جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 20

RENZO “…he shouldn’t still be here.” Time didn’t pass the way it used to or the way I wanted it to. It seeped or rather pooled annoyingly, like I was buried under something soft that refused to let me surface. A week could have been a minute. A minute could have been a lifetime... I had no way of knowing, except for the way sounds began to change. At first, there had only been noise. Then slowly… so slowly, those voices began to separate themselves from the ringing. I couldn’t tell my body to breathe deeper or faster. But I could still hear and recognise the voices of those around me the most. That was why I recognised Elix and not because of how loud she was. “He’s safer here,” Richard replied, calmly. My father never raised his voice unless he wanted the world to know it was ending. “The hospital was compromised. You saw what happened.” There was a pause. I imagined Elix standing with her hands clasped in front of her, chin slightly raised and eyes lowered just eno

RENZO “Fuck you!” Asher gritted out before fading… perhaps into unconsciousness.“I really don’t want that to happen again,” Elix continued, her voice still soft. “It’s messy. And frankly, it’s bad for morale.”She turned slowly, addressing the room.“I am Elix,” she said clearly. “Daughter of Emilio Vescari as you already know. I'm a popular figure online anyway. And until Renzo wakes up, you will listen to me.”No one interrupted her now.“He speaks through me,” she said. “As I speak through him.”She stepped closer to me. “But before anyone gets creative,” she added, “let me be very fucking clear. Every order I give is for his benefit.” “Test me again,” she said lightly, “and Hawk won’t stop next time.”Something wet slid down my lip.Spit.Shit… that was my body betraying me in front of everyone.Elix noticed immediately. She snapped her fingers like always, collected a handkerchief, and wiped my mouth gently. “He’s stressed,” she said to the room, almost fondly. “Too much noise

ZARIA I could only gawk at the woman waving her hands dramatically and the man who slammed his palm on the table.“You always shout!” the woman yelled. “Always face like bittermelon!”“You talk too much!” he fired back. “You scare people with your mouth, not me!”I looked up through my tears, stunned.The man I had thought was quiet and gentle was now yelling so loudly the bowls rattled. The woman pointed at him, her voice rising higher with each sentence. They went back and forth, insults spilling out freely.“Old fool!” the woman cried.“Loud chicken!” the man replied.She gasped. “You dare!”“You started!”I let out a strange sound that surprised even me. It was halfway between a sob and a laugh. My chest hurt, my eyes burned, but something about the way they argued felt unreal. Too dramatic and exaggerated. It could never be like this in Renzo's house which was quieter than this.They paused at the same time like chickens.I laughed out then with tears still running down my face.

ELIX “Fucking idiots.” I kept my hand on the wheelchair handle long after the car doors shut with the engines still running because I needed the pressure under my palm.The doctor said Renzo was listening. Thankfully, I was present enough to catch those words. My lips curled delightfully at the fact that Renzo was now mine to manage, and not some weak headline those idiots with cameras were already drafting in their heads.I hated that they saw him like that. But I loved it even more that Zaria was not here to see him like this.The car ride back was quiet. Renzo’s breathing was slow as the machines were doing their job, and his face was pale in a way that made something ugly twist in my chest. I simply told myself not to feel it because feelings made mistakes, and mistakes got people buried.The house staff scattered like mice the moment they saw me wheel Renzo into the mansion. That alone should have told May to stay the fuck out of my way.But she didn’t.I handed Renzo over to th

ELIX“You missed your only daughter's ticket into the wealthiest and most powerful family on the continent, Papa. In fact, my resources have been what have taken me this far. I won Renzo's men on my own. So yeah, I am the one competent enough to end this.”There. I said it. But the moment those words left my lips, my heart beat increased at an unusual tempo. Shit, shit, shit… what did I just do? I could hear the smile fade from Papa's voice.“You forget yourself,” he said coldly. “You forget that everything you have, every silk dress, every ounce of power you enjoy, comes from me, your father.”“Yes, and I am grateful.” I snapped. “But I didn’t just sit pretty. I built influence in this house. Renzo listens to me the way I want him to.”Papa scoffed. “He listens half dead.”My mouth opened, but I had nothing to say.Papa took that silence and twisted it.“You see?” he continued. “You’re playing wife when you should be ruling. And now you want my patience while you fumble over a simpl