Màu nền Màu tối Mặc định Xám nhạt Xanh nhạt Xanh đậm Vàng nhạt Màu sepia Vàng đậm Vàng ố

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Present

Camille

“Maura, please…” Before I could finish the sentence, Michael ripped my t-shirt off my body, causing me to freeze in shock. Defeated, I squeezed my eyes, falling to my knees and begging for help. 

“Come here, bitch!” Michael grabbed me by the hair and dragged me to my feet. Grinding my teeth, I snatched the wine bottle off the table and slammed it right into his head, causing him to bleed. A moment later, he reached out to touch his head and looked at his hand with horror. The next second, his eyes rolled back in his head before his body landed on the ground. 

I heard people suck into breath behind me as I was still holding a broken wine bottle and blood was trickling from it. Michael lay flat on the floor. I stared at his body as he remained motionless. His blood spread slowly across the white, pristine floor. 

“Is he dead?” the redhead asked, her voice filled with fear. 

“What have you done?” Maura exclaimed as she stepped next to me. “Shit!” she softly kicked Michael’s body with her heels to check him. “Oh no, he’s not moving,” she exclaimed when Michael didn’t respond. 

Suddenly, the pit of my stomach dropped when a police siren blared in the room. 

“Police!” cries filled the air and people rushed here and there. 

“Who the fuck has called the police?” Maura gritted her teeth. 

“And the drugs?” Red-headed roared, watching Maura for direction. 

“Get them flushed in the toilet,” Maura ordered with clenched teeth. “You caused this.” She snarled at me. 

“He was trying to rape me.” I pounced with rage.

Suddenly, a police officer stormed inside and shouted, “Hands up, everybody!” He surveyed his surroundings before his eyes landed on the body on the ground. “Arrest her.” As soon as he saw the broken bottle I held, he nodded at me. 

A constable rushed towards me before he grabbed my hands and twisted them behind my back and handcuffed me. 

“I didn’t mean to do this,” I told him when they dragged me away. “He was trying to rape me...” 

“No! She’s psychotic!” Maura yelled out, cutting me off. “She also killed a boy eight years ago. You can check her criminal records if you don’t believe.” 

“How could you possibly treat me this way, Maura?” I growled at her. “You...” I jerked myself free so that I could strangle her slender neck. She had been such a bitch. I had never expected her to get so low as to torture me. 

“Put her into the car,” Officer ordered before the constable took me out and shoved me into the car roughly. I saw Maura who was smirking in triumph like she had planned everything and it ran smoothly. 

“I didn’t do this,” I told the cops quietly, but they completely ignored me.

********* 

It was a dark and cold room, and I was sitting on the rough floor, hugging my body. My clothes ripped and my wound was untreated. I didn’t know how long I would be caged in prison, but it seemed like ages. I was experiencing the same thing that I had experienced eight years ago when I killed Samuel. 

It surprised me how relaxed I felt in this room. I felt an unusual peace within me despite the cold, having no food for hours, and not being able to fall asleep. But it hurt me to find no one there for me. 

As I leaned against the wall, I stared blankly at the ceiling. People hated me and resented me even though I wasn’t that person. Not even my family wanted anything to do with me. 

After that night, everything in my world changed. Sleeping with Samuel proved to be a mistake. I never intended to go with him. Otherwise, my life would have been very different. I wouldn’t have been raped, he wouldn’t have filmed me, and Rika would have been with me. Since Samuel got what he deserved, I never regretted killing him. He deserved to die after what he had done to us. 

“Cami!” Archie called out as he entered the cell.

“Archie,” I whispered, getting up to my feet and shocked to see him here. “How you…”

“What the fuck is that?” he growled and quickly embraced my body. Suddenly, tears gathered in my eyes at his gesture. Keeping me in his arms, he caressed my hair as if he knew just how much I needed love and care at that moment. From the inside, I was deeply broken. My heart had been longing to be loved and cared for a long time. “There is a part of me that wants to kill my sister. She’s a fucking witch.” 

“I didn’t intend to do that,” I said. “He was trying to rape me.” 

