When Allison opened her eyes again, she found herself in a hospital bed with an IV line taped to the back of her hand.
"Allison, what the hell have you been doing to yourself these past four years? How could you ruin a perfectly healthy body like this?"
Damian's voice cut through the quiet the second she stirred, cold and demanding.
"The doctor said you're severely malnourished. If you don't start eating properly, you'll die. Yeah, I shouldn't have made fun of you back then, calling you fat like a pig, but that doesn't mean you get to just stop eating altogether. Allison, you've really disappointed me."
He finished the lecture and walked out without another glance.
As she watched his back disappear, a flicker of emotion finally appeared on Allison's otherwise numb face.
She whispered the words she had repeated to herself so many times over the last four years. "Damian... I really don't dare to like you anymore. I really don't dare to like you anymore."
She had been ten when her parents died in that car crash. Both she and Bella were taken in by the Schmidt family, who kept their word and made her Damian's promised bride.
At first, Damian had wanted nothing to do with her. He laughed at her for scarfing down junk food and mocked her for reading those silly romance novels.
They walked to school together every single day and sat in the same after-school classes, yet he never once gave her a single kind look.
Because everyone knew she was tied to him, the girls at school who crushed on Damian cornered her one afternoon. They shoved her head into a toilet and tried to force her to drink the filthy water.
But then Damian appeared out of nowhere. “Allison’s with me. Who the hell do you think you are, messing with her?”
From that day on, everything changed. He started treating her better and better.
Even though he was terrified of heights, he still took her to the amusement park and rode the roller coaster with her ten times straight.
He knew she loved animals, so he spent hours with her at the stray dog shelter, patiently helping every dog they met.
They made plans together. Same university, get married the day after graduation, have one boy and one girl, and stay side by side for the rest of their lives.
All of it vanished the moment that k********g happened. Every dream turned to dust.
Damian had once been her light. Now that light had gone out forever.
On the day she was finally cleared to leave the hospital, Bella showed up.
She carried a bright pink thermos and pushed the door open with a sweet, playful voice. "Allison, I came to see you! I brought something yummy. Eat up, and then we can head home together."
Young Bella wore a pretty floral dress and looked as fresh as a spring flower. Everyone else in the room lit up with compliments.
"Ms. Beckett, is that your little sister? She's even prettier than you!"
"How come you two don't look much alike if you have the same mom?" someone asked with a curious laugh.
Allison's voice came out flat. "We don't have the same mom."
"What did you say?"
"We don't share the same mother." Allison bit her lip, her hands clenched tightly at her sides.
It was only after her father died that Allison learned the truth. The man she had always thought was honest and simple had kept a mistress on the side and even had a child with her. That child was Bella.
"Allison, I stewed this soup just for you. It took me a full three hours." Bella acted like she hadn't heard a thing. She pulled out a spoon and held it up gently, ready to feed her. "Damian's busy today, so I drove over. We'll go back together later. Here, try it. I promise you're going to love every drop."
Allison hesitated for only a second before she took the spoon and brought it to her lips.
"How is it?" Bella asked.
"It's... okay."
"I knew you'd like it!" Bella's mouth curved into a proud little smile, but her eyes sparkled with something dark and vicious. "Want to guess what kind of meat is floating in this soup?"
She stared straight at Allison and flashed a chilling grin. "It's Lucky. The dog you raised."
Aksara