Chapter 52: I Want to Get Out, I Want Revenge

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: I Want to Get Out, I Want Revenge

I jolted awake, my breathing ragged.

The room had grown dark, and the sky outside was dim.

I had slept the entire afternoon. It was almost nightfall.

Asher had been sitting by the bed, just staring at me.

He startled me so badly my chest ached...

It’s hard not to be scared when you wake up to find a murder suspect staring at you.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, my thoughts a jumble. "Don’t just stare at me... it’s creepy."

Asher lowered his head, but he quickly looked up again. His eyes were exceptionally bright and deep in the glow of the nightlight, as if he wanted to see right through me.

I felt an inexplicable sense of guilt and averted my gaze, afraid Asher would notice something was off and realize I wasn’t the original Silvia Lynch.

"Dinner is here," Asher said, pointing to the food on the table.

’How could I possibly eat that? Who knows what kind of aphrodisiacs they’ve laced it with...’

"I’m not eating... I don’t have an appetite."

Asher thought for a moment before speaking. "If you don’t eat, your body won’t be able to take it."

"It’ll be even less able to take it if I do eat..." I muttered under my breath.

Asher looked at me and spoke again, very seriously. "We’re husband and wife. I can help you."

"..." My lips twitched. ’Him, help me?’

"You want a child to help the Lynn Family. I can help you with that, too. Just don’t lie to me. If you lie to me..." His voice was still gentle, but it carried a hint of a threat.

I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I felt inexplicably guilty.

’Lie to him about what?’

’The fact that I’m not the real Silvia Lynch?’

"I don’t want a child. I want to escape. The Lynn Family..." I wanted to say the Lynn Family had nothing to do with me, but here I was, occupying their daughter’s body. "Never mind."

’If you can’t fight, you have to compromise.’

"No child, no getting out," he said, as if coaxing me. "Cece, we’re husband and wife."

"Stop repeating that..." I watched Asher warily.

Being married to a murderer was something I’d never imagined. Having to play along just to lower his guard was even more unthinkable.

’I’m not going to have to sacrifice my own body for this, am I?’

"I can help you have a child," Asher said seriously, beginning to explain it from a biological standpoint. "After ovulation, the egg can only survive in the body for twenty-four hours at most. So the sperm has to be waiting in the uterus for the egg. Intercourse every other day is best."

"..." I stared at Asher in shock. ’Does he have any idea what he’s saying to me with such a straight face?’

"You... you’re a fool... a tramp. Did they teach you this at the orphanage?" I felt like I could see through him less and less.

’He’s so desperate for me to get pregnant. Doesn’t he know that in his current situation with the Lancaster Family, once there’s an heir, they’ll eliminate him—this stain—without a second thought?’

"It’s been eight hours since you ovulated. We still have a chance," Asher continued. "Fertilization takes one to two days, implantation takes about a week, and then it’s at least another seven days before the HCG in your urine is detectable by a pregnancy test... So, Cece, if you want to get out, the fastest it can happen is fourteen days from now, after the Lancaster Family gets the result they want."

"..." I looked at Asher, who sounded like a walking Google search, and slumped back against the bed, considering my current predicament.

Trapped in the Lancaster estate, confined to this cage-like room, being used as a breeding tool...

This situation wasn’t all that different from before I died.

Life is like a dream, and this dream is a total nightmare.

I stared up at the ceiling, my mind filled with thoughts of murderers, Erin Whittaker, and Julian Fletcher...

I want to see them brought to justice and get what they deserve. I want to recover my lost memories. I want to find out how my parents died. But trapped in this room, is getting pregnant really the only way out?

’Am I really supposed to just accept this fate?’

"Is there... really no other way?" I asked quietly.

"There is..." Asher’s gaze was scorching.

For a second there, I had the feeling... that not only was he not a fool, but he was as sly as a fox, just waiting for me to fall into his trap.

’Maybe it’s just my imagination?’

I thought I was the Hunter, and he was the prey.

"Tomato juice will make a pregnancy test show two lines. You could trick them temporarily, but the Lancaster Family has their own doctors. The moment they take you out of here, they’ll do a blood test, and you won’t be able to hide it. Not unless you’re confident you can escape the second you leave this room," Asher said, completely serious.

But that was as good as saying nothing.

I opened my mouth to speak. I wasn’t confident at all; I didn’t even know what it was like outside. "How do you know so much? You got a full scholarship to Cygnus University, what did you major in...?"

Asher was silent.

My stomach was growling with hunger, but I resisted the urge to eat.

I carefully sorted through Silvia Lynch’s memories and found something... Before she married Asher, the Lynn Family had investigated him.

Chemistry major, with minors in medicine, finance, and computer science. Fluent in German, Italian, Japanese, French, English, and Arabic...

A once-in-a-generation genius.

An extremely rare kind of genius.

Resting my head in my hands, I glanced at Asher. A genius like that, and the Lancaster Family was wasting him like this.

No wonder the Lancaster Family wanted to preserve his genetic line. His genes were truly exceptional.

"Need... a child?" Asher looked up at me.

It seemed like he had... absolutely no reservations about this topic, nor did he feel any shame.

I was taken aback. "Let me think about it."

He nodded and glanced at the time. "You have eight hours to think. After that, the chances of conception will decrease."

"..." I collapsed limply onto the bed. ’What did I ever do to deserve this...?’

I didn’t dare close my eyes. The moment I did, memories from the past would come rushing back...

Those memories were like Hell, constantly tormenting and devouring my soul.

"Cece... eat something. The egg is good." Asher peeled a whole egg and handed it to me.

Then, afraid I’d be repulsed, he added nervously, "I washed my hands."

I took the egg and wolfed it down. I was starving...

’Did Silvia Lynch starve to death or something?’

Lying on the bed, I watched Asher, who was still peeling eggs, and decided to test the waters. "Asher... have you ever thought about your future? Are you just going to let people control you for the rest of your life? You’re capable. Don’t you want to fight back?"

He didn’t speak.

After a long time, he finally nodded. "I will."

I found him boring, but I couldn’t deny that he was handsome.

Do people with the face of an angel and the heart of a devil really exist?

He was clearly a once-in-a-generation genius, a shining star who’d sailed through school on scholarships, the heir the Lancaster Family should have been fighting to secure. Why... had he fallen so far?

Just how many secrets was he hiding?

Why did he go from a boy genius to the mad fool he was today, forced by the Lancaster Family to produce an heir...?

"Let’s have a child." I’d been thinking for a long time, and suddenly... I understood.

With this child, I would become the person the Lancaster Family needed to protect most. After all, I’d be carrying the heir they needed to continue their lineage...

Using that status, I could leverage the Lancaster Family’s power to get revenge on Julian Fletcher and Erin Whittaker.

I knew I was being corroded by hatred, but how could I just stand by and watch the people who killed me live happily ever after!

’I have to get out. I will have my revenge!’