Chapter 778
Damp, gloomy, and bone–chilling.
A musty stench of dust mingled with the sharp scent of tobacco hit Marilla as she struggled to pry her heavy eyelids open, blurring the line between dream and reality.
In her daze, she felt a pair of hands, cold as a serpent’s tongue, slithering across her skin.
“Who?”
Marilla snapped her eyes wide open as if breaking free from a nightmare, only to plunge into another terrifying dream.
There sat Alston by her bed, his pallid fingers restlessly traveling up from her slender ankles, caressing her skin with a touch as smooth as polished marble.
“Don’t touch me!”
Marilla trembled all over, desperately trying to break free, only to find her limbs bound, rendering her helpless!
Powerless and despondent, she watched the man’s vile hands defile her, enduring the scorching shame that filled her veins like molten
lava.
“Don’t want it?”
Alston’s mocking smile curled as he whispered into her tender ear, his breath heavy with desire, “You told your fiancé ‘no‘, didn’t that mean ‘yes‘? You’ve lived with a man for so long, what haven’t you tried?
Come on, let’s have some fun, my soon–to–be wife.”
“You’re not my fiancé, you’re not!” Marilla choked back tears, shaking
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her head vigorously, trying to escape the repulsive entanglement.
“Don’t play hard to get!”
Losing patience, Alston revealed his vile nature, his eyes glaring as he swung his arm and slapped her, “You, rejected by the Fairhaven family as a lunatic, were graciously taken in by the Bartleys, and you show no gratitude. Instead, you sneak around with other men! Do you think Aaron cares for you? He’s just enjoying the thrill of conquest! Just like I despise Jareth, I must marry you to make him watch helplessly as his woman falls into another man’s hands!”
With those words, Alston climbed onto the bed, pinning down her delicate body, fumbling with his tie, his eyes lit with unsatisfied craving, “After all, you’re no innocent; Jareth has had his way with you. What’s one more time to you? Marilla, tonight, let’s pretend this is our bridal chamber.”
Marilla shook uncontrollably, tears cascading down her pale cheeks as she screamed hoarsely, struggling,
“Get off, get away! Don’t touch me!”
To Alston, her frantic movements were nothing but exciting.
The sight of her tear–stained face, so vulnerable and nearly shattered, ignited a fire within him, a desire to torment her ruthlessly!
Would he finally fulfill the wicked desires that eluded him since his youth this very night?
As Alston unbuckled his belt, the bedroom door burst open.
A man and a woman stood at the threshold, their attire screaming wealth and privilege…
“What’s the rush? Can’t wait to have your way?” The woman in a fiery red dress folded her arms, reveling in the drama.
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“Alston, I told you back in school, you’ve always had a thing for Marilla and you just didn’t know it, right?”
The slick–haired man in the designer blue suit eyed the girl on the bed, licking his lips, “What’s that saying? When old classmates meet, it’s just game on!”
Through her tears, when Marilla recognized those two, her body stiffened, and a wave of icy dread washed over her, freezing every
nerve.
So many years had passed.
She thought she had forgotten, yet with just one glance, she could name each one of them, even if they turned to ashes, she would recognize them.
Those six devils.
The tormentors of her junior high school years, who had mercilessly bullied her for three long years!
“Interrupting me now, really kills the mood,” Alston said, leisurely buckling his belt, visibly annoyed.
The man in blue snuffed out his cigarette on the floor, “You can have your fun later. Right now, Edith wants us to bring her over.”
When they mentioned Edith’s name, Marilla’s world darkened, as if she had fallen into a hellish cycle of despair.
Mr. and Mrs. Abernathy, along with Jason, Gordon, and their entourage, were racing toward Wye!
Aaron was seriously injured, but he insisted on leading the police team himself. Both parties agreed to meet at the abandoned factory.
The news of Marilla’s kidnapping was kept under wraps, partly to avoid
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harming the reputations of both the Abernathy and Fairhaven groups, and partly because if the news leaked, it could endanger Marilla’s life if the kidnappers were provoked.
On the way, Thaddeus had received word from Jareth that Barry might have been murdered and reported it to the police immediately.
Evadne felt so agitated she was almost out of control, her eyes red–rimmed with tears.
What was supposed to be a beautiful date had turned into this nightmare.
How could someone be so audacious as to snatch Marilla right from under Aaron’s watchful eye?
“Jareth said, April wanted to visit the Fairhaven estate yesterday to discuss her divorce with Barry, only to stumble upon Gary and his men disposing of Barry’s body,” Thaddeus held her hand, his eyes deep with concern.
“To fulfill his selfish desires, he even committed patricide. If Gary were to die and fall into the animal realm, he’d be kicked right out!” Evadne glared with intense fury.
“April is now being hunted down by Gary’s men all over town, cornered and desperate she turned to Jareth. She even used the evidence of Gary killing his father as leverage to ensure her safety.”
“People come together for profit and scatter when it’s gone. None of them are worth pitying!”
Evadne clutched his hand tightly, her head shaking in distress, “I thought Jareth, being the eldest grandson of the Fairhaven Group, would have led a much happier life than you, cherished by his mother and grandfather. But it seems I was wrong. Every house has its own troubles; he just didn’t want to share his.”
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“Jareth used to tell me, over and over,” Thaddeus‘ voice was a low, magnetic rumble, laced with a poignant sadness, “that after his dad passed away, the happiest days of his life were spent with Marilla by his side. It was Marilla who showed him that he could love someone just like any other guy. It was Marilla who taught him what love really is.”
At his words, Evadne, who had been holding back her tears the entire journey, finally let them fall.
After a moment of choked sobs, she whispered, “Marilla’s got to be okay. They’ve got to end up together.”
Thaddeus‘ somber gaze softened as he opened his arms to embrace his beloved, “They will.”
“Jason, how much longer to Wye?” Evadne asked, her voice urgent as she composed herself.
“Miss Evadne, the GPS says there’s roadwork ahead, we’ll have to take a detour. Pushing the car to its limits, it’s still gonna be about twenty minutes!” Jason’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel, sweat beading on his forehead.
“Damn! Twenty more minutes?”
Evadne’s fist thumped against the car window, her eyes blazing with an intense flame, “Right now, all I can hope for is that the kidnappers don’t want Marilla dead, that they’ve got some other plan. NôvelDrama.Org owns all content.
As long as their greed doesn’t spell the end, Marilla has a chance!”
Suddenly, her phone rang. It was Lily.
Evadne answered immediately, her voice crackling with urgency, “Lily, have you made it?”
“Ms. Evadne, that woman played me for a fool!”
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Lily was panting, each word dripping with rage, “I’m at the abandoned Wye factory, turned this place upside down, and there’s no sign of Marilla anywhere!”