For Better, For Worse: The Serpent's Contract Wife

Chapter 121: The Greenhouse

The greenhouse.

The same place I almost approached that night, when I left the dinner with the Russos. It was the lights from inside that captivated me, but at daylight I wanna bolt as far away as possible.

I eyed the glass dome in the distance, so completely different from this haunted manor, or maybe it was just the same and worse. It was farther away from the manor like it was its own isolated ghost house.

My body locked when Zade slipped his hand to the small of my back. He led me closer, and the closer we got, the more a strange feeling plunged over me.

I was the one who wanted to see where the flowers came from, right? No, no, no! This wasn’t what I imagined. I thought he was gonna call the flower shop and not take me to a fucking greenhouse that looked more haunted than this damn whole mansion.

"Zade..." I mumbled, but he didn’t stop.

He opened the double glass doors. "Ladies first."

"Nope!" I tried to leave, but he yanked me right back into his arms, and I’m engulfed instantly by his warmth.

"Your curiosity got you into this, kitten. The least you can do is see it until the end," he murmured to my ear, and I did my best not to get affected.

"D-Don’t pin that on me. Besides, I-I have rehearsals. I’m gonna be late!"

"Settling your curiosity comes first."

Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have been that curious.

"Tell me what got you so scared. You’re shivering like a little mouse."

I gulped. "I-It looks haunted."

Maybe. That was the first thought the moment I set my eyes on the glass dome. Truly, it was the weird feeling that I was gonna find something I couldn’t handle. Call it a hunch.

Zade barked out a laugh. "Haunted? Do you see ghosts flying around the place, hm?"

"N-No."

"Then what got you scared?"

"Because it’s in the middle of nowhere."

"That’s not a solid reason." He leaned away and smacked my ass.

The action jolted me through the doorway.

"That wasn’t so hard, was it?" He came in behind me, and I shot daggers at him.

Scoffing, I darted my eyes around, and my heart stilled. Shouldn’t a place like this have all kinds of flowers?

I stepped in fully, stumped by the sea of calla lilies. Yes, just calla lilies with no other flowers in sight. It was as if I had just walked into a whole different world.

It’s beautiful.

This completely stole whatever image I had in mind. From the outside, it looked haunted and abandoned, but the interior revealed nothing but beauty and care.

"Does this satisfy your curiosity, little kitten?"

I twirled to Zade, watching me intensely with a look I couldn’t pinpoint.

Then it hit me like a thousand flames to my chest. "Did you plant these flowers yourself?"

A slow smirk stretched his lips, and I forgot to breathe for a second. "Yes."

I gasped softly, taking a step back in shock. He planted flowers I don’t even like. Except maybe I did like these flowers, and this man planted them. The ruthless Don of Hightower City planted my supposedly favorite flowers. An entire greenhouse was dedicated to them.

"W-Why?" I tried to stop my voice from quivering, but I couldn’t.

The feeling that I had about coming here was right. This was exactly what I couldn’t handle. This man and his impossible actions that got you questioning everything you have ever known.

"Because they are your favorites," he replied.

Saying such words as if it meant nothing, like the weight of it amounted to none, and was something he could do without so much thought. Because he doesn’t even need to think, and just does it.

Every corner of this greenhouse was filled with mature white calla lilies, which meant he had planted this a long time ago, as though he had been waiting for me.

Zade made my father go into debt, made him come to him, and sign that contract, because Zade wanted me the whole time.

That doesn’t sound like a man looking for a replacement.

But Zade had something with Annabeth, and I haven’t confronted him about that because I was terrified of the answer I was gonna get.

If I wasn’t my sister’s replacement, then what am I? What am I to him?

Why does he keep doing all this? Why does he keep tormenting my soul?

I blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. "I have to go."

I didn’t wanna spend another moment here. I moved, but he snatched my wrist and pulled me back to him.

"Leaving so soon?"

"L-Let me go."

"No matter how much you say that, little kitten, it sounds more like a lie every time."

"No, you’re wrong!" I freed myself from his hold and slapped him across the cheek, the sound echoing back to us.

Regret filled me instantly but the emotions triggered by all this got to me faster.

"Y-You don’t get to do this..." I whispered, my voice shaky. "You don’t get to do this after what you did to my sister. You had something with her, and you killed her for it."

Zade rubbed his jaw and pinned me with those hollow eyes that made my blood run cold.

I took a step back, then spun on my heel and ran out. I didn’t stop until I got back to the manor, where I had left my bag.

Oh no. Those words left me before I could stop them. The last thing I wanted to confront him about... I went and did. This was something I wasn’t supposed to know because it was a secret Shane told me.

Fuck.

I grabbed my bag and rushed to the entrance, but I bumped into Elliot.

"Ana," he said, a bit surprised to see me. "Are you alright?"

He did a double check on my expression.

"Y-Yes, I’m fine." I used the back of my hand to dry the tears on my face.

I hadn’t noticed that the tears I tried so hard to stop were already falling on their own accord.

"Are you sure?"

I cleared my throat. "Yeah. I haven’t seen much of you. Where have you been?"

I quickly changed the topic, forcing a smile. I threw a look over my shoulder, breathing a sigh of relief when I didn’t see Zade coming.

"With my brother handling certain matters, I have other things to deal with on my end."

"So, like he handles the undercity and you handle the company, that sounds like a balance."

Elliot fixed me with a pointed stare. "You know about the undercity. I didn’t realize Zade had discussed things like this with you."

I really need to keep my fucking mouth shut. Why don’t I just go ahead and announce to the fucking whole mansion that Shane was onto me?

"I heard about what really happened to Noelle and Ian," I stated, hoping that could give a reason.

"I see... I guess something like that wouldn’t have stayed hidden."

"I should get going." I walked past him to leave.

"Ana."

I halted in my steps.

"Lemme drive you to the academy at least. You don’t look like you’re in a position to do that."

"I don’t look convincing, huh..."

"No, you don’t."

I slowly faced him. "Aren’t you gonna be curious and ask me what’s wrong?"

"I have learned enough about you to know that you won’t tell me anything unless some part of you wants me to know."

"Ah... typical," I chuckled faintly. "Everyone seems to know a lot about me, and here I am, still trying to figure that out."

He opened his mouth to say something, before he cleared his throat. "Do you still want me to drive you?"

I nodded. "That would be a good idea. Thanks."

I don’t think I’m capable of driving right now. My head is spinning, and I’m still pondering how I’m gonna handle rehearsal without falling flat on my face.

We got out together, and Elliot called the chauffeur to bring the car—my car.

"What’s wrong?" Elliot asked me when I didn’t make a move.

"N-Nothing," I said, pushing the feeling away as I got into the car and he closed the door.

Elliot got in.

"You’ve got time on your hands if you’re willing to drive me."

He smiled as he checked his Rolex. "Not much, but this is something I think it’s important."

"Thanks."

"That is the second time you have thanked me." He started the car and drove out.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I wasn’t on your thank you list or any list at all. I’ll take that as an improved relationship between us."

"Oh..." I licked my lips. "You don’t expect me to be welcoming at first, do you?"

"No, and it’s okay if you don’t want to be."

My phone vibrated, and I pulled it out of my bag to check. I swiped it unlocked, and a shiver ran down my spine as I read the text.