Chapter 11
Hunter ended the call without hesitation. His mind cleared abruptly, and he straightened his clothes before returning to stand before Nadine’s corpse. He read the note again, then took a deep breath.
“I love you.”
The body remained unchanged. Unwavering, Hunter knelt down to meet it at eye level.
“I love you, Nadine Devine.”
His fingers clenched around the note, crumpling the paper. Refusing to give up, he repeated the words like a mantra.
“I love you. I love you!
“Nadine, can you hear me? Isn’t this what you wanted? I’ve said it now–I love you, I love you. I’ll say it as many times as you need. Just end this ridiculous joke already.”
The more he repeated those cursed words, the more panic clawed at his chest. Why wasn’t she waking up? Why wasn’t she coming back? There was no way Nadine could really be dead!
His eyes burned with fury by the end, his hands twitching with the urge to grab her shoulders
and shake her back to life.
Then, the ringing of his phone shattered his solitary breakdown. Hope flared–he snatched it up and pressed it to his ear, words tumbling out desperately.
“Where are you, Nadine? Where the hell are you? I’ve said it so many times already, and I’ll keep saying it–I love you, I love you, I love you! Is that enough, Nadine?”
His voice trembled with equal parts rage and terror as he waited for a response. But once again, it wasn’t the voice he longed to hear.
“Hunter, what are you talking about? Come save me! Nadine came after me the second you left. She said she’d make me pay for stealing you away!”
Serena’s tearful pleas painted her as the perfect victim. Anyone else would have pictured her trembling in fear.
Meanwhile, Hunter stared blankly at Nadine’s corpse. He asked numbly, “You mean Nadine came to see you?”
“Yes! She showed up the moment you were gone! She said she’d ruin me for monopolizing you! Hunter, hurry! Save me!”
If he hadn’t been looking directly at Nadine’s lifeless body, he might have believed Serena’s
Chapter 11
lies again. The absurdity of it all struck him as darkly comical.
2/2
Hunter’s mouth twisted into something resembling a smile, but the sound that escaped his throat bore no resemblance to laughter. They were just hollow, broken rasps.
“Stop lying, Serena. Nadine is dead.”
The line went silent for a long moment before Serena’s carefully crafted, trembling reply came through.
“I… I just wanted to see you… Hunter, I know you’re hurting. Let me come comfort you, okay?”
“Hurting? Why would I feel hurt? Nadine was my sworn enemy. Her death is cause for celebration–no one will bother me anymore.”
Serena couldn’t contain her delight. “Then–then let’s get married! Now that Nadine’s gone, we can finally be together, Hunter!”
But the man who had laughed moments ago now turned ice–cold. “I told you–I’ll take care of Nadine for life. Alive or dead.”
Serena faltered before erupting. “So you expect me to keep being your dirty little secret? When will you ever think about me, Hunter Goldman? You claim to love me, but even with Nadine dead, you still only want me as your mistress?”
Hunter didn’t respond. He simply ended the call. His fists remained clenched, and his mind replayed every one of Nadine’s recent, uncharacteristic behaviors.
She had never once asked if he loved her before–everyone knew he hated her. Yet during those five days, she had abandoned all pride and kept begging for those three words.
Memories surfaced of her fragile tears at the party and her despair on the rooftop. His chest constricted painfully.
Once more, he whispered “I love you” to the corpse–then drove his fist into the wall with a strangled cry.
Pain shot through his hand, but he kept punching, blow after blow, until blood smeared the white surface. Only then did he stagger back, exhausted.
One question burned in his mind. How did Nadine even die five days ago?
He lifted his bloodshot eyes, their usual coldness now mixed with something far more dangerous.
Chapter 12
