Chapter 7
Vincent deliberately avoided Alicia’s eyes.
warning glare, then disappeared into his study
He shot Mira a wa
No matter how desperately Alicia stood there, struggling and silently pleading for help, he acted as if she didn’t exist. This was his punishment—he was convinced Alicia had brought the cookies just to provoke Mina
Miras lips curled into a smirk. She and Cecilia and Henry shared a laugh–sharp, jarring, cruel, the kind of laughter that only devils would
make
“Why don’t you come sit with us, sweetheart? Mina’s tone remained gentle, smiling as she beckoned Alicia over
But Alicia couldn’t move at all.
Her legs felt like they were filled with lead, her mind spinning with memories of how these three had tormented her back in school.
“Hey, isn’t this Alicia? Our little prom queen…” Henry’s voice dripped with sarcasm as he spoke.
Mina’s face lit up in mock surprise. “Oh, you’re all classmates? Well, then, I’m sure you’ll get along just fine.
Alicia stood.frozen, her only coherent thought: Run.!!
*Mina” Alicia’s voice quivered. “I just remembered I have something urgent at home. I’m so sorry, I need to go.”
She spun around, desperate to escape, but her knees buckled after only a few steps and she fell hard to the floor
“Let’s see our old friend out” Mira said, already getting up and leading the others toward her.
Alicia wanted to run–God, she wanted to run–but her body wouldn’t respond. Fear paralyzed her, not just fear of them, but of everything. shed ever been through.
“What’s wrong? Can’t get up?” Henry grabbed the back of Alicia’s collar and yanked her roughly to her feet. “Don’t tell me our prom queen’s going to wet herself again_
Alicia hung her head, the deafening ring in her left ear making her dizzy, her face pulled tight with shame. She tried to break free, but she couldn’t.
She never could.
“Vincent’s getting married, and it’s to my sister,” Henry sneered, draping an arm around Alicia’s shoulders and dragging her toward the door. “So what’s it called when you chase after your own brother–in–law, huh?“!
I
Alicia knew Henry didn’t need a reason to torment her. He’d been relentless since their first day at university, when he’d tried to hit on he and shed rejected him in front of everyone. Back then, Alicia didn’t know what it meant to catch a devil’s eye
From that day, it became her nightmare. Henry used her refusal as justification to strip her in public, take humiliating photos, burn her with cigarette butts, sic Mira and Cecilia on her, lock her in a trunk, force her to sleep in public bathrooms. If she refused, they’d threaten to get her expelled, or worse, go after the kids at the orphanage where she grew up.
She was the only one from the orphanage to make it to college–their hope, the one shining example. She couldn’t afford to be expelled. So even when they made her swallow nails, she forced them down.
“Say something! Cecilia snapped, kicking Alicia to the ground and glaring at her in disgust. “What’s your problem, huh? Vincent doesn’t want you, can’t you get that through your head? If you keep acting up, there’s nothing stopping us from shutting down that pathetic little orphanage of yours!”
Alicia sprawled in the grass, brushing dirt off her clothes. She had to wear this outfit tonight to meet Mr. Lynch–she’d wanted to make a good impression
That hope was gone now.
“What you deaf and mute now?” Cecilia slapped her hard across the face.
A maid passed by in the backyard, saw everything, and kept walking, pretending she hadn’t seen a thing.
Everyone here knew the rules: the golden children of the house could do whatever they wanted to Alicia
Alicia never spoke, never begged for mercy. She just sat there, stubborn and silent, taking whatever cruelty they dished out.
Once, Henry had asked her what she was thinking, sitting there so stubbornly while they hit her.
Alicia never answered.?
But the truth was, every
ery time, she thought about ending it all–dying, taking the three of them with her. If she really wanted to, she could kill them; it wouldn’t even be that hard.
But every time the thought crossed her mind, another always followed: If she died, who would look after those unwanted kids at the orphanage?
