CHAPTER 51: 51

I blinked away the tears, letting out a deep sigh. Confronting Nix seemed futile, and attacking him would be suicidal, surrounded as I was by his security.

"Nix," I called, trying to free myself from his grasp. His hold only tightened, and I caught a whiff of alcohol.

"Are you drunk?" I asked, attempting to turn toward him, but he pulled me closer.

"No, just a few glasses," he murmured, his voice slurred. He was vulnerable, a perfect target, but I despised attacking from behind. I wrenched myself free and swiftly struck a pressure point on his neck. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Sweet dreams," I whispered with a smile as he stumbled backward, collapsing onto the bed.

My thoughts were interrupted by my buzzing phone. I checked the caller ID: TA. But who was TA?

Damn, all this plotting made me forget I was still a student.

"Hello?" I answered, but there was silence on the other end.

"H..."

"Help... please help me," a desperate voice finally said, and I felt a surge of panic.

"TA, what’s wrong?"

"Nicholas Boucher is after me, please help," she cried.

"Where are.."

"Find that bitch at all costs and make sure she’s alive," I heard Nicholas’s voice in the background and scoffed at the realization. He had shown signs of being a scoundrel the first day we met, but I had hoped he was better than that.

"Why are my assumptions about people always wrong?" I wondered, glancing at the unconscious Nix on the bed.

"Don’t speak much. Send me your location and make sure you’re properly hidden, okay?" I instructed, ending the call. I tossed the bathrobe aside and opened my suitcase. There was no time for neatness. I grabbed a pair of shorts and a hoodie, dressed quickly, and tossed a gown into one of the shopping bags I had brought back. I wasn’t planning on returning to the Dean’s house, and if I did, it would only be to collect my bags after the dining party. I slipped on sneakers and grabbed another shopping bag containing my new shoes.

"Goodbye, Nix Dean. I hope we never cross paths again.. but If we do, one of us is going to the netherworld," I said, slamming the door and heading to the elevator.

As I checked my phone for TA’s message, the elevator doors opened, revealing Tommy.

"Where are you headed?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you have a motorcycle or car I can borrow?" I took a step toward him.

"There’s one in the basement," he replied.

"And the key?"

"Here." He tossed it to me, and I took off running.

"If your husband asks where you are, what am I supposed to say?" he called after me, but I didn’t answer. There was no point.

---

I drove to the location TA sent me, noting how quiet the area was and not wanting to alert a single soul, I parked the motorcycle and picked up a rod from the ground. I moved cautiously, but my pace quickened when I heard TA scream.

"You want a job with good pay, and I’m willing to give it to you. Why must you ruin the fun by trying to negotiate?" Nicholas said, slapping her. Making my blood boil, and my grip around the rod tighter.

"Hey, motherfucker!" I shouted. Calling the attention of Nicholas and his thugs

"Who the fuck are you?"

"I was once your admirer, but now I’m your biggest hater." I swung the rod in the air as the thugs rushed me. I dealt with them swiftly and turned to Nicholas.

"Wh... who are you?" he stuttered, stepping back in fear.

"You acted so brave the day we met, but it seems you’ve forgotten me. What was it you called me? Carmela la peintre?" I raised an eyebrow, stepping closer. He retreated further but I swung the rod, hitting him hard on the head making him stumbled, clearly dazed.

"It seems you have a habit of drugging girls. I won’t blame you for it because, like you, I also have a habit of killing people.." I narrowed my eyes on him "..But then your case will be different, unlike mine. I’ll help you get rid of that bad habit of yours." I struck him repeatedly on the leg with the rod.

"Carmela!" someone shouted, but I was too consumed by my anger to care. I continued my assault until someone pushed me away, causing the rod to fall from my hand. I turned to see Tommy, his eyes wide with shock and fear.

"You’ll kill him," he said, his voice trembling. I wasn’t ready to explain my actions to him, nor did I care if he was part of his brother’s plot. I walked away without a word, not sparing him another glance.

...

Nix stirred in his sleep as the first rays of the morning sun filtered through the curtains, casting a golden glow across the room. The warmth of the light roused him from the depths of unconsciousness. His eyes fluttered open, squinting against the brightness, and he instinctively turned his head to escape the glare.

