‘Not again!' Rhea exclaimed inwardly. She knew she should not be so impatient but could not help it. Somehow, she felt threatened by Lily also experimenting.Rhea took a deep breath and looked up at the apparatus and the data on the screen. She then threw everything into a specialized trash bin and marched out to see Lily’s progress. Rhea soon reached Lily’s area and realized she was sleeping inside.Rhea rubbed her eyes and looked again to ensure Lily was indeed asleep. The latter lay comfortably on a rocking recliner with a thick blanket over her. Lily looked like she was on vacation, with tea and snacks on the table beside her.Rhea grew even more frustrated when she saw how smoothly Lily’s experiment went.'How can she be enjoying herself here while I've been working my ass off? Instead of experimenting, she just found an excuse to slack off! No, she came here to agitate me. That must be it!'Thinking so, Rhea glared at her and had an evil idea when she turned to look at the s
Finally, Lily opened her eyes and slowly sat up. “You studied medicine, yet you can’t tell me what it contains?”Rhea turned and studied the contents of the apparatus with a frown. However, she still could not tell even after sniffing at it. She roared, “You’re just bluffing!”She noticed her hand was reddish on one side as if it had been scalded. Even so, what she touched was not hot. Some liquid flowed out from the several bottles that she knocked over.Still, Lily did not look nervous, as if she did not mind them. She even refilled her teacup and casually took a sip. She then said with a half-smile, “Why? You don’t know what they are? It's okay—you can tell me.”"They’re just some corrosive chemicals. What's so special about them?" Rhea said, "I only burned my hand because you tricked me.""I warned you, didn't I?” Glancing at her, Lily put down her tea while glancing at Rhea before heading toward her.The former looked at Rhea’s injured hand and then at the table, continuing,
Rhea had no idea what sort of deal Lily had made with Yasmin. After all, the queen had only put Rhea in charge of the laboratory two days ago.Rhea knew Lily was different from her. The former was upset that almost everyone favored Lily. From the look of it, Lily was not serious about her experiment at all."Whatever." Lily glanced at Rhea casually. "Snitch on me if you want."Rhea’s hand hurt, making Lily’s attitude agitate her further.“Do you think I won’t? You’re not the queen’s only favorite! Don’t forget why you’re here, Lily. There are no VIP guests in the embassy,” Rhea mocked and turned to leave. Lily remained seated as she gazed after Rhea’s departing figure. As the former’s smile faded, she grew solemn. Lily knew she was not the queen’s favorite. Although Yasmin seemed kind and friendly, she was highly selfish.If not, she would not have held onto the throne for so many years without abdicating and ignoring her son’s advice to stop the experiment. Therefore, Lily thou
As the guards stopped Rhea at the stairwell, she looked down at the empty hallway and calmed herself down. “I have something important to tell Her Majesty. Please pass her my message. Otherwise, you’ll all pay for messing things up, okay? It's about the experiment.”Rhea could not help but speak arrogantly, thinking she was now working for the queen.However, the guards remained still. One of them said, "Her Majesty says no one is to disturb her."Sensing something was off, Rhea tried to peer inside, but the guards held her back. She frowned and asked, "Is Her Majesty resting, or has she gone somewhere else?""We can't tell you that."Rhea felt helpless but knew she could not force her way in. Although Yasmin permitted her to use the laboratory, Rhea knew it did not mean the queen treated her differently. Besides, it was unusual for the queen to let Lily conduct her experiment under the circumstances. Although Rhea was upset, she could only stomach her frustration and head tow
Rhea had a sudden thought and hurried back to the laboratory. When she arrived, Lily was still lying on the recliner with her eyes closed. This time, Rhea marched in and asked, “You’re still here?”Lily opened her eyes and casually glanced at Rhea. “Where else should I be?”"So you don't know either," Rhea mumbled. After some thought, she caught herself and snorted. “Never mind. Just continue with your experiment.”Rhea felt better when she realized Yasmin had not told Lily anything either. It showed Lily did not matter as much to the queen as Rhea had thought. Still, Rhea wondered where else the queen could be if not the laboratory.Puzzled, Rhea turned and headed out. Lily half-sat up and gazed after her with a frown, feeling something was amiss. "What… do you mean?""Nothing. Just continue with your work," Rhea answered without looking back. "Or I should say go back to sleep."She mocked Lily because she did not seem serious about the experiment. Rhea thought she did not nee
‘Perhaps Queen Yasmin isn’t even around.’The guards had strange expressions as one of them waved and said, “We have no idea.”"Okay, I got it." Lily nodded. The guards were puzzled, wondering what she got. They remained at their posts as they watched her leave.When Lily reentered the elevator, she did not press the floor button.Based on Rhea’s words and the guards’ reaction, it was evident the two guards were referring to Rhea just now. In other words, Rhea had gone looking for the queen but got turned away, too.‘Rhea also assumed Her Majesty was with me, so she rushed back just now to see Yasmin? That must be why Rhea was surprised to see me all by myself. She must’ve thought I was with the queen instead.’Even Lily wondered where else Yasmin and herself would be if not the laboratory. Unable to come up with an answer, Lily wondered why Yasmin would avoid telling her and Rhea where she had gone.Lily thought of someone, and a chill ran down her spine. She then pressed a f
Lily’s heart and mind raced as she ran. Since she had come from the laboratory, she knew Yasmin was not there. The latter could not have brought Nick away so abruptly and secretively just to talk to him, either.Since Yasmin was eager for the experiment, she would not just need Nick. Fred would be there, too. As the queen kept this from Lily and Rhea, the older woman would also need the doctors who were present the other day.Therefore, it was evident that Yasmin intended to proceed with the experiment without telling Lily about it.‘Has she lost her mind?! Why would she do it knowing it’ll fail?!’Lily pressed the floor button multiple times, wishing the elevator would move faster. To her surprise, the button to the floor where Fred was did not light up. It stayed that way no matter how many times she pressed it.‘Is it locked?’Lily knew nothing was wrong with the elevator. After all, it should not have been able to reach other floors if there were. It was evident access to tha
Rhea chuckled and stood on her toes but only saw an empty hallway. “Did…someone come in just now?”“What’s it to you? Leave!” a guard exclaimed sternly.Rhea tried to be patient, asking, “Who else came here besides me? Have you guys…seen Lily?”“Are you deaf? Get the fuck out of here." The man began to chase her away.Rhea felt somewhat angry and helpless as the guard shoved her backward. More importantly, she was baffled.'Lily headed toward the stairwell just now, didn't she? Didn’t she have to come through here? They couldn’t have let her in. The queen kept her in the dark like I was. She would have told me about it if she wanted Lily to go. Where else could Lily go if she came to the stairwell?’Suddenly, the commotion she created attracted the attention of those inside. A deep voice came from the other end of the hallway, “What’s the matter?”Rick looked stern and upset as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere."Sir." One of the guards walked over and whispered something to