Chapter 229/The Truth of the Throuple Night

Chapter 229: 229/The Truth of the Throuