Taking a step backwards, she bumped into the closet with a small thud. However, her heart almost skipped a beat when something metallic clattered on the floor. In a snap, she grabbed the pair of daggers off the floor and ran behind the door with as much stealth as she could manage. Waiting for a while, she placed her ear on the wall trying to see if someone out there heard the noise and was coming in to check on her.But when she simply heard their seemingly uninterrupted laughter, she sighed with relief. Recalling the structure of the basement, there was only one way to the exit and that was the hallway leading to the place where her captors were. Despite the suspicion she had about the daggers being present inside that room, she did not pay much heed to it since her priority was to escape.She removed her heels because using them would totally expose her before taking a peek at the slight opening in the door. Checking the dim-lit hallway, there was no sign of any
The woman saw the surprised look on Shantala's face. Despite the pain from the wound that she inflicted upon her, she still had the guts to smirk at her.Remembering the past that was told to her by her boss, the woman taunted her and said, "Are you going to murder me for the second time, Shantala Vien Arceo?"However, she only grunted in pain when she felt her pushing the blade deeper into her flesh. She tried to push her away, punching her right on the side of her mouth. Shantala was forced to tilt her head yet she remained unmovable in her position. When their gazes met once again, she gulped as her eyes reflected how she licked the blood off the side of her lips. The woman who looked like Tricia simply received a mixture of shock and disbelief from her. From that point on, she could not tell what Shantala was thinking but she hoped for one thing–she would make it out alive from that place."Just fucking–" She was cut off when Shantala pulled the dagger off. "Fuck! That hurts!"Sh
The mafia boss did not want to answer so instead of responding to her question, he said, "Shantala is already being taken here so there is no longer any reason for you to stay. Before your nephew finds out where you are, you better get going."He did not bother to wait for whatever the doctor was about to say. Hyperion simply stood from his seat and headed upstairs, letting his guard be the one to escort the doctor out. Entering the master's bedroom, he saw Stacey packing up for her business trip."Shall I take you to the airport?" he offered.Instead of being delighted to hear those words, she scoffed."No need. It would just make me feel even more hesitant to leave because it would look like you are sending me away just so you could cheat with my sister behind my back," she replied. Hyperion lit another cigarette as he sat near the window.Without sparing her a glance, he said, "If you already know that, then, you sh
Shantala was awakened by the rays of sunlight passing through the window parallel to the bed. The last thing she was concerned about was the fact that she was lying down on a soft bed and covered with a warm blanket. What immediately made her groan the first thing in the morning was the pain all over her body. Her chest felt constrained and she could still feel the pain of her cut across her chest.And even though she wanted to open her eyes, her eyelids betrayed her as they felt heavier than lead. She could not even bring herself to move as freely as she wanted due to the feeling of electric shocks jolting her every time she attempted to reposition herself.As she made little groans, Hyperion was by her side watching her with amusement. Anticipation lingered in almost every crevice of his body as he waited for her to wake up. If she remembered the past, then he would like to listen to every detail of what happened back then from her very mouth. He would consider i
Walking towards her, he heard her mumbling to herself, though he could not understand a single word. He walked past her and stood before her."Get out of the way if you are not going to help," she hissed at him. But despite that, Hyperion carried her on his shoulder and walked back to the mansion while receiving several punches from her behind his back. It was not much of a big deal so he entered back into the mansion and brought her to the living room. He slowly brought her down, making sure that she would not get hurt any further. But the moment she settled on the couch, he received a hard slap across his cheek."I am so fucking tired of all of your shits, Hyperion! Why can't you just leave me and my family alone? I–" She had a lot of things to say but was unable to because she was overwhelmed by her sobs. Gavin left without hearing her side, without looking back at her, and there was nothing more painful than thinking that he believ
Upon their arrival at the mansion of the mafia boss, both Gavin and Hyperion's men were already facing each other ready to draw out their weapons. The tension grew stronger and if one ever made a single move, they would surely kill each other without hesitation. Gavin stopped by the gate. "Let me meet your boss," he demanded but the gatekeeper remained quiet and did not open the gates. Through the small monitor, Hyperion's image appeared and saw that Shantala’s husband indeed returned and it was his men who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He was annoyed, seeing that Gavin did not leave for good. And he must admit, he was one of the people who were hard to get rid of. "You no longer have any business left here, Mr. Devon. You better take your men with you and leave," Hyperion stated. Gavin scoffed. "You have my wife, Hyperion. She needs to come with me so I can leave the premises without caus
