t we both have a deal? You should protect the woman I love and I’d not harm your loved ones, right?” Jenna’s eyes shook. What ever did he mean by that? Had something happened to his loved one? Had Debby been caught? And even if she wanted to, how did he expect her to protect Debby when she was Debby’s hostage? And between she and Debby, she needed protection against Debby than she needed to protect the girl. Aunt Jenna looked at the blood on his knife, and her stomach turned. Who did that belong to? “I-I don’t understand you.” Did something happen? “Well, Since it has come to this, I’d flee the country, never to return here.” Chen seethed. “But you, the police will come for you next.” Next? Jenna realized what had happened. Debby must have been captured. “Did you go after her? Those
Chapter Ninety-Four – Last Card Arya arrived at the Wades’ Mansion. Kane dropped her then drove out again, without speaking. She knew his head would be filled already. She slowly walked into the living room but was immediately embraced by someone. She patted Connor’s back when she realized it was him. A part of her wanted to see Damien first. Kane had called home to inform them what happened. When Connor let go, Arya saw that Damien wasn’t home yet. “Are you alright? And was it really Debby?” Selena asked quite agitated. It's the first time she showed concern for her. Arya smiled, nodding. “Yeah, it was her. Winx protected me and was stabbed at her right collar bone. The nurse said she’d be okay though. It was very sudden.” Selena gasped, rubbing her face. “Winx. My poor girl. I can’t still believe Debby became this selfish, became this monster!” Mrs. Wade just had a sour expression, looking down at her hands. “Arya, go and rest. This incident must be frightening.”
Chapter Ninety-Three – Fear. The dark circles under her eyes had increased, along with the heaviness of her eyes and her heart. Debby didn’t know if she was still alive because she felt so dead. She could hardly walk around in public for fear that the police could be unto her. And she really needed to stroll. “Chen?” she called but no one answered. Since he spoke to her, asking her intent on killing Arya, he had been distant after she didn’t give a satisfactory response. Had he left her alone too? She just wanted that bitch dead. Why was it too much to do? Why didn’t anyone get her? She slammed her hand at the desk and screamed. “Arya, I’d kill you if it’s the last thing I do!! Bitch!!” The fact that she was somewhere, excited and with Damien made her furious. Damien rarely showed excitement with her, how was he able to open up with Arya within a short time? Debby grabbed Chen’s hoodie and forced it on her body. She needed to move out and plan her next attack. She had been to
Chapter Ninety-Two – I’d stay.But why did it feel like a miracle she stayed in the marriage? Arya wondered if he didn’t expect her to stay. “Did you plan to divorce me?” she asked jokingly. “Ah no. I actually thought you’d find someone else. You know, the contract permits you to.” Connor smirked. Arya shrugged. “I thought so too but…” she paused. Wait! He knew about the contract marriage?? She grabbed his shoulder and shook him. “You knew about it? How?” Damien would definitely not have told him. “I married you, you know. I had gotten curious and read the contract during the court marriage.” He revealed. Arya clenched her teeth. Then all these while, he knew their marriage wasn’t real? Did he tell anyone? Even when she had asked him from relationship advice. She felt so stupid. “Well, I was bent on making it work out, though. So I didn’t tell anyone about it, if that’s what you’re worried about.” he added with a pat on her back. Her expression changed to a sober one. He wante
Chapter Ninety-One – Wedding She had been having second thoughts about lots of things lately. It was partly Debby’s fault, but the other, hers. Arya washed her face with water then left the restroom. Winx was waiting for her, she stared at her best friend and smiled. “Something’s been on your mind.” She had been noticing her stalling or standing at a place, lost in thoughts. “No shit, of course.” Arya agreed with a smirk. “I don’t want to talk about it, though. I’d like to sort this out myself.” She always had a way of sorting out her emotions, the ones she needed and the ones she didn’t. Crying and feeling overly excited weren’t things she grew up doing due to her strict father so she didn’t have time to ponder about strange feelings. “Wouldn’t it be weird if I liked Damien now after trying to stay away from him for months?” She muttered to herself. But could she do anything about what she felt? She was matured enough to like someone. Only that her feelings for Damien were qu
Chapter Ninety – Satisfaction.Jenna tried the knob of the door but it didn’t still open. It’s been hours since Chen left to check on Debby. She sighed, plopping down on the bed besides her. The only thing in the room. She had ended up being kidnapped and forced to be an accomplice. Her current situation was far worse than she could contain. She was beginning to harbor thoughts of turning herself to the police, after all, Stark, who she was hiding her dark side from was already involved. Chen had drugged him for days, keeping him unconscious. Jenna knew it wasn’t healthy but she had no say as Stark had seen Chen when he came to her house to drop instructions and he began asking questions. The both of them were basically hostages at the moment. She hadn’t been able to contact Lucy while Debby had been sending strange letters to her. “I don’t want Lucy to get involved, really.” She groaned. “If only there was a way to reach the outside world now.” She regretted everything. Her h