Alice stood up and went to the door. Outside stood William, her biggest admirer.
"I'm here for my reward!" William barged in and pressed Alice against the wall. He began kissing her passionately.
Alice lifted her arms and let him do what he wanted without any expression on her face. She even seemed annoyed.
After a few kisses, William found it pointless and harshly let her go.
"If you don't like me at all, why did you promise you would give yourself to me as a reward for completing the mission?" William asked.
He pinched her cheeks with his long fingers. "You're like a log. There's no warmth and no response from you. Are you rewarding me or humiliating me?" he asked through clenched jaws.
Alice sneered. "What's the rush? I've always kept my promises. If I promised you something, I'd give it to you, but not now…"
"What's your excuse this time?" William was losing his patience.
"I've considered you my one and only love interest for many years. I've never let myself forget that. Back when you were young and naive, I didn't even dare to kiss you. I only realized how much of a bitch you were after we broke up…"
"Why could other men easily get their hands on you, but I couldn't? This is my only regret, and it's the only thing driving me mad. I even dream about you. I've done so many things I swore I'd never do just to be with you. In fact, I even hurt a kind girl. Are you telling me that you want to change your mind now?" The more he said, the more extreme he became. His grip also tightened. "Don't force me. Otherwise, don't blame me for killing us both. Well go to hell together!"
Alice wasn't afraid. She snickered. "William, you're losing control. Look at your crazy self. Are you still the same gentleman who dreams of becoming a doctor?"
"Do you finally realize that I've lost control? It's all your fault. Is my love for you so cheap?! Why must you toy with my feelings?"
Alice's gaze became increasingly cold. She cut to the chase. "You lost control over that bitch's friend, Clara. You didn't expect to actually fall in love with her. You say you loved me and would do anything for me, but you so easily developed feelings for someone else. You've only known her for a few months… Men who claim to be devoted like you can never stay true to their words!"
"T-That's not true!" William was initially furious, but he now seemed frantic. His gaze darted around, "l- lt's impossible. I'm sure I was only acting. I was using her to gain access to Joanna's secrets. I intentionally got close to her, and I even recorded a video of us sleeping together, just so I could blackmail her into hurting Joanna… I did all of this to make you happy and to make you mine. I've already proven that I love you the most!" William argued.
"Well said and well done too. Unfortunately, you can fool others, but not me. Even if I really do give myself to you, you still won't be satisfied. Not only that, but you'll fall into despair. You'll be in pain because you're afraid of losing Clara…" Alice said while lifting her phone up.
"I recorded everything you just said. If you really meant what you said, send this voice recording to Clara," she added.
"What? You're insane!" William panicked. He snatched her phone away and deleted the voice recording. He was so nervous that his fingers were trembling.
Alice observed all this before bursting into laughter. "Hahaha! See? Men like you never mean what you say. You're full of lies. To you, love is like a bubble that pops with a single poke. I've known long ago that there are no men in this world who could love only one woman. The day men can be trusted is the day pigs fly!"
After making sure the voice recording was deleted, he finally calmed down. "Clara is a kind, naive girl. I've hurt her enough. I don't want to keep playing this game. From now on, I won't do anything for you."
William finally realized how laughable his attempt to be with Alice was.
For the sake of this pursuit, he had done many wrong things. He had turned from an upright, kind person into a demon. He hurt the innocent Clara.
He didn't want to keep making these mistakes…
"Hmph. Do you think you can call it quits whenever you want?" Alice asked sarcastically.
She began mocking William for his naivety. "You've fallen into the abyss from the time you started getting close to Clara, for my sake. You'll be naive to think you can climb out of it now!"
"Did you think you could wipe away all the ugly things you did by deleting this voice recording? Hahaha! I've always been careful with everything I do. I already uploaded this voice recording to the cloud. Not only that, but I also have a copy of the video of you having sex with Clara. It's all saved on my cloud disk. Do you think your naive Clara would have a breakdown and kill herself after I publish it online?"
"You wouldn't dare!" William reached for Alice's neck. "What is your cloud disk's password? Delete those videos right away. I don't want to play your game anymore. I'm counting down from three… Tell me the password, or I'll strangle you!"
