Chapter 90 : Wicked Game
Sherrie stood there stunned, her mouth open, and she was utterly speechless.
Jareth cast an almost cold glance toward Allison.
Allison’s chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. Her eyes were lowered. She looked calm on the surface, but the slight tremble of her chin betrayed her.
Maybe that emotional display between the siblings had still managed to hurt her after all.
“Jareth! Do you really think you’re above the law?” Ronan shouted angrily. “This all started because of Allison. She slapped Sherrie first. Her brother was only disciplining her. What’s wrong with that?”
“Your wedding is just around the corner, and you’re already trying to cut off your future brother-in-law’s hand without even hearing both sides. What do you think people will say about the Lopez family when this gets out? I’m telling Grandpa everything you did today.”
Before he could even finish speaking, the bald man kicked Nigel aside and reached for Sherrie’s hand again. But Sherrie suddenly jerked away, clutching her throat with both hands. Her eyes flew wide, and her face twisted in pain.
She looked like she couldn't breathe. Wheezing and choking sounds scraped out of her throat.
“Damn it. Sherrie’s having an asthma attack!” Nigel panicked. “Ronan, get her help. Now!”
Nigel lifted her and passed her into Ronan’s arms. Ronan turned his wheelchair sharply and rushed toward the emergency room with Sherrie.
Allison stood there in silence, watching the frantic scene of everyone rushing to save Sherrie.
Sherrie didn't have asthma at all. And when the day came that Nigel discovered the sister he was willing to die for had been lying to him from the very beginning, the look on his face would be unforgettable.
But at that moment, Nigel wasn't thinking about any of it. Seeing Sherrie safely taken away, he actually let out a relieved smile.
Allison approached Jareth and said, “Mr. Taylor, I have a request. Can I decide how to punish Nigel?”
“What did you just call me?” Nigel turned back, clearly shaken as he looked at her.
He knew she was trying to protect him by asking Jareth for that favor. But hearing her address him so formally, so distantly, made him feel like a complete stranger.
Allison replied coolly, “I already cut ties with you. If I’m not calling you by your name, why would I call you my brother?”
“What do you mean, cut ties?” Nigel ground out through clenched teeth.
They have the same parents. A bond like that could not simply be erased.
The bald man spun the knife in his hand while his eyes moved back and forth between them.
Then he looked at Allison and said with a smirk that never reached his eyes, “Ms. Rogers, Mr. Taylor is standing up for you. Don’t forget who’s on your side.”
There was something rough about the bald man, and even his joking tone carried a hidden threat.
Allison understood what he meant. Jareth was standing up for her. If she backed down now, it would put him in an awkward position.
In other words, it would be like slapping away the hand that had protected her. Before she could say anything, Jareth shot the bald man a look.
That cold glance carried a dangerous warning. The bald man instantly realized he had overstepped.
He hurried to apologize. “Sorry, Ms. Rogers.”
Allison blinked, taken by surprise. Ever since she had been sent to the psych ward, no one had treated her as if she mattered.
It felt strange to have people suddenly listen to her. She wasn't used to it.
Nigel, on the other hand, was clearly moved. If she was willing to speak up for him, he was ready to let go of the argument from earlier.
He hadn't come today to fight. He had come to take her home.
Overcome with emotion, Nigel blurted out that the family was already preparing her dowry, that everyone was finally taking her seriously. “Ally…”
But Allison was not listening at all. She looked at Jareth and said, “I don’t want his hand. It’s too bloody.”
Nigel frowned.
Jareth lifted an eyebrow, clearly amused.
“Then what do you want?”
“I want to borrow a few of your men to play a game of human pyramid,” she said.
Nigel’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Wasn’t she just trying to help me? Then why…
“Human pyramid…” Jareth repeated with a smirk.
“That’s a new one.”
He held out a hand to her, and Allison obediently walked over to stand at his side.
The bald man called out to a few bodyguards. “You, come here. Ms. Rogers is in charge.”
Allison raised her eyes and glanced at Nigel. “In the psych ward, the people at the top of the pyramid always jumped down to crush the one at the bottom.”
Nigel pursed his lips. He frowned at her.
So she wanted him to experience what she had gone through in that place? How hard could that be?
If Allison had endured it, then surely he, a grown man, could do it, too.
Nigel straightened his back and said, “Ally, if this is how you want your revenge, then fine. If I take it, will you finally let go of all that anger?”
Allison said nothing.
He looked at her one last time, then closed his eyes and said calmly. “Let’s do it.”
Nigel counted silently in his head, trying to guess how many seconds it would take before Allison told them to stop.
He couldn't believe she didn't care about him at all. That she no longer cared about the Rogers family.
The bald man gave a small nod, signaling the bodyguards to move. More than a dozen of them circled around Nigel and piled on top of him with full force. No one could withstand that kind of weight.
Nigel was quickly buried beneath them. The bald man stood to the side, issuing instructions. “One on top of another. Stack them higher.”
Then he seemed to remember something and turned to ask, “Almost forgot, Ms. Rogers. How long do you want this game to last?”
Allison didn't answer. Maybe she hadn't heard him, or maybe she chose not to. Her eyes stayed fixed on Nigel, who was now crushed beneath a mountain of bodies.
His face reddened, then slowly turned purple. He couldn't seem to breathe. He opened his mouth, but no sound emerged.
There were too many people stacked on top of him. Some of them could barely keep their balance, constantly shifting just to find footing.