Chapter 14

I lowered my voice and felt a little bad because I knew I didn't really believe Zach. But it also seemed wrong to doubt him because of it.

Just what he said about how much I hate that man doesn't match what I sensed from him before. If I hate him as much as Zach claims, why do I not hate him subconsciously but instead blindly follow him?

"You don't believe me. I can see it in your eyes," he scowls, his expression darkening to the point where I almost suffocate from the intensity. His eyes are drooping slightly, and he is staring at me dangerously.

I shake my head, terrified by this expression of his that he never used on me, even when our marriage was falling apart.

"No, I believe you..." my voice trembling as I try to reach out to him, my mind becoming even more jumbled and the pain in my head intensifying. "I really believe you, yes, I... I do hate him..." continuing and becoming pathetic, the courage within me vanishes like smoke once more.

He dodged my hand and took a step back from me. "Don't fucking lie to me!" he snarled and yelled at me.

I flinch at this voice, and my chin trembles as I bite my lips, clasping my hand that Zach ignored. I lift my head and look at him, my eyes heating up. My head hurt, which made what I feel right now even worse.

He avoided my hand as if he was disgusted by it. It makes my chest tighten, and I almost choke.

"I'm not lying." I still stand by what I'm saying, even though I am lying. This is the worst feeling. When I just want to tell him the truth, but I don't want him to hate me and ask me more questions.

I keep going while shaking my head and looking at him with pained eyes. "Would you please believe me, Zach... please?" I'm begging him, and now tears are running down my cheeks. As I started to cry, my temple started to throb. It's almost killing me now, and my eyelids are getting heavy, but I'm forcing myself to stay awake.

There is a lot that happened this night, and in addition, I’m still not fully recovered from my accident, and then I found out Zach’s identity. Even more, I met that strange man who always made me feel confused. Then here's Zach, giving me a reason to be suspicious of him.

I hate this so much. If only I could go back to being innocent and only worrying about keeping Zach by my side. However, I can’t even if I wanted to.

Zach watched me with emotionless eyes as if my sad appearance didn't bother him at all. It added even more to my pain; my vision was getting blurry from my tears and the pain in my head.

"You'll apologize, but you won't listen to me again." He took a few steps toward me and touched my cheeks, wiping away the tears.

I sobbed and leaned into his touch, wanting this warmth from him. I can't see his face anymore in my hazy state, but this is enough for me.

"Do you even really love me?" he asked, gently stroking my cheeks with his thumb. Still, tears keep falling down my cheeks.

"Of course, Zach, I love you so much. I answered him weakly, almost instinctively.

Due to the pain in my head, I knew I was about to pass out at any moment. My body started to feel weak, so I leaned into Zach's chest and buried my face in it. As my head throbbed painfully, I began to feel drowsy. I bit my lips and closed my eyes, enduring the pain.

I can't see his face, but I can feel him relax and wrap his arms around me. "Yes, Addalyn, you only love me. Only me,” he says, and I only nod, not fully understanding what he's saying, as I finally can't stop myself from succumbing to darkness.

-

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There is silence. I opened my eyes, but all I saw was darkness and nothing else. The deafening silence bothered me, but I didn't feel scared. I sat there for a few moments, looking ahead even though I couldn't see anything.

I know this is all a dream. But it's also vivid, almost too real to be something that has happened to me before. However, I had no recollection of this happening.

I stood up after a few seconds. My body stood up on its own as if it had already been programmed to do so. I didn't overthink it because it was a dream, and even if my subconscious was awake, I might not be able to control my body.

Despite the darkness, my body moved steadily, as if it were familiar with this room. Maybe I am, as even my heart is calm. I don't know if it's because it's a dream or something else.

Gradually, I can see some light, though it's dim, and some murmurs reach my ears. There are people here besides me; my hearing is sensitive enough that even at a far distance, I can already hear them.

My body stopped right in front of the door. Faint lights were shining through the holes in the broken door. And the murmurs become audible in my ears.

Three different voices were talking to each other. I just stood there, not doing anything else. Even though I was curious, my body did nothing but stand there like a statue.

“We’ll kill them?” a voice asks, raspy and a little annoying to the ears.

"I know, those kids don't have much use anymore." followed by another voice.

“What about the other kid? She’s quite good.” said the first one.

“I know, but she’s too competent to live. Those too skilled have the potential to betray.” This time the third voice came in, with a lazy tone but far more distinct. Just the sound of his voice gave away his status more than the two. "Her eyes... scare me," he said. Then there was silence as if they both agreed.

"They must be talking about you, right?" A child's weak voice reached my ears, capturing my attention from the outside.

I turn my head toward the voice; it's dark, but I can see the silhouette and a glimpse of his features. A boy leaned weakly against the side of the wall. Even before I got a better look at him, I knew that his condition was severe.

My head nodded slightly; it was not my doing, but this body. I don't know what's going on, but my body has a mind of its own.

"Then why don't you do something?" the boy asked again, his voice so weak that it only reached my ears without drawing the attention of the men outside.

Again, my body acted in response to the boy.

"Even if I wanted to, I can't do anything," I answered, and the voice sounded like a child's. Even so, it’s indifferent and without a life to it. I don't even recognize it as my voice.

I thought the boy had passed out because he didn't respond immediately, but a few moments later, he spoke, which I didn't expect from a child.

"There is something we can do. We’ll join forces, we can kill them first." His voice is obviously that of a child, but his tone was definitely not. He also seemed to be serious, as he talked about killing as if it were nothing.

I just stood there and looked at the closed door before turning to look at the weak boy sitting on the floor. For a moment, I thought I caught a glimpse of his eyes. His body is weak, but the way his eyes shone made me wonder how he could keep his willpower so strong in that state.

In the dark, those green eyes looked particularly dangerous, like the eyes of a predator ready to eat its prey. He reminded me of a certain someone, not only because of the color of his eyes but also because of how he acted, even though I couldn't see his face clearly.

“Can you still fight?” The same emotionless voice came out of my mouth, and I didn't even question what the other person said, as if we were having a normal conversation.

A weak chuckle came out, too low to even be called a laugh.

"As long as I'm breathing, I can still fight," he said in a deep and determined voice.

Both myself and my body fell silent, only looking at the weak boy who appeared to be on the verge of passing out at any moment, but the look on his face prevented me from refuting his words.

My body nodded, "Good," and then turned around to look back at the closed door. I opened my mouth again and said, "Okay, we'll kill them." It came out of my mouth as naturally as the boy. It feels strange. This dream is so weird.

And as I said that, the dream crumbled, darkness engulfed me, and I slowly opened my eyes. It is no longer the room in the dream but the familiar ceiling of our bedroom.

I stared at it for a moment before looking to the side; no one was with me. When I thought about that strange dream, I wrinkled my brows and suddenly felt confused. What is that dream?