Chapter 25
Ned turned to look at Tommy at the mention of Henrietta. Only then did he realize Angeline was here because she’d been threatened.
“Where’s the drug?” Her voice was so calm it was almost devoid of emotion. “You wanted me to come so you could lace my drink, right? I’ve already prepared my drink.”
Silence descended upon the room. The people who’d been watching the circus fell eerily silent.
Tommy thought Ned had told Angeline about their plan. He nudged the latter and said, “Don’t tell me you can’t bear to go through with it, Ned.”
Ned merely stared silently at Angeline. Tommy grabbed the small bottle before Ned and walked over to Angeline. He poured the powder inside the bottle into Angeline’s wine glass and stirred it. “This is a truth serum, Ms. Emmerson. Drink it so that Ned can ask you a few questions.”
Truth serum?
If not for Angeline overhearing Ned and Tommy’s conversation at the hospital, and if not for them pulling all sorts of tricks to get her to the hotel, she would’ve believed them.
She picked up the full wine glass and said to Ned, “Once I drink this, let Anne and Henrietta off the hook. Don’t bother them anymore.”
Ned said, “Deal.”
Angeline nodded. Then, she downed the liquor in one breath. It burned her throat on its way down; it burned her all the way to her heart.
On Ned’s 26th birthday, Angeline chose to give up on him. On this day, she chose to kill the side of her that had loved him deeply. She put down the wine glass and supported herself against the table. “Ask away.”
“Don’t be in such a rush, Ms. Emmerson. The truth serum will take ten minutes to take effect.” Tommy pulled out a chair for her and considerately poured her a glass of juice. “Here, have some juice to keep the liquor down.
“Once Ned’s done questioning you, Zachary should be here. He’ll be just in time to take you home.”
Having Zachary drop by was just part of their plan to make her and Zachary sleep together. Angeline sat down, looking calm. Soon, the drug started taking effect.
She glanced at the clock–time was up. She said hoarsely, “It’s time. Ask away.”
“Angeline.” Ned leaned against his seat, pretending to look leisurely, He looked right at her and asked, “Did I fuck you that night?”
“Do you want me to say it happened? Or do you want me to say nothing happened?” Angeline asked in return.
“Answer me!”
She looked him in the eye and said firmly, “Nothing happened. Can I go now?”
She was starting to burn up. A gaping emptiness surged in her; she felt her strength leave her. It was getting hard to sit still.
“Hold it. What’s the rush?” Tommy pulled out his phone and started recording.” Sorry, Ms. Emmerson. I didn’t record your confession earlier. This is for Ingrid, so I’ll have to ask you to repeat yourself.”
“On the night that Ned and I were drugged, nothing happened between us.” Angeline turned to look at Tommy’s camera. “Because Ned called out Ingrid’s name while holding me.”
Through the phone screen, Tommy could clearly see that Angeline’s clear eyes were shrouded in a veil of mistiness. Obviously, she was starting to lose her rationality to the drug.
He smirked and glanced at her slender figure. His gaze was determined. He would
have her.
Angeline got to her feet with a hand on the table.
“Sit down! Zachary can take you home when he gets here,” Ned said irritably.
Angeline didn’t know whether it was because of the drug, but she couldn’t hold her tears back anymore. It was almost as if she were suppressing something as she said, “Ned Fletcher, I swear that if I ever get involved with you again in this lifetime, I’ll be trapped in Emmerson Village forever. I’ll be stuck there until the day I die!”
Chapter 26
Angeline seemed to be fighting against something; she refused to beg for mercy. She tried to stop herself from trembling as she looked at Ned. “Now, can I leave on my own?”
Though she knew Ned and Tommy had threatened her to come to the hotel so they could force her to sleep with Zachary, she still harbored one last sliver of hope for Ned’s conscience.
“Why are you being so stubborn?” Ned’s voice was cold. “That dump you’re staying at doesn’t even have streetlights around it. Do you want something to happen to you without someone taking you home?”
Even without his memories, he knew Angeline’s biggest nightmare was Emmerson Village. It was precisely because he knew that that Angeline’s admission under the truth serum made him angrier.
Dizziness and dazedness washed over Angeline. She felt like countless ants were crawling into her bones. She knew she couldn’t hold out for much longer.
Her mind was starting to turn murky, but she remembered that she didn’t want anyone to see her so out of it. Almost subconsciously, she staggered toward the door.
Ned’s gaze darkened. He kicked his chair away and easily caught up with her, grabbing her by the arm and turning her to face him. “Angeline!”
When he saw the tears on her face, he felt like a fist was clenching around his heart. His anger immediately dissipated. His Adam’s apple bobbed. He could see Angeline wasn’t feeling well, but he refused to set aside his pride.
He said, “You still owe me a wish. This is my final one–allow someone to take you home.”
Certain emotions that Angeline had been suppressing underneath her mask of calmness rose to the surface. They grew stronger under the influence of the drug. Her eyes dimmed as she dug her nails into her palms.
Her body was burning up, but she only felt cold all over. Angeline looked at Ned’s incredibly familiar face. She thought about how he’d looked at her as a bright- eyed 18–year–old, saying that he wanted to save his remaining two wishes.
He told her that no matter when he made those wishes, she had to make them come true. He’d been so proud and spirited at the time.
Sure enough, his wish had to do with her. She hadn’t expected him to use it like this, though. Did he really have to force her to sleep with someone else?
Angeline shut her eyes. When she opened them again, they were bloodshot but devoid of any other emotion. She laughed almost inaudibly and said, “If that’s the only way to make you believe I won’t pester you anymore, so be it.”
Since waking up from her coma, Ned had disappointed her time and time again. She didn’t know whether he’d changed after the accident or whether he’d always been like this.
Perhaps she’d been blinded by her love for him in the past; maybe it had stopped her from seeing his true colors. Maybe she’d never truly known him.
Angeline shook off Ned’s hand, which was still gripping her. As another wave of hollowness washed over her, her weak legs made her stumble backward and fall to the floor.
The pain from digging her nails into her palms was no longer enough to keep the emptiness and torment at bay. The drug’s effects were much stronger than Angeline had expected; it was the only thing she could feel right now.
“Oh, no! What’s wrong, Ms. Emmerson?” Tommy hurriedly helped her up before Ned could do anything. He said to Ned, “Since Ms. Emmerson doesn’t want Zachary to take her home, I’ll help her downstairs so she can hail a cab.” Ned’s brows were furrowed with an inexplicable hostility.
