Chapter 11
Carmen hung up the phone without hesitation. His mind suddenly felt clear again. He straightened his clothes, restored his usual composure, and returned to Liora’s body.
He read the note one more time, then drew in a deep breath.
“I love you.”
Nothing happened.
The corpse remained unchanged.
Carmen crouched down to her level and looked at her face.
“I love you, Liora.”
His fingers tightened around the note, crumpling the paper in his hand. He refused to give up and kept repeating the words.
“I love you.”
“I love you.”
“Liora, can you hear me? Isn’t this what you wanted? I’m saying it now–I love you. I love you. I’ll say it as many times as you want. Just stop this absurd joke.”
The more he said those words–as if they were cursed–the more anxious he became. Why wasn’t she waking up? Why hadn’t she come back to life? How could Liora possibly be truly dead?!
His eyes grew red with desperation. He nearly grabbed her cold, lifeless shoulders and shook her, as if that might bring her back.
Just then, his phone suddenly rang, shattering the silence of Carmen’s breakdown. It was like a glimmer of hope cutting through the darkness. Carmen snatched it up and pressed it to his ear, voice trembling with urgency.
“Where are you, Liora?! Where the hell are you?! I’ve said it so many times already. If that’s what you want, I’ll keep saying it–I love you! I love you! I love you! Is that enough, Liora?!”
He sounded angry, but it Iwas more like panic.
He waited for the response from the other end in breathless silence.
But the voice that answered wasn’t hers as he hoped.
“Carmen, what are you talking about? Please come help me. Liora came while you were gone and started bullying me again!”
Evelynne’s sobs spilled from the other end of the line, delicate and pitiful. Carmen didn’t even need to see her to imagine how heartbroken and distraught she looked on the other end of the line.
He looked down at Liora’s corpse and asked numbly, “Did Liora come to see you?”
“Yes! The moment you left) she showed up and said she was going to teach me a lesson! She’s jealous that I’ve had you for so long. Carmen, please, come
save me!”
If he hadn’t been staring directly at Liora’s rotting body, he might have believed her again. He suddenly felt it so ridiculous. He curled his lips into something that resembled a smile but didn’t sound like one at all.
“Cut the act, Evelynne. Liora’s dead.”
The other end of the call went completely silent. After a moment, Evelynne replied in a soft, cautious voice, filled with forced innocence.
“I just… I just wanted to see you. Carmen, I know you’re hurting. I can be there for you, okay?”
“Hurting? Why would I be hurting?” Carmen asked flatly. “Liora and I were enemies. She’s dead now. I should be thrilled. No one to nag me anymore.”
Evelynne’s excitement barely stayed hidden. “Then… can we seal the mate bond now? If Liora’s gone, there’s nothing standing between us. We can finally be together, Carmen!”
But Carmen, who had just laughed bitterly a moment ago, suddenly went cold.
“I told you before. I’m going to take care of Liora for the rest of my life. Whether she’s alive or dead.”
Evelynne froze, stunned. Then, unable to hold back, she shouted, “So I’m just supposed to keep following you around like some nobody? Carmen, when will you finally think about me? You keep saying you love me, but now that Liora’s gone, you still want me to be the other woman?!”
Chapter 11
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Carmen didn’t respond. He simply hung up, face stone–cold.
His fist remained clenched at his side. His mind kept replaying all the strange things Liora had said and done during those last five days.
She had never once asked if he loved her–never. Everyone knew he hated her. But in those final days, she had abandoned all pride, just to hear those
three words.
He recalled her vulnerability and tears at the party, and the despair she showed on the rooftop.
His chest tightened little by little.
Once more, he looked down at her body and whispered, “I love you.”
Then, with a sudden cry of pain, he slammed his fist into the wall.
The sharp sting cut through his skin, but he barely felt it. Again and again, he pounded the wall until his knuckles split open, until blood smeared across the white paint like a warning. Only then did he finally stop.
How exactly did Liora die five days ago in the beginning?
Carmen slowly lifted his bloodshot eyes. His gaze was filled with cold fury.
Chapter 11
