|| NOT EDITED ||
"Do you remember the story you have been told?"
Adeline sighed as she looked at Adrian standing in front of her with his arms crossed in front of him, a frown tugging at his face.
After going on for four hours and discussing every detail yesterday, Adeline felt numb. The details of her lies burned deep in her mind.
"Yes," Adeline sighed. "I stabbed my child accidentally. I was aiming for the man's hand, but I missed it. After that, I had a slight chance where they dropped Natalie, and I was going to pick her up and run, but before I could do that, the other men were coming close to me, so I panicked and ran. I never looked back; I just ran as fast as my legs could take me. I heard gunshots, but they did not hit me. I asked for a ride, and they dropped me off at the Redvale Hotel. I wanted to contact Daniel, but the guilt did not let me, and today I am finally back."
"You are almost there. Add the finer details, and you sound more guilty than dead. You should be fine."
Adeline glared at Adrian. How could she not feel dead while spewing these lies? Daniel was smart. There was no way he would believe this. But as Adrian reminded her kindly yesterday, it was necessary to plant doubt in Daniel's mind.
"What finer details?" Adeline spoke while clenching the fabric of her dress. The same dress she was wearing on the day of the attack.
Adeline watched as Adrian uncrossed his arms and walked in front of her, and instinctively she took one step back. But before she could move back further, Adrian lifted his right hand and clasped his fingers around Adeline's wrist.
A gasp left her lips as he tugged her forward, her body falling helplessly against Adrian's. Adeline's eyes narrowed as she looked up at Adrian, their lips inches apart.
"Do you feel this?" Adrian spoke softly, his eyes moving all over Adeline's face. Adeline lifted her left hand and placed it on Adrian's chest as she tried to push him away, but Adrian held onto her wrist, his thumb drawing circles on her hand.
A noise fell out of Adeline's lips as she could feel her body being pressed to Adrian's, her mind acutely aware of the thumb that was rubbing over her hand, and the sudden urge to puke from disgust became very evident in her.
The disgust was clear on her face when she heard Adrian's next words, "Ah, see, those are the finer details. Your body needs to enact every line you speak."
This time, when Adeline pushed Adrian away, he simply let her, and she could not help but take a relieved breath. "You could have simply said that without touching me. But I will remember."
"Good, and when someone asks why you are limping, what will you say?"
Adeline glowered at Adrian and whispered harshly, "I was punishing myself for what I did to my daughter."
Adeline's eyes watered as she saw the smile that lit on Adrian's face as he nodded at her approvingly. "Good. You are all set, then. Keep the burner phone with you. You have two days to give me information."
If Adeline could, she would have thrown the phone on his head or taken a knife and stabbed him repeatedly, but unfortunately, she did not have that much power. In the last few hours, she had become a painful puppet in Adrian's hands. She wanted to go back to Daniel, to her best friend, to the person she fell in love with, to jump into his arms and tell him the truth.
But she would not be doing any of those, no. She would go back to him just to betray him. A part of her wondered if she could somehow tell him the truth. Maybe in code words, maybe in hushed whispers?
"Oh, and your entire house is bugged, so don't even try."
"Then why do you need me to fetch information?" Adeline inquired a bit curious.
"One, we already searched the house when we took you. Two, and most importantly, I want to hurt him." Adeline's heart started beating against her chest as she saw the look in Adrian's eyes, goosebumps making their way onto her skin.
"I can't do that!" Adeline cried out, finally feeling the weight of Adrian's words.
"At least he will be alive this way; I can't say it'll be good for him, but your conscience? Surely, you won't want more dead bodies on your hands, right?"
The chilling words were enough to defeat any morality Adeline had in her heart. Daniel would be hurt. She would betray him. But at least he would be alive.
And that was all that mattered.
____
Adeline's mind had been engraved with the concept of right and wrong since she was a child. It was not hard to distinguish between what was morally right and what was not. Yet, in the last two days, she had done everything that was morally terrible.