"I don't care if you finish counting down from three. It took me so much effort to draw a card I could use against Joanna. Did you think I'd give it up so easily? Unless… You do one last thing for me." Alice noticed the hesitation in William's eyes. "As long as you complete this task, I'll delete everything, be it a voice note or a video. You can also use me however you want. If you think I'm an eyesore, I can even disappear from your life completely. I wont get in between you and Clara. Nobody will find out about all those nasty things you did…" She added.
William gulped. His willpower wavered. "Are you sure you can keep your promise?"
"Yes, but only if you carry this task out perfectly."
'What do I have to do?" William asked.
Alice didn't answer him. Instead, she looked in the direction of the bedroom where Adie was sound asleep. She didn't need to say anything further..
Another
William saw Adie, who was fast asleep, and his expression changed instantly.
"Alice, are you mad? How could you do this to a child? He's still so young. He shouldn't be taken to Carmine Pawnshop… You should know when to stop! Aren't you afraid that karma will come back to bite you?"
A while ago, he received an order from Alice to deliver something 'unique' to Water Dock's Carmine Pawnshop.
On the surface, Carmine Pawnshop sounded like a proper pawnshop where various precious treasures from around the world were gathered, but in reality, it was a breeding ground for evil.
The pawnshop's owner was mysterious and had a powerful background. He once claimed that if a pawnbroker could give him something precious, he would fulfill any of their wishes.
Some traded invaluable treasures for the love they so desired, while others traded their organs for immeasurable wealth.
All in all… As long as the owner was willing to accept the item one offered, one's deepest desires could be turned into reality.
Since Alice was able to offer Adie to Carmine Pawnshop, she must've negotiated a deal with the owner.
All she needed now was someone reliable to deliver Adie to Carmine Pawnshop, and the deal would become official!
"Tell me the truth. What did you ask Carmine Pawnshop's boss to give you … Money? Power? Health?" William couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried. "You have everything now. This child
is only starting out in life. If the shop takes him in, his life will be in ruins. Stop this while you can!'
'Hehe!" Alice was like a proud peacock. She stood proudly under the warm orange light while she laughed sarcastically. "You were the one who did all those unspeakable things. Now, you're the one pretending to be a saint. Don't you think it's a little too late?"
'You found your happiness in romance, and now you want to leave. Me? I have nothing and no one. The man I love has gone missing. The Moran family I longed to be a part of thinks I'm the bearer of bad luck. I don't even have the chance to be a mother now. If I don't give it one last shot, my mother would turn in her grave. She'd blame me for being an embarrassment… So, do you think I'm going too far?"
All these years, she'd been pretending to be a fool to solicit pity from others. She and Ace were getting closer and closer, and it was only a matter of time before she got married into the Moran family.
Who would've thought that Joanna would suddenly show up? She seemed to be practically impossible to get rid of!
As soon as Joanna appeared, Ace lost his soul. All of Alice's efforts for the past four years had gone to waste. How could she not hate Joanna?
Naturally, Alice knew she was no match for Joanna and needed someone stronger to help her. Coincidentally, Adie was a 'treasure' the owner of Carmine Pawnshop took interest in. They got along right away!
'I don't have another choice. I can't lose. Being nice will only lead me down the path of destruction…" Alice clenched her fists and glared coldly at William. "We're both the same. If this child isn't delivered to Carmine Pawnshop without the stipulated period, we'll both be in deep trouble. Carmine Pawnshop's owner won't let us off the hook. If you keep hesitating, you'll lose everything, including your beloved Clara!" Alice's words broke through William's last line of mental defense.
There wasn't anything he was personally afraid of, but he couldn't put Clara in danger. Carmine Pawnshop's owner was known to be a cold-blooded demon. If they really did make him upset, he might exact revenge on them indiscriminately…
William took a deep breath. He walked to the bed and picked Adie up, who was sound asleep.
"Don't worry. This kid might be smart, but he trusts me too much. I gave him some milk infused with sleeping pills. It'll keep him asleep until you send him to the pawnshop. All you have to do is be the delivery man. I'm sure you can do a good job," Alice said while crossing her arms. She sounded like a heartless snake or scorpion.
"Alice, you're not even human!" William exclaimed. He looked at the adorable Adie in his arms, and his face displayed a look of pain. He felt extremely guilty.