"W-What's the matter?" she asked.But instead of receiving a reply from her husband, she was a bit taken aback when he stepped up and was the one who unbuttoned her dress and removed it. "I can do it myself–"She was cut off when Gavin forced her to turn away from him. Whatever he was doing, she had no single idea."One... two..."Hearing him count, she suddenly felt a sudden cold shiver running down her spine. It felt like her hair stood at its ends every time he counted higher. She wanted to speak but the moment she opened her mouth, she was yet again forced to face him."Gavin, I am fine. You don't have to worry," she insisted. But still, her husband paid her no attention and continued counting every scratch he saw on her."Gavin, please–""I saw 20. That is equivalent to 20 heads," he mumbled but it was still clear enough for her to hear.He turned away from her and was about to leave the
Shantala remained curled behind those closed doors and no matter how much she wanted to think of something else, her mind seemed to be a broken record. It kept on reminding her how she stabbed her mother back then. She could feel her body heat up just like that time but unlike now, she was fueled with so much rage on the day of the murder."What are you doing here?" Shantala could still remember those exact words that her mother said upon seeing her entering Tricia's room without permission. What puzzled her was not only the living presence of her mother but also the seemingly annoyed tone of her voice. "M-Mom?" she stuttered with surprise, obviously plastered all over her face. "How... I thought... What..."There were a lot of questions running through her mind but neither one of them was she able to speak out. She was confused about the situation."Answer my question, Shantala," her mother asked for the second time. However, her
Hyperion and Stacey were currently in his office while tension lurked around them. Even the mafia boss' secretary could feel the ominous aura trapped inside the office so he never dared go in. The couple had just finished arguing about what happened with the meeting with Mr. Devon."Are you really being serious about this? Have you not even considered my feelings? I already let the fact that you fucked my sister slide but taking her son to take care of him... no!" Stacey asked for the nth time. She just could not sit still and wait for her sister to take away what she already had. She would never let her take her husband away. NEVER. Even if Shantala had already given birth to the son of her husband, it was still not enough for Stacey to let go of her love. Hyperion, who was already tired of this argument, chose to remain quiet. He just knew that if he said another word, they would be shouting at each other again.Just then, a knock was heard on the
"Hi! I am Tricia Miller, the substitute nurse sent by Sir Helios," the guest greeted. Linda was unsure of what to do so before letting her in, she went back inside to consult the nurse and Shantala. "What's the matter?" Lily asked. "A young woman came and said that she is the temporary substitute nurse," Linda replied. Lily stood from her seat since she had been expecting the nurse Helios mentioned before. She went to the door and escorted Tricia inside, however, when the guest and her patient saw each other, she noticed the change in Shantala's expression. "Replica A1?" she muttered, wondering why she would suddenly appear again after some time. Tricia smiled and replied, "That used to be my name but my real name is Tricia. And I will be your nurse for the upcoming days." Shantala actually doubted her since they were not on good terms during
It was almost midnight and Hyperion had just gotten back from the company after dealing with the trouble that one of his employees brewed. Though, it was not fully resolved so he had to return anytime soon. It exhausted him but still, it did not stop him from heading to the Devon's residence to check on Shantala.It's already been almost a week since he last visited and he wanted to see how she was doing. Upon arriving at the house, he stopped in his tracks when he saw the kitchen lights on. Curious about whoever was in there, he took careful steps in order not to alert the person inside. Though, he was quite sure that it was no burglar or anything of that sort since he had the entire house under surveillance.When he stood by the entrance, he immediately recognized Shantala even though her back was facing him. She was wearing a white dress shirt which was obviously not hers but Gavin's since it was oversized, falling right to the middle of her thighs, covering her
