The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus) novel Chapter 534

Alice stood in the quiet room, the silence echoing with the finality of her actions. She had taken care of the men sprawled across the floor, dealing with them as one would butcher livestock.

Yes, in her eyes, they were not men but mere animals deserving of their fates. They had indulged their drunken desires without a thought, and as such, they had met their end without a chance to comprehend what was happening.

By the crack of dawn, the room had turned into a crimson sea, and Alice, barefoot, walked over the filthy bloodstains, her laughter chilling the air. She had avenged herself against the demons who tormented her, but it wasn't enough. She had yet to confront the mastermind who had wronged her.

Oh, Natalia, you must wait for me!

Alice cleaned her blood-soaked feet on the corpses, found some clean clothes in the house, and stepped out into the breaking day. She looked up at the rising sun and vanished into the sin-filled alleyways like a devil into the mist.

*

In Hawaii, Natalia had been feeling unusually drained, lethargic, and without her usual spark. Initially, she dismissed it as poor rest, but one morning, as a wave of darkness passed before her eyes, concern gripped her. She knew she needed to get to a hospital.

"Rebecca, could you please mind the house? I'm heading out to the hospital," Natalia called out to her maid, who was busy dusting the living room. Rebecca nodded dutifully and continued her chores.

Natalia offered a considerate remark as she passed by, "Don't overexert yourself. The place looks spotless already." But Rebecca, focused on her task, didn't respond.

Shrugging off the maid's silence, Natalia grabbed her purse and left the mansion, driving toward the hospital. Natalia had hired Rebecca to replace a previous maid who had left to get married. She had encountered Rebecca, a homeless soul, on her way to the employment center and offered her a generous tip out of kindness. But Rebecca, adamant in her pride, refused the money and instead asked for work. Unable to speak due to a tragic incident, Rebecca struggled to find employment until Natalia, ever-compassionate, took her in.

Despite being mute, Rebecca was a diligent worker who kept the household in immaculate condition, much to Natalia's delight. It felt good to help someone in need and to have found such a reliable helper.

However, Natalia couldn't shake off the feeling of unwellness that had been plaguing her recently. She hoped the hospital visit would shed light on whether it was just a bad cold.

With a heavy heart, Natalia drove on, her spirits dampened by her waning health. When she arrived at the hospital, she parked and made her way to the specialist's clinic.

A doctor with silver-rimmed glasses greeted her. "What seems to be the problem?"

The doctor shook his head with regret. "If it were easily treatable, Hawking wouldn't have been bound to a wheelchair. There's no cure for ALS; it's one of the most intractable diseases, alongside cancer and AIDS."

"So, is it terminal?" Natalia's voice wavered.

"Yes. The progression is rapid. Typically, it takes only 3 to 5 years from symptom onset to complete paralysis. And the cruelest part is that your cognitive functions remain intact even when you can no longer move or breathe independently..."

The doctor continued speaking, but Natalia could hardly comprehend the words. The fear and shock had consumed her, leaving her pale and trembling in the sterile light of the hospital room.

There's no greater agony in the world than being fully conscious, yet forced to watch helplessly as your body gradually shuts down—unable to move, speak, and breathe. Eventually, even the power to wish for death eludes you.

Natalia had no clue what she'd done to deserve this bizarre, terminal illness. The hospital was the final arbiter of fate, and those test results had effectively signed her death warrant. She stumbled to her feet, straining to show a semblance of a smile. "Doctor," she implored with a hushed urgency, "please keep this between us. My family... they can't know."