In her eyes and her mind, a small part agreed that her actions were taken out of no malicious intent. However, the outcome was more than malicious. It was a criminal act, one for which she should be punished. But here she was, going to do another crime.
Adeline stood hidden, watching her husband cry over the headstone of their child. A lone tear ran down her cheek, dropping to the ground.
A small breath left her lips as she rubbed the centre of her chest, trying to lessen the pain that had been blooming inside her heart.
But no matter what she did, the pain did not lessen; on the contrary, it grew more until she was forced to grip the tree she was hiding behind.
More tears clouded her vision as she saw her husband stagger and fall into the dirt, crying in a maddening haze.
But Adeline couldn't move.
She couldn't comfort her love.
She couldn't do anything.
How could she? She was the one who killed her daughter.
The knowledge was ever-present in her mind, and tears streamed down her face as a choked sob left her lips. She clenched her fingers hard and took slow breaths, her eyes staring at her husband, who was being led away from the grave by one of his friends. She could not see who that was from her blurred vision, but she was glad he had someone.
He would need his friends and family now more than ever, especially because she was going to make things worse. Adeline felt her body shake as she saw Daniel walk into the arms of a woman, whom she realised was her mother-in-law. Her eyes watched with little warmth as Daniel's friends and mother surrounded him.
A small breeze breezed past Adeline's body, and the chill that ran down her spine was the last straw that held her together. As the wind blew harder, her legs gave out, and she crashed to the ground, her body shaking as more tears came out of her eyes. Tears pelted down her cheeks, their warmth contrasting sharply with the icy breeze that brushed against her skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.
But she could not mourn for long; a honk that came from behind her made her jump. A scream bubbled in her throat, a hot, fiery rage burning deep in her soul, as she messily stood up and wiped her cheeks harshly.
She had to do her job, and with that thought in her mind, she walked down from the place she was hiding towards her house, trying to suppress her emotions as she saw the building become clearer as she walked forward.
The place once she had called home.
A bitter emotion crept into her heart when she saw the doors of their house wide open, and the cameras that Daniel had installed were now working once again.
What happened to them when I needed them the most?
Adeline did not dwindle on the thought further; as harsh as she sounded, she wanted to be done with this. Without another glance, she strode inside her house and stopped short as she saw the exact place where everything took place.
"Li?" Adeline's heart jumped as she heard the soft, uncertain voice of Daniel. Without a second thought, she turned around and ran towards him.
Adeline did not know what the future held, but as she crashed into Daniel's warm embrace, for a little moment, she felt at peace.
She felt at home.
Tears, which she had tried hard to keep at bay, forced themselves out of her eyes as she clutched onto Daniel and sobbed into his arms.
Her heart screamed in joy as Daniel's arms came around Adeline's waist and hugged her close to his body, softly murmuring, "Li, oh my god, you are."
A choked sob left Daniel as Adeline felt drops of water soak the top of her dress.
"I missed you. I missed you. I missed you so much," Adeline spluttered out, her sobs echoing throughout the room.
Adeline felt Daniel clutch her body closer to him, breathing heavily. "I thought I lost you."
Adeline felt faint from the emotions that were bubbling inside her. Her body, which felt so cold, finally felt like it could relax, but she knew she still had work to do.
Adeline pushed her face closer to Daniel's shoulder, her lips a breath away from his ears, as she tried to speak the words that were threatening to spill out of her mouth at any moment.
"Sir?"
Adeline sprang apart from Daniel's embrace as she heard a very familiar voice. Noah's name burned a bitter taste on Adeline's tongue as she took him in; he stood smugly beside Daniel, who was still recovering from the knowledge of her wife's return. Noah's eyes cut to Adeline just for a second, but in that very second, the message was clear.
One wrong move and everyone would be at Adrian's mercy.
Adeline wanted to scream; she wanted to take a knife and impale it at Noah, but she could not.
