Chapter 136: Let Me Through
Beads of sweat trickled down Aliana’s spine as she stared at her best friend’s twisted face, the same mouth that had just casually uttered that she had murdered someone.
Never in her entire life had Aliana imagined she would hear Jade say something like that. Even though she knew it was the entity within her speaking and not her best friend, the words still sent a chill through her.
But with that thought came another, even more terrifying one.
’Had Rose committed that crime while possessing Jade?’ If so, they were in serious trouble.
Aliana was not the only one thinking that. The exact same thought echoed in the minds of everyone else present in the room.
Her light grey eyes slowly shifted toward Cillian and Nigel, noting how grim their expressions had become. Her heart pounded as if she had run for miles, and she felt physically sick at the thought that a woman had already been killed.
Trying to swallow the bile rising in her throat once again, she asked in a shaky voice, "D-did you really do it?"
A harsh cackle escaped Jade’s lips, "Of course! Why would I lie about this? I needed my revenge, and I got it."
She tilted her head to the side, her dull green eyes studying Aliana’s face. "You look a little pale there," she mocked in her scratchy voice. "Are you feeling alright?"
Aliana knew she would regret asking the next question, but she desperately needed to know if Jade’s hands were stained with blood.
In a small, trembling voice, she asked, "How... how did you do it?"
"How? It was quite simple, actually." Rose replied with a casual shrug of Jade’s shoulders.
"I only had to loosen the heavy painting with my powers that she had shamelessly hung of herself right above our bed. I let it fall and crush her skull while the whore was sleeping, right when my husband wasn’t around. Ah... I really enjoyed the sound of her skull cracking. It was so satisfying."
She began to chuckle again, the sound entirely devoid of humanity.
Then she suddenly paused, her expression hardening. "It was far more satisfying than anything you could have ever done."
Her feet began to advance slowly toward Aliana. With every step, the jagged shards of shattered glass dug deep into Jade’s bare soles. Aliana felt her soul leave her body at the sickening, squelching crunch of her best friend’s flesh pressing into the glass.
"Stop! Don’t come any closer! You are hurting her!" Aliana yelled, her hands trembling.
"Oh, does this hurt you?" Rose mocked, continuing to advance as fresh blood began to pool and smear across the marble floor. "But you have no idea just how hurt I was, waiting for you while you dominated the news with that billionaire fiancé and that little sidekick of yours! You’ll pay for leaving me hanging!"
"Stop moving!" Aliana yelled in panic.
"You don’t tell me what to do!" Rose shrieked, her double voice echoing through the penthouse as she launched herself directly at Aliana.
Just then, Gavriel emerged from behind and seized the woman, locking her hands behind her back and stopping her advance mere feet away from Aliana.
"Let me go! She needs to feel the pain as well!" Rose thrashed violently against his hold, her body twisting and struggling with frightening force.
But Gavriel did not budge an inch. His features were carved from stone as he kept her effortlessly restrained.
Suddenly, the violent thrashing stopped.
Jade’s head dropped forward, and a ragged, heartbreaking sob tore from her throat. The malicious aura in the kitchen fractured in an instant, revealing the weeping spirit buried underneath.
Cillian, who had also emerged from his hiding place, came to an abrupt halt as he watched the woman break down into sobs.
"It’s not fair..." Rose wept, her scratchy voice cracking with pure, human grief.
"He gave her my jewellery. He gave her my house. I wandered that lonely third floor for so long while they had fun in my bed... Why am I the one who has to burn? Why did he never care about me? I loved him, yet he brought that woman openly into our home before the mourning period for my death had even passed."
Cillian let out an exasperated sigh and muttered, "Okay, that’s enough." He took a decisive step toward Rose, raising his hand to knock her unconscious, when a soft but commanding voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Cillian, stop."
"What?" Cillian turned to look at Aliana, a deep frown crossing his face. But his irritation melted into confusion when he saw the deep, sombre expression she wore while watching Rose break down.
Rose continued, oblivious to them, her tears spilling over Jade’s cheeks. "You don’t know what it was like for me. I died every single day, even after my actual death, watching the man I love give that woman everything that was supposed to be mine. His heart, his body, and his soul. You’ll understand, Aliana, when your own man does the exact same thing to you. Only then will you truly feel my pain."
This time, it was Gavriel’s turn to frown at what the woman was implying about him one day putting Aliana through the same ordeal.
Meanwhile, Aliana was stunned to see Rose like this. Her heart ached at the woman’s grief.
Even though Aliana had never been in love before, and even though she had only recently agreed to become engaged to a man she barely knew, somehow listening to Rose squeezed at her heart. A tiny, insidious flicker of doubt settled deep within her mind.
How would she feel if the same thing happened to her?
Even if she could say that she was not in love with Gavriel, it would still hurt. That much she could already tell.
The bitter taste of betrayal was enough to make her chest tighten, especially after the conversation they had recently about him seeking out another woman in the middle of the night. Even though he claimed nothing had happened, the thought still stung.
Finally understanding where Rose was coming from, Aliana took a deep breath.
Forcing herself to shake off the suffocating heaviness clinging to her heart, she began taking small steps toward Rose.
The woman continued to hang her head low as she wept. The longer Aliana looked at her, the more she could finally see Rose’s corrupted soul bleeding through Jade’s physical appearance.
A profound wave of sadness and pity rose within her chest. Staring at the grieving spirit, suddenly a desperate wish formed in Aliana’s mind.
She wanted to end her suffering. She wanted to set Rose free from all the torment once and for all.
"Aliana, don’t," Gavriel suddenly warned, his dark eyes tracking her movements as she walked closer to the woman.
At the same time, Cillian stepped forward and stretched out an arm to block her path, preventing her from getting any closer. "What are you doing? It’s dangerous," he said, his expression darkening.
But Aliana simply kept her focus entirely locked on the weeping entity in front of her.
Without even looking at Cillian, she replied in a calm voice, "Let me through."
