CHAPTER 132: PAULA RESCUED

Alice had been running on pure instinct from the moment she had dragged Paula out.

Her memory of it was a blur. She remembered bursting into that suffocating house, her chest burning with adrenaline, then the feel of Paula’s weight against her as she helped her out of the building and into the car.

Everything after that felt like a dream stitched together with jagged seams. Doors slamming, voices muffled, her hand fumbling with the car keys.

Now they were parked on the side of an empty road, the engine silent. The air was colder today and it was seeping in through the cracks in the windows. Across the street stood a small convenience store with a flickering sign that read 24 Hours.

Beside her, Paula sat trembling in the passenger seat. Her hands were clutched so tightly in her lap her knuckles were bone-white. Her breaths came shallow, like every inhale stung, and every exhale cost too much strength. She was crying. Not loud, not wailing, but in a way that shredded Alice from the inside.

It started as soft sniffles, as though Paula had tried to contain it, tried to remain composed. But the more she suppressed it, the worse it grew. The sound broke into sharp hiccups, strangled sobs, a dam bursting with every shuddering breath.

Alice’s hands were glued to the steering wheel. Her grip was so tight her knuckles ached, but she couldn’t loosen it. It felt like the only thing tethering her to herself. If she let go, she wasn’t sure if she would fall apart, float away, or just scream until her lungs gave out.

Her throat ached, dry and raw. Words hovered, but every single one felt inadequate. Nothing she could say would fix the way Paula sat beside her, broken and shaking.

Still, Alice forced herself to speak, her voice so hoarse she barely recognized it.

"It’s okay."

The words sounded hollow. Empty. A cruel lie hanging in the air.

Because it wasn’t okay. Nothing about this was okay. Paula’s bruises were hidden beneath her clothes, but Alice could still see them in the stiffness of her movements, in the way she winced when she shifted, in the low, choked sounds that escaped between sobs.

Alice’s chest tightened until breathing felt unbearable. She wanted... God, she wanted... to reach over, to hug her. But she didn’t move. Her hands stayed frozen to the wheel.

Because guilt was heavier than instinct.

She didn’t deserve to touch her. Didn’t deserve to comfort her. Not when it was her fault Paula had gone through this at all.

Relief warred with guilt inside her, an ugly battle she couldn’t silence. Relief, because Paula was here. Alive. Because she’d gotten her out. But guilt because none of it should have happened in the first place.

Paula’s sobs wavered, and then, through her tears, words tumbled out. Weak, choked, splintering.

"I-I’m sorry."

Alice’s head snapped toward her. "What?"

"I’m... I’m so sorry." Paula’s voice cracked as she pressed her hands to her face. She shook her head, hair falling in messy strands across her damp cheeks. "I didn’t mean... I shouldn’t have... I should’ve known better—"

Alice’s pulse pounded in her ears.

"Paula." Her voice was sharp, urgent.

But Paula kept going, her apologies spilling out between sobs, words collapsing on each other as if speaking them could erase what had happened. "I didn’t mean to... if I hadn’t... if I wasn’t so—"

"Paula, stop."

But she didn’t.

"—so stupid—"

"Shut up!"

The word ripped out of Alice, harsh and guttural.

Paula flinched, her teary eyes wide as she stared at Alice in shock.

Alice’s vision blurred as her own tears finally rose to the surface, burning hot. "Why the hell are you apologizing?" Her voice cracked, raw and trembling with suppressed fury. "Tell me. What did you do wrong? What did you do wrong, Paula?"

Paula’s lips trembled. No answer came.

Alice’s tears spilled over at last, sliding hot and fast down her face. "This is me!" she cried, her voice splintering into a shout. "All of this is me! If it weren’t for me, none of this would’ve happened! None of it!"

Her hand slammed against the steering wheel, once, then again. The horn blared briefly before she collapsed forward, her forehead pressing against the cool surface.

The sound reverberated through her skull, mingling with the ragged pace of her breathing. Her shoulders heaved with each sob as she finally broke apart, shattering in the only place she could... inside this car, beside the one person she had vowed to protect but failed.

The silence that followed was broken only by Paula’s uneven sniffles.