As he moved, a sharp, throbbing pain pulsed at the side of his neck. He winced, reaching up to touch the spot. His fingers brushed against a heavy, swollen vein, tender and warm to the touch. Memories of the previous night flooded back Carmela’s sudden desperate, tear-filled eyes, the force of her strike, and the sudden darkness that followed.

Nix groaned softly, the ache in his neck a stark reminder of her fear and the misunderstanding that had driven her to such a desperate act though he wasn’t aware of the root cause of it. He shifted, pushing himself up onto one elbow, and glanced around the room. The bed beside him was empty, the sheets cold where she had lain.

His heart sank as he realized she wasn’t there. The room felt eerily quiet, the only sound the faint rustling of the curtains in the morning breeze. Nix’s mind raced, a mix of worry and fear tightening in his chest. He needed to find her, to understand what was on her mind, to make things right. But first, he had to gather his strength and push through the pain radiating from his neck and deal with the old man who had forced him to drink last night.

As he made his way out of the room, the sitting room was empty as expected, leaving him only one option, the dining room.

Not caring about his disheveled appearance or his hazy look, he made his way to the elevator and navigated to the dining room. But she wasn’t there.

Seeing the look in Nix’s eyes, Tom felt the food he was chewing slowly choke him, while the old man avoided eye contact, knowing he had played dirty the previous night but unwilling to admit it. Xavier and Luna exchanged glances, wondering why the atmosphere had suddenly turned so tense and why everyone was so quiet. Meanwhile, Tom pondered whether to tell Nix about his wife’s actions last night.

As the tension reached its zenith, Nix’s face twisted in anguish. His eyes blazed with fierce desperation. Then, he erupted. "Where is my wife?" he roared, his voice reverberating through the room like a thunderclap. Maids trembled, backs pressed against the walls, while family members recoiled, gasping for breath as if the air had been sucked from their lungs.

"Can someone tell me where my wife is?" he demanded again, his tone menacing. Tom, visibly shaking, forced himself to swallow his food.

"She... she ran away," Tom stammered, his voice barely a whisper. Luna’s glass slipped from her hand, shattering into countless fragments, while Nix’s cold, piercing stare fixed on Tom.

"She what?" Nix’s voice dropped to a deadly whisper, but Tom couldn’t repeat it, knowing it might spell his doom.

Frustration surged through Nix. He grabbed a vase and hurled it toward the maids, who gasped but quickly silenced themselves, terrified of drawing his wrath.

"You sit there and tell me she ran away... Why are you all so incompetent?" he screamed, his fury a tangible force. Fear gripped everyone except the old man, who feigned ignorance as he rose from his chair, attempting to escape.

"I know this is your doing," Nix hissed, stepping closer. His anger was a living, breathing entity, threatening to consume him. "You ignored my warning, and I’ll make sure you regret it," he vowed, his eyes blazing with a dark, unholy fire, his voice as cold and deadly as a winter night.

As he exited the dining room, Tom ran after Nix, hoping to find a way to soothe his anger. But as the elevator doors closed, trapping them together, Tom’s voice faltered.

"She... she almost killed Nicholas Boucher yesterday," he began, glancing at Nix, who seemed not to listen. "I tried stopping her, but she asked if I was part of your conspiracy. I’m not sure what happened between you two, but I hope it doesn’t end with one of you six feet under." Tom’s gaze dropped to his shoes as Nix stepped out of the elevator.

"Conspiracy?" Nix thought to himself, returning to his apartment. "What could have happened between them last night to make her this angry?"

He recalled walking into the room and finding Carmela watching a video on a laptop.

Laptop!

It hit him. He rushed back into the room, found the laptop on the floor, and picked it up. After searching through its contents, he found the video. Snatching the laptop, he knew only one person could have orchestrated this: the old man.

"Goodbye, Nix Dean. I hope we never cross paths again. But If we do, one of us is going to the netherworld," Carmela’s faint but determined words echoed in his mind. She wasn’t playing games.

Desperate, he searched for his phone and dialed Zamiel’s number.

"He.."

"Is Carmela still coming to the dining party?" he interrupted, his voice trembling with anxiety. Zamiel answered quickly, sensing the urgency, and the call ended abruptly "Yes..what happened?"

He never wanted things to turn out this way, but now, he saw only one way to end this deadly game of hunter and prey.