Chapter 130
Julie’s Point of View
I saw the look of non-surrender in his eyes; the firmness of his eyelids and the trembling clench of his fist suggested that he meant his words literally; he was ready to die. I said in a choked voice: "Steve... why are you doing this?"
He said, trying to catch his breath amidst the blood: "For you... so that you can be free from my parents, who are without mercy."
I didn’t say anything; instead, I swallowed my lump and looked at Monchies with feigned indifference, and said: "My brother will not tell you the location of the money, that is clear."
Monchies replied coldly: "He will die then."
I interrupted quickly, my body shuddering with a tremor I hid by clenching my fists: "I haven’t finished my words yet." Everything inside me was shaking, but I stood with a straight back and said: "You will take a soul in exchange for the money... take my soul instead."
Steve shouted, screaming frantically until the veins in his neck bulged: "Have you gone mad, Julie?"
Monchies said, examining me with a disgusting look: "My master forbids us from killing women, and despite your courage and sacrifice... your offer is rejected."
This was my only way to save him, but it failed. I thought of something insane, feeling my heart collide with my ribs, and said: "I will pay you your money myself."
He raised his eyebrow in surprise: "How?"
I said: "I will work for you... I can clean and perform some other tasks."
A wicked smile formed on his lips, and he said as he approached me: "I have a job for you."
Steve shouted: "No! You will not work for him!"
I turned to Steve and said with desperate sharpness: "If you refuse to tell him where the money is, I will work for him."
He said, shaking his head in horror: "Julie, this is not a game!"
I said: "And your life is not a game either, Steve."
Monchies said, scrutinizing my face: "How old are you, girl? Because you look young."
I answered with false confidence, my body stiffening: "Sixteen years old."
He looked at me in surprise and muttered: "A minor?"
I said: "And what is the problem?"
Steve replied in a breakdown: "Julie, you will not work for this man, do you hear me?"
I said: "It is my life, and I can make the decision myself."
Monchies said, touching the edge of his chin maliciously: "Very young, but I will accept... for your beauty is not the only thing special, but your courage, and that is what my master was lacking; a girl who can make him enjoy himself."
I placed my hand over my chest to stifle my heartbeats that almost exposed my terror; I was trying to analyze his words, and perhaps I wished that I had understood wrongly, but the result was the same... he wanted to turn me into a commodity for his master.
Steve screamed, writhing in his restraints: "You scoundrel! Get away from my sister, she is not that type!"
Monchies said coldly: "She proposed the idea of working, and I agreed."
Steve burst out shouting: "I will give you your money! I will tell you where the safe is!"
I closed my eyes and felt a painful relief coursing through my body; he finally surrendered to save me. Monchies looked at me with filthy regret and said: "It is a pity to waste a girl like you."
Steve told them the location of the safe, and they did not release us until after they made sure the money was brought.
Afterwards, we rode in another black car, and a guard dropped us off at the same garden. We got out and the car left, so I looked at Steve; he was carrying a disappointment heavier than mountains, and his disfigured face broke my heart.
I said bitterly: "Do you see, Steve? Stolen money can never be a solution."
He looked at me with eyes I didn’t recognize, they were overflowing with a strange hatred, and he said: "Julie, I will not give up on saving you... I will recover the money and I will succeed this time."
I was stunned, feeling a coldness inhabit my soul. Jake and Karl came running and hugged Steve eagerly. Jake said: "Steve, you’re alive! I died of worry." While Karl said: "Thank God you returned safely."
I screamed at them, tears overcoming me: "It’s because of the two of you! My brother Steve was forced to steal and you are the ones who made him do this!"
I watched them as they disappeared on the horizon, and at that moment, my body collapsed to the ground and I wept with a sob that tore my chest. I never imagined that I would be so harsh on him, but it was the only price to keep him alive; for him to hate me so that he could live.
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Olivia’s Point of View
Evening came faster than I thought, and my hand wouldn’t stop fiddling with that small vial inside my pocket.
My mind was boiling; if Robert discovered that I was the one who placed this stimulant for Julie, and that she slept with that wretch Miles, he wouldn’t just kill me... he would make me wish for death without obtaining it.
I stopped at the door of Julie’s room, my body stiffening for seconds before a hellish idea occurred to me; I would go to Robert and tell him that Miles has his eye on Julie, and he is capable of tearing him apart without question. But I needed to ensure getting rid of Miles completely, so I decided to actually pin the accusation on him.
I caught sight of the cook dragging the food trolley, and my gall bladdred contracted with distress. I entered behind her with silent steps; Julie was crouching on the floor, her eyes frighteningly red, it seemed she was drowning in bitter weeping.
As soon as the cook left, I took advantage of Julie’s preoccupation with wiping her face, and emptied the contents of the vial into the juice glass with lightning speed before she noticed me.
I said in a provocative tone while crossing my arms over my chest: "What’s wrong with the runaway princess? Is she crying because she was subjected to deception?"
She didn’t raise her head immediately, but said in a hoarse voice: "Olivia... shut up."
I took an extra step toward her and said with a gloating smile: "I won’t... I want to enjoy seeing you broken."
Here, Julie jumped up from her place frantically, her body shaking as she screamed in my face: "Get out of here, you cursed woman! Get out now!"
From the intensity of her screaming, she began to cough violently, so she rushed toward the trolley, grabbed the juice glass, and drank it all in one gulp to soothe her throat.
Then she leaned down and took a small piece of meat, threw it to Axel, and said sharply while pointing to the door with her trembling index finger: "Go on... what are you waiting for? Get out of here!"
I left the room, my heart beating violently, and I had hardly taken a few steps when I found him in front of me; Miles was lurking in the hallway. He grabbed my arm with a force that made me flinch, and said, his eyes gleaming with filth: "Did you perform your mission?"
I pushed his hand away from me with a degree of disgust and said: "Yes, Miles, and she drank the juice."
He burst into a provocative laugh that echoed in the empty corridor, and said as he adjusted his shirt collar with a filthy pride: "Half an hour... and she’ll start begging me to fuck her."

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