“I know,” he sighed before pulling himself back and looking into my eyes.

“Is he dead?” I asked cautiously.

“Who cares!” he shook his head in frustration and ran his fingers through his hair. “He is not dead, but he got a serious wound in his head.”

We said nothing as we kept quiet for a while. 

“Cami...” whispered Archie, looking somewhat disturbed. “It took me a couple of days to get you out of here. As much as I hate to see you here, I can’t break rules.” His face was worried and his eyes were searching for me. “Scott has enough power to take you out of this shit, but I know he will never do this. I talked to him in the morning and he was pleased to hear this news.” He squeezed my shoulder with genuine concern as he said, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you stay here for long. I’ll get you out of this mess as soon as I can, Camille.” 

“Why do you care when no one cares about me?” My voice was constricted.

“No one cares, but I do care, Cami.” He grinned when I broke into a smile. “Your smile is so beautiful. I want to return to you.”

I sighed in despair. “I think I can survive here for two, or three days.” 

“Take care of yourself, Cami.”

I nodded and let him go as he turned around before stepping out of the cell. 

*********

After spending three days in jail, Archie fulfilled his promise, and I was finally released. It cost him thousands of dollars to bail me out. He was driving me back to Maura’s house, which made me unhappy. I didn’t want to see her face. Rika was right about Maura. She was more lethal than King Cobra itself. 

“Scott has returned from Norway,” Archie announced while driving the car, which caught my attention. 

I frowned. “He was supposed to come next month,” I said. 

“Maura missed him, so he took a few days off work,” Archie said with a rolled eye. “She won’t be around for a few days to trouble you, so don’t worry.” 

“How’s Kat?”

“He’s doing well and missing you. I would have brought him, but Maura kept him busy with other tasks.”

I smiled and said nothing. 

“Cami...” A hint of hesitation marred Archie’s voice as if he had been waiting for a long time to say something. 

“Yes.”

“Actually…” he sighed heavily, looking slightly nervous. “I want to ask you something very important.” 

“Go ahead.”

“Can you be my date for today’s banquet?” he asked timidly, looking like a little boy. “I want to date you for so long.” 

“That’s why you bail me out?” I asked, with a hint of annoyance. 

He heaved a long sigh as he said, “Look, Cami...I don’t want you to take it the wrong way. I don’t want to feel needy, but I’m helpless… you know women make me sick. Women who are money suckers are not something I like. I feel comfortable with you.” He paused for a moment. “God, I’m completely spoiling my image in your eyes.” 

“I’m not the girlfriend type,” I said firmly. “I won’t…” I yelped out when he banged the brake and the car came to a halt, causing my body to lurch forward. 

“I apologize. I made you feel this way,” Archie said with guilt in his voice. “I should not have asked you in the first place.”

“I’m ready to be your date.” I declared, and his jaw dropped. 

“Are you sure?” he blurted.

I nodded with a grin. “It’s okay, I was just kidding. Of course, you don’t want anyone to know about your sexuality.” 

“Thank God! Let me call Kat first and let him know the good news.” He picked up his phone and called Kat. 

“Hey…” Archie’s happiness was undeniable when he heard Kat’s voice. True love hmm. “Cami is ready…” 

“What!!” Kat screamed out in excitement and I broke into a chuckle.

“Now tell me which is the finest salon and can you suggest to me the name of the leading designer in the city?” he paused for a while before continuing, “She must be the most gorgeous date at the banquet.” 

“Do I need a makeover?” I asked when Archie got off the phone after fifteen minutes of talking and slipped it back into his pocket. 

“Yup, of course.” 

“Can’t I be on your date like this?”

“I want you to look beautiful, Cami,” he said gently yet firmly. 

“What if I don’t want to look beautiful?” 

As he placed his hand on my shoulder, he told me, “For the world, a beautiful face is more important than a beautiful heart, and you’re blessed with both. I want people to respect you. You, too, deserve happiness and love, don’t you?” 

“You remind me of my best friend,” I said while remembering Rika. 

“Where’s she?”

“She’s in a coma.” I swallowed hard as despair washed over me. “For eight years.” 

********