The words echoed in the cold, empty warehouse, each syllable striking Nicole's heart like a heavy steel hammer.
A free pawn. A piece of trash to be used and thrown away.
Nicole stood completely frozen, the harsh night wind biting at her pale skin. Her mind went blank. The beautiful, romantic future she had dreamed of for years crumbled into dust right in front of her eyes. She stared at Kelvin—the boy she had defended against her parents, the boy she had sacrificed her reputation for, the boy she had just risked her life to steal for.
He was looking at her not with love, but with utter disgust. Beside him, Lisa, the woman with heavy makeup, was laughing maliciously. She leaned against Kelvin's shoulder as if they were watching a pathetic, highly entertaining comedy show.
"You... you never loved me?" Nicole's voice was nothing more than a broken, breathless whisper. A single tear rolled down her cheek, completely devoid of the joy from just minutes ago.
"Love?" Kelvin scoffed loudly, rolling his eyes. "Nicole, grow up. In this city, love doesn't buy mansions. Love doesn't pay off million-dollar gambling debts. You were a rich, spoiled girl who was ridiculously easy to manipulate. When John forced you to marry him, it was like hitting the jackpot. I knew you would run to me crying, and I knew you would eventually have access to his vault."
Lisa giggled, playing with her brightly painted red fingernails. "Honestly, honey, you should thank her. If she wasn't so blindly, stupidly in love with you, we wouldn't have this thirty-million-dollar supercar and bags of cash to fly to Switzerland."
Nicole felt a suffocating, tearing pain in her chest. It hurt a million times more than John's coldness. John had been cruel, possessive, and terrifying, but he had never lied about his intentions. Kelvin, the man she trusted with her very soul, had been wearing a sickening mask of lies for years. She had betrayed her husband, stolen a fortune, and ruined her own life, all for a man who saw her as nothing but a walking ATM.
"Give me the bag back," Nicole suddenly said. Her voice trembled, but a shred of desperate anger ignited within her. She took a step forward. "Give it back! It's not yours!"
Kelvin's arrogant smirk vanished instantly, replaced by a dark, murderous glare.
"Lisa, get in the Maybach. Start the engine," Kelvin ordered coldly.
Lisa smirked, quickly walking away toward the sleek black supercar.
Kelvin turned back to Nicole, his eyes completely devoid of humanity. "You still don't get it, do you? If we just leave you here, you'll go crying back to John. You'll tell him everything. That psycho will hunt us down to the ends of the earth to get his money back. But..." Kelvin tilted his head, his voice dropping to a sinister whisper. "...if John finds your crushed body in an abandoned warehouse, he'll be too busy grieving to track us immediately. It gives us a three-day head start."
Nicole gasped, taking a step back in pure horror. The realization hit her like physical blow. "What are you doing? Kelvin, no!"
Without another word, Kelvin turned around, opened the heavy door of his old gray sedan, and slid into the driver's seat.
VROOM!
The engine of the gray sedan roared to life with a deafening sound. The headlights suddenly flashed on high beam, completely blinding Nicole. She raised her arms, shielding her eyes from the intense, burning light, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs.
"Goodbye, Nicole," Kelvin muttered inside the car.
He slammed his foot down hard on the gas pedal.
The tires screeched violently against the dusty concrete floor, burning rubber and sending thick white smoke into the air. The gray car shot forward like a fired bullet, aiming straight for the fragile girl standing frozen in the middle of the dark warehouse.
Nicole couldn't move. Her legs felt like they were made of solid lead. The blinding lights rushed closer and closer, accompanied by the terrifying roar of the accelerating engine. Panic, extreme regret, and immense sorrow flooded her mind in a split second.
This is it. This is how I die. Betrayed, alone, and foolish. She closed her eyes tightly, hot tears streaming down her face, bracing herself for the bone-crushing impact.
Ten feet. Five feet.
Suddenly, from the pitch-black shadows of the warehouse pillars, a tall, powerful figure shot out like a bolt of black lightning.
Before the speeding car could touch her, a strong pair of arms wrapped fiercely around Nicole's waist. A massive force tackled her from the side, pushing her violently out of the vehicle's deadly path.
Nicole flew through the air, completely disoriented, and crashed hard onto the rough concrete floor. The sharp stones scraped her arms and knees, tearing her clothes.
But she didn't feel the deadly, crushing impact of the car.
Instead, a sickening, terrifying CRASH echoed through the massive warehouse. It was followed by the horrifying sound of shattering glass, bending metal, and heavy flesh hitting the ground.
The gray sedan slammed on its brakes, skidding out of control and coming to a halt several yards away.
Nicole's ears were ringing with a high-pitched sound. She gasped for air, her whole body shaking violently from shock. She slowly, painfully lifted her head from the dusty floor, looking toward the spot where she had been standing just a second ago.
Lying on the cold, dirty ground, bathed in the harsh red glow of the car's taillights, was a man.
He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, now torn and rapidly soaking with dark red blood. His broad shoulders were slumped against the concrete, and he wasn't moving.
Nicole's heart stopped entirely. All the air left her lungs.
She crawled desperately across the concrete, ignoring the bleeding scrapes on her knees. Her hands were trembling so badly she could barely support herself. She reached the bloody figure and gently, fearfully turned him over.
When the dim warehouse light fell upon his face, a scream of pure, absolute agony tore from her throat.
It was John.
The ruthless, untouchable CEO. The man she hated. The man she had just robbed and abandoned. He had followed her here, hiding in the dark, watching her ultimate betrayal. And yet, when the reaper came for her, he hadn't hesitated for a single microsecond to throw away his own life to save hers.