In small steps, she approached Daniel and rested her head on his chest, sniffling quietly. Daniel without delaying, wrapped his arms around Adeline and nodded at Noah.
"Yes?"
"The grounds are secured, sir. Is there anything else you want us to do?"
'Us,' the words burned in Adeline's mind. Adrian had truly put her in a cage, and she did not know if there was any way out without doing what he had asked her to do.
"No, nothing else. I want you guys to keep on guard at all times." Daniel's voice had gone an octave lower, and she basked in the feeling of his dominance. For a fleeting moment, she wanted to let herself believe she was indeed safe in his arms.
Adeline heard the retreating footsteps, but she knew they would be watching her closely, and so for now she selfishly decided to enjoy Daniel's presence.
"Li?" Daniel spoke softly, and Adeline nodded her head. She was dreading what was coming next, yet she foolishly believed for a moment that he wouldn't ask her anything.
"Di-Did... What happened, Li?"
Adeline's heart broke as she heard the pain, hesitancy, and aguish in Daniel's voice. She started clenching her toes together and digging her toenails inside her shoes, her fingers contracting unnaturally as she prepared to spew the lies she had been fed.
The next few moments were a blur, as she told him exactly what she needed to say. The more she continued with the details of that day, a small but significant distance started to be created between Adeline and Daniel.
Adeline wanted to reach out and hold onto Daniel, but she knew she could not do that.
Not when she admitted to what she did. But her heart stopped when Daniel said, "Why are you lying to me, Adeline?"
Adeline looked at Daniel, startled, but he was not looking at her; he was looking at something behind her. Slowly, Adeline turned and saw a piece of paper lying on a table that was moved to the right side of the sitting area.
Adeline, in a trance, moved towards the note and picked it up, her hands shaking. She read the words that were written on that paper: a simple 'I am sorry.'
The only emotion Adeline felt at the moment was confusion. She had no recollection of Adrian mentioning a note. What was this?
She had not realised that she had spoken out loud until Daniel's quiet, detached voice spoke from behind her.
"I found this note and a gun beside my daughter's body."
Adeline physically recoiled as she heard the words, my daughter, but she was in no place to comment on that, but she spoke on the things she knew. "There were no guns—at least, I never used any." Her voice trailed off. Was this Adrian's other ploy?
Adeline turned and looked at Daniel, but her breath caught in her throat, seeing his detached expression.
"Daniel, believe me, please, I-"
"Adeline," Daniel sighed. "It's okay. You have had a long day, from what you said. You should go and rest."
"You don't trust me." The words tumbled out of Adeline's mouth before she could stop them, disbelief and hurt evident in her voice.
Daniel looked at Adeline, and Adeline could feel him moving farther and farther away from her. "Can you blame me?"
He looked at her sadly and gave her a small smile as he moved forward. Adeline's shoulders tightened, a zap of fear passing through her spine, but Daniel did nothing; he just stood in front of her, looking at her with distant, pained eyes.
Adeline's eyes watered, and Daniel shook his head. "Don't cry, Li. You've cried enough. Rest now."
He leaned forward and left a soft kiss on her forehead. He lingered for a few seconds as Adeline closed her eyes, feeling a tear slide down her cheek.
"Don't cry," Daniel whispered as he cupped Adeline's cheek and rubbed his thumb against her skin.
Adeline opened her eyes and looked at Daniel. He gave her a small smile and let his hand fall beside him. Adeline could feel coldness wrap around her like a vice, and her eyes pleaded for Daniel to stay.
To listen to her.
But Daniel shook his head and slowly walked away from her into his office.
Adeline clenched her fingers and took a deep breath.
She had to finish the job.
She would not let anything happen to Daniel, no. With that thought in mind, she quickly went to the bedroom, which she used to call Daniel and hers; however, given the recent events, her heart felt numb. She knew that after this, there might not be any Daniel and her.
It would be her alone.