With barely any money, I rented a tiny thirty-square-meter apartment. There, I waited quietly for my trial, hoping that justice would one day be served—that Sierra would finally be exposed. That I could face Alden again with a clean conscience.
But that moment never came.
What came instead were Celeste’s bodyguards.
They dragged me back without explanation.
The first thing I saw was Damien lying on a bed soaked with blood—his lower body completely drenched in red.
Celeste looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Her eyes were dark, sunken. The moment she saw me, she slapped me across the face.
“You said it didn’t matter if the child wasn’t aborted! That you’d accept anything!” she shouted. “Then why would you do this to him? Why strip him of his dignity as a man?”
I stared in shock. Damien whimpered in pain.
“Gid…” he said weakly. “If you don’t want me to be with Celeste, I’ll leave. But why hurt me like this?”
Celeste kicked me in the knee, forcing me down.
“I’ll find the thugs you hired,” she growled. “And I’ll make sure they die without a grave.”
Then she grabbed my chin, squeezing until it hurt.
“But you—I’ll give you one last chance.”