"How dare you show up in this place!" Mr. Devon roared. "Up until now, can't that fucking tiny brain of yours realize that the cause of my son's death is you? Or do you just have no shame at all that you still chose to stay even though you ruined his life?!"The stinging pain on her cheek did not really matter to Shantala because it was not any more hurtful than losing her husband. The accusation that her father-in-law made against her did not affect her as well because she knew who was really at fault.Despite having the chance of getting another slap from him, Shantala still looked back at him with no sign of fear. She could see how enraged he was but, for sure, it was not because he lost Gavin but because he lost the chance of marrying him off to Phoebe Romalia.She scoffed. "Instead of pointing your finger at me, why don't you reflect on the actions you did? Didn't you threaten him to divorce me that was why he returned here? Didn't you want him to mar
Back in Vidale City, Mr. Devon was currently playing golf with his business partners. It was his usual hobby whenever things were going quite well. In the middle of their conversation, he received a call from one of the bodyguards staying in his son's residence."Sir, I just spoke with the attorney. Both Sir Gavin and Miss Kierra signed the divorce papers," he reported."That's great, that's great," Mr. Devon responded with a smile before ending the call. "We should celebrate.""For what occasion?" one of his business partners asked.They knew that Mr. Devon rarely held any sort of party so it made them curious as to why he would initiate a celebration."For a new beginning."Thus, in no time, the mansion of Mr. Devon was filled with people from different elite families. He was a bit disappointed, though, since Mr. Romalia was not there to celebrate the beginning of their soon-to-be prosperous business. "Hey, Dad," Amelia c
Mr. Romalia was quite puzzled. The successful separation of the couple should be something that his daughter should be happy about. However, she looked rather exhausted and no hint of happiness was on her. Plus, he noticed a bruise on her cheek."What happened? Shouldn't we celebrate such great news?""Gavin is rushed to the hospital. It... It seemed like his condition worsened because of my negligence. I just realized that Kierra is the only fitting woman to be his wife. I'm giving up."Upon hearing her reply, Hyperion immediately stood."Mr. Romalia, I apologize but let us discuss this matter further some other time. I will contact you as soon as possible." Even before Mr. Romalia could respond, Hyperion immediately ran out of the mansion and got into his car. At full speed, he rushed to the hospital. He very well knows that he promised himself that he should stay away from Shantala until her relationship with Gavin was legally severed
Gavin could only look away while Shantala left the living room. Staring up at the ceiling, he tried his hardest not to let a single tear escape from his eyes.A little while later, Phoebe came in together with his attorney. The first thing that the Romalia heiress looked at was the divorce documents. Upon seeing the signature of Shantala, she was over the moon that she immediately pounced on Gavin."We are getting married!" she exclaimed.The attorney cleared his throat to notify the young heiress that he was still there. He gathered the papers and put them back in his case before returning his gaze to Gavin."I will take care of the rest and make sure that Ms. Kierra will get her alimony as soon as possible." After saying that, the attorney left rolling his eyes to the side upon meeting the gaze of Phoebe.The young heiress was about to charge toward him but she calmed herself with the thought of acting as the perfect wife and partner fr
This was where Shantala got confused. She was sure that the dead person in that room was her mother but how come her death was not reported? And how come the police confirmed that she was that person instead?"How did you do that?" she asked. "You know, the thing wherein the police saw that the body was you?""Chiavelli actually paid the officers who investigated the scene. Thus, they ended up confirming that I was indeed that person. But as for the body..." Valerie looked away as she pursed her lips.She waited for her, not wanting to rush her or anything.After a minute, Valerie added, "It was someone else's body with the same face as mine. It may sound absurd but a few hours before the engagement party, she suddenly came out of nowhere and told me to help her. She was beaten up and clearly, she was so scared. What was even weirder about that incident was that she introduced herself as Replica A0."Shantala's eyes widened as she remembe
Since Shantala got into an agreement with the attorney, she let him go to the house first. She will, later on, be going back home to make it look like she has gone somewhere else. She simply feared that if she and the attorney went together, Gavin would become suspicious. Wanting to take her time, she was about to go to the grocery store only to bump into Valerie and Chiavelli.And now that she saw the person who claimed herself to be the original Tricia Vexmore, the questions she had on the day her trial turned into chaos came rushing back to her. Only weeks had passed ever since that day but Shantala felt like it was already years ago due to the consecutive stressful events she had gone through. And instead of greeting her, she just stood there staring at her with wide eyes.Thus, Valerie took the initiative to start their conversation. Besides, this might be the last time they will see each other. Chiavelli also left for them to have some privacy."It's