Then, after a long, fragile moment, Paula’s soft voice drifted through the air.

"It wasn’t you."

Alice lifted her head slowly, her hair sticking damply to her face.

Paula’s voice was steadier now, though every word still cost her effort. Her body trembled as she spoke, her breaths shallow, but her eyes held a glimmer of quiet conviction. "Priscilla... she found me. I was in her office. Going through her things. I didn’t know she was back from her trip. That’s why she..."

Her voice faltered. She swallowed hard, her gaze dropping. "...that’s why she flipped. Why she had me beaten."

The words hung heavy, like a blade pressing into Alice’s chest. Paula said them with such heartbreaking simplicity, as though recounting something trivial. But her body told the truth. The stiffness in her frame, the slight wince every time she shifted, the way each breath dragged out like it hurt.

Alice’s tears fell harder. Her guilt, already overwhelming, only twisted deeper.

Paula reached out with trembling fingers and gripped Alice’s sleeve, her touch so light yet desperate.

"So it’s not your fault. Do you hear me? I did all this because I wanted to. I don’t regret it..."

Alice shook her head, but Paula squeezed weakly, her hand shaking.

"It’s not," Paula whispered.

For a moment, the car seemed suspended in silence, the weight of the world pressing down on both of them.

"Paula..." Alice whispered, her voice hoarse, "I’m so... tired. So drained..."

Alice inhaled sharply, her chest heaving. She wiped at her tears roughly, forcing her voice steady, even as it cracked.

"I promise you," she whispered, every word dragged raw from her chest. "I’ll never let you go through that again. I will ruin Priscilla. To shreds."

Paula’s lips parted, her expression trembling between disbelief and hope.

"Do you think..." Her voice faltered, catching on pain, then pushed through. "Do you think this is really okay? Do you think she’ll just let us be...?"

Alice’s jaw set, her eyes burning with steel. "Priscilla has no choice," she said, her voice low and hard. "I’m going to ruin her. She will regret ever messing with my people."

Paula blinked at her, startled by the force of her words. Her hand slid lower, touching Alice’s trembling one on the wheel. Her voice fell to a whisper.

"W-What happened? Did you... find something?"

Alice shut her eyes, nodding heavily. The weight of the truth pressed so hard she thought it might crush her. When she finally spoke, her voice was hollow.

"You were right. She has a son. I met him. Beat him up a little..."

Paula’s eyes widened.

"And..." Alice’s throat closed, but she forced it out. "Aurora. She’s in a psychiatric hospital."

The gasp Paula let out was sharp, raw, as if the words had struck her physically. Her body recoiled against the seat.

Alice went on, her voice low, broken. She gave her every detail, every piece of the puzzle she had uncovered. The more she spoke, the more Paula’s sobs grew, until the younger woman was bent forward, hands covering her face as her entire body shook.

When Alice finally fell silent, Paula’s voice emerged muffled and broken.

"C-can’t we just... report this? To the police?"

Alice’s eyes closed, her jaw clenched.

"It wouldn’t be that easy," she said firmly. "Not with her money. Not with her power. And also... everyone involved. She still has Vivian too." Alice sighed heavily. "But I’ll come up with a plan. A good one. First, though, I need to keep you safe. Somewhere she can’t reach you."

Paula shook her head violently.

"I don’t want to be separated from you again."

Alice exhaled sharply, frustration lacing her exhaustion. "Paula, this is dangerous. You don’t understand. My life’s already at stake, and I can’t drag you into it. I won’t implicate you."

Paula’s voice tore out of her, raw and desperate.

"Then you might as well take me back to her!"

Alice froze, staring at her in disbelief.

"I’m always worried sick about you!" Paula cried, her voice cracking with every word. "If you’re in danger, fine. Then let me be in danger with you. Let us save Aurora together. Don’t leave me behind again."

Alice could not give her an answer.

"ANSWER ME!" Paula pushed desperately. "We have been stuck together since we were kids. Can you live without me? Can you?" Paula asked in an accusatory tone.

Alice shook her head.

"I also cannot live without you. So we have to work together from now on. I won’t let you handle this yourself."