Chapter 3
Keira didn’t want to be goaded by Kimberly’s provocation, so she sidestepped the latter to leave.
Kimberly frowned when she saw that Keira was trying to leave. She was about to continue shouting at the latter when a familiar figure appeared in the corridor. An idea suddenly occurred to her. She grabbed Keira’s arm and dragged her down into the pond.
Neither of them could swim, so they splashed around and struggled in the water while crying for help. Keira’s wounds opened again, and her blood dyed the water crimson. The cold water filled her nose and mouth, choking her and making her cough violently.
She was in so much pain that she lost the strength to struggle. She slowly sank to the bottom of the pond. Just as she was about to asphyxiate, she saw Vincent run to them and jump into the water.
He swam past her without even sparing her a glance or helping her. He headed straight for Kimberly and pulled her out of the water.
She threw herself into his arms, her eyes red as she looked at Keira, who was still in the water. She acted like she was worried as she said, “Keira accidentally pushed me in. Vincent, you know I only have one sister. Can you save her, please?”
His expression turned ugly at her words, and he turned to look at Keira. “Stop speaking up for her, Kimmy! She must’ve been trying to kill you. She even jumped in to make the act seem convincing! Since she hasn’t learned her lesson, she can stay in the water until she does!”
Keira heard him, and his words hit like a knife to the chest. Her face flushed purple from holding her breath too long, a sharp buzzing filled her ears. As her strength drained away, her vision blurred, and she slowly began to slip out of consciousness.
She watched as Vincent left with Kimberly in his arms. Then, she fainted.
…
Keira didn’t know how long she’d been out, but she was awakened by a cold gust of wind. She shivered and opened her eyes to see Frank and Melinda standing before her with equally steely looks on their faces.
“How dare you push Kimmy into the water! Were you trying to kill her so you could take her place and be with Vincent? That won’t ever happen for as long as your father and I are alive! You can’t compare to Kimberly in any way, and you’re totally unworthy of Vincent! Accept reality and stop fantasizing about changing this!” Melinda snapped.
Keira’s blood ran cold at her mother’s harsh words, and despair filled her eyes. The agony she’d kept bottled up for years finally burst forth. “I’m unworthy of him, huh? But does Kimberly deserve him? Vincent would never have even spared her a glance if not for you lying to him! You took what was supposed to be mine and gave it to her. Don’t you find yourselves shameless?”
Melinda’s face turned red with rage when she saw that Keira dared to talk back. Meanwhile, Frank slapped Keira hard.
He roared, “You ingrate! We’re your parents, and we gave you your life and everything you have! We have the right to take it all back when we want to, and we can give it to Kimberly if we want!
“How dare you argue with us over this! If you dare try to talk about the truth again, we’ll—”
The door swung open before he could finish speaking, and Vincent entered, frowning. He asked, “The truth? What truth?”
Frank and Melinda were startled by his sudden appearance. They started stammering as they tried to sweep things under the rug.
“W-We were just teaching her a lesson. We wanted to know the truth of why she pushed Kimmy into the water.”
“E-Exactly! She refuses to admit she’s wrong, and we’re just mad at her for that. We don’t know how to punish her, though.”
They shared a look and changed the subject.
Vincent didn’t think much of their odd behavior. He turned to look at Keira, his gaze icier than ever. “Lock her in the morgue if she insists on denying she’s wrong. She can be let out once she learns her lesson.”
Frank and Melinda found that to be a good idea. They immediately summoned some bodyguards to take Keira away.
Keira cupped her cheek, which was red and swollen from Frank’s slap. Her eyes were empty and lifeless. She knew that retaliating would only make things worse for her, so she didn’t struggle in the slightest. She allowed the bodyguards to drag her away.
As the eerie frostiness of the morgue enveloped her, all she could do was wrap her arms around herself as she shivered uncontrollably.
Amid her daze, she was reminded of the days when she and Vincent had held each other close on stormy nights to keep each other warm at the villa in the suburbs.
At the time, he would take off his jacket and wrap it around her before pulling her into his warm embrace. He would repeatedly tell her not to be scared because he was with her.
The sweetness of her memories and the iciness of reality blended together, tormenting Keira’s nerves. The seconds passed, and she drifted in and out of consciousness as the cold and hunger got to her.
Just then, the door opened. Vincent strode in, his gaze cold and sharp. “Have you learned your lesson after being locked in here for a day and night?”
“Yeah. I’ve realized my mistakes, and I now know that I was horribly wrong.” Keira had to force the words out as she lay curled up on the floor.
When she saw the satisfied look on his face, she staggered to her feet and left the morgue. In her heart, she told herself that the only mistake she’d made was falling for him and believing that he would keep his promise of getting together with her.
