Chapter 2
A wave of nausea churned in my stomach.
It felt like my heart was being ripped apart.
Once, Serena and I had good times too.
Whenever she came home from her night shifts, I’d leave out snacks with a note: ‘To my guardian angel, my heart’s healer.’
When I was exhausted from work, listening to her gentle recitations and the soft click of her meditation beads would calm my spirit, making the hardship disappear.
Until one time, during a relief trip to a mountainous area.
She saved Aiden, who was buried in the mud.
The young man looked up, seeing her as his salvation.
“Sister, are you an angel sent from heaven to save me?”
Serena’s deeply hidden savior complex was ignited.
After returning, she told me Aiden was a good kid worth nurturing, subtly guiding me to sponsor him.
I, too, had started from the bottom and worked my way up.
From that moment, her heart had probably strayed.
One wrong step led to another.
So much so that even when Aiden betrayed me, she turned a blind eye.
And now, she was willing to stain her hands with blood, taking my life for him.
I cursed myself for being so foolish, so blind to the truth.
I should have seen their conspiracy earlier.
The two were swept up in passion, gradually unsatisfied with just kissing.
The rustle of clothes falling to the floor echoed in my ears.
There were only two beds in the room, but they didn’t care.
Soon, sickening wet sounds of skin slapping against skin filled the air.
Listening to their movements, I felt utterly disgusted, my skin crawling with revulsion.
I wanted to block it out, but I couldn’t stop the sounds from entering my ears.
“Sister, do you think… Caleb might get angry if we do this here?”
Aiden panted, his voice broken.
Serena closed her eyes, sweat beading on her brow.
Her face, usually serene and angelic, was now flushed with raw desire.
Like a pure moon dragged into the earthly mire, defiled and no longer an unattainable goddess.
“I already owe him too much; I can never repay it. So, I might as well sink to the very bottom with you.”
Her eyes darkened, and she pushed down harder.
The gasps and moans in the room swelled.
I felt like a pathetic joke.
How blind had I been to fall for Serena, that sanctimonious hypocrite, and sponsor Aiden, that ungrateful snake?
It cost me my heart, and it cost me my life.
By the time they finished, I don’t know how long had passed.
My consciousness desperately fought to stay afloat, wanting to make a sound, to cause a disturbance.
If anyone discovered I still had vital signs, they could stop tomorrow’s surgery.
But my body was like it was shackled with heavy stones.
I couldn’t move an inch.
Perhaps that surgical error was precisely designed by Serena.
Precise enough to save my life, yet turn me into a vegetable, utterly devoid of bodily control.
This precision was aimed straight at my death.
Tears of regret streamed from the corners of my eyes.
The sky was black, but I couldn’t find any sleep.
Knowing tomorrow was my inevitable end, my heart was filled only with surging hatred and regret.
I hated Serena. Why was she so heartless towards me?
She was a vegetarian, a devout follower, soft-hearted, compassionate to all living beings.
She spoke softly, wouldn’t even step on an ant.
Yet, she showed me no mercy or compassion.
I hated Aiden even more.
He was a worm, living in the gutter.
I gave him the chance to crawl out.
Who knew, not only was he ungrateful, he stabbed me deeply.
He took the person I loved and now wants my life.
He won’t even spare my remains.
Agonizing thoughts tormented me endlessly.
Time stretched infinitely, I could even hear my own heartbeat.
When I heard the door open again, I knew my fate had finally arrived.