Chapter 42 DEAD ERICA
Finally, I walked into the hotel. I had reserved a room earlier since my house was a bit far.
The moment I stepped in, I collapsed on the bed. My eyes shut instantly. I was so drained. Who knew revenge could be this exhausting? I thought, letting sleep drag me under.
“Why did you jump! My life is hell because of you!!”
“I’m sorry, I…I…” I twisted in the bed. My nightmares never left. I thought they had, at least in the two weeks I had been “free” of them.
“I am what I am because of you.”
Aaron’s voice broke, his hands gripping my shirt, covered in blood, those eyes full of grief, anger, hatred—all focused on me.
“Ahh!” I jolted awake, gasping, my heart pounding like it wanted out of my chest. I clutched my forehead, massaging it.
Letting the tears slip down my cheeks warm and soft.
Sniff sniff
To be honest, all these years spent planning revenge… I never reached out to anyone. Not my mum, not Aurora, not even Aaron. I wanted them to believe I was gone… yet I watched them from afar. He blamed himself so many times. I’m so selfish.
“I need coffee,” I muttered, dragging myself up and toward the table. Thankfully, the room had a mini coffee machine.
I stood there wiping my tears, watching the cup fill. I shouldn’t let my nightmares weigh me down, I told myself.
I sat on the chair, my fingers hovering over my laptop. I put on my transparent glasses and tied my hair into a bun.
“I should finish the document I need to sign.” But my hands froze.
“Miss, anything else?” Jolie’s voice. My head snapped up, she was in my memory, smiling down at me.
“Miss, anything else?” she asked again. My eyelashes fluttered.
“Wake up. What I want… is you awake,” I whispered. I stood and walked toward her, reaching for her cheek, but she disappeared, like dust fading.
“Jolie…” My legs weakened, my vision blurred, I clutched my shirt and.....I collapsed
HOURS LATER
My lashes trembled, slowly my eyes opened. I stared at the blurry ceiling. I was on the bed. How?
I tried to sit up, but a muscular hand held my shoulder.
“You should rest,” Jaxon said, and I froze.
“What are you doing here?” I asked weakly, his hand came to my cheek, gentle, caressing it with his warm thumb.
“You have a fever, yet you still overwork yourself.” My gaze drifted to the laptop and scattered documents, I laughed it off.
“That’s what pays,” I joked, but he didn’t smile.
“What?” I shuggered, He pulled his hand back.
“I can see the tears in your eyes,” he murmured, and I looked away.
“What tears?” I laughed, rubbing my eyes. “Something irritating got in.”
“Liar,” he said softly, chuckling.
“None of this is your fault. Stop beating yourself up. I hate seeing you like this—it feels like my heart is being torn apart.”
I turned to him, tears fresh in my eyes. “Everything hurts. Have you ever walked on thin ice? I have, countless times.”
A low smile curled to his lips, he opened his arms. “Come here.”
I hesitated, then moved into his embrace, feeling the warmth in them, his hand tapped my back gently.
“It’s not your fault. They’re the monsters,” he whispered, rubbing my back, the tears fell freely.
Sniff… sniff…
“You should stay away from me,” I cried into his chest. “Everyone around me gets hurt. I’m cursed.”
“Celina, you are the best thing that’s happened to the people around you. You were just used by the ones you trusted. It’s okay. Cry it out.”
“I told Aaron to stay away from me, so he can forget my past self—Celina.” I paused, but silence only followed.
“Jaxon… revenge it-s....I can’t pull myself out of it. And you’ll get hurt. All of you are my family… Jolie’s in a coma, Emily too—she trusted me… I’m such a bad person.” My voice broke.
“I’m being selfish.” Aaron’s words stabbed my mind again: You’re so selfish. You dragged others into your revenge. Look at Jolie and Emily—how do you think they ended up like that?
“Forget me. He was right.”
“Forget?” Jaxon scoffed. “Do you think it’s easy to forget your own heart? Impossible.”
I rolled my eyes and pulled away from the hug.
“Gosh, your jokes always get me,” I said, but his eyes were serious.
“Celina, this isn’t—”
Ding Ding
My phone rang. Thank Goddess. I didn’t want to hear whatever he was about to say. I hurried to the table and picked it up.
“Miss, I found out about Erica,” Nine said urgently. “She fled from a different region in China. She changed her name and identity when she reached California. She carried something with her. Her uncle rebelled and got her family killed. She’d been under his control for years, she finally escaped, but she stole something. Miss… she was shot. They found her when she tried to meet someone to exchange the item. Her body ended up elsewhere… that’s how Jolie found it. You needed a new face urgently, so you used hers and cremated the body. Miss… Erica comes from a bloody background. Her uncle… he will come for you if he learns you exist.”
My eyes darkened.
“Do you know what she was trying to deliver? Or if the person she was meeting betrayed her?” I asked.
“I couldn’t find anything. That person is a ghost and whatever Erica stole is too,” Nine said.... I exhaled deeply.
“Send me the address where Erica was shot. I need to search the area.”
“Okay, Miss. It was at Heaven Peak—the new tourist center. Three years ago it was just a mountain.”
“Alright. Take care of Ruby. And did you dump Max back on the street?”
“Yes, Miss… and please be careful.” The call ended.
“What happened?” Jaxon asked.
I turned to him but said nothing.
At twenty-three, I had taken Erica’s face as the first step in my revenge. I was desperate. I had no idea she came from such a dangerous family.
Wait. I remembered something. Back then, right after surgery, I went to a supermarket. Someone saw me and yelled, “Impossible! You’re dead!” Then he ran into the street but got hit by a car. He never looked back plus I got no answers.
“You should leave. I have somewhere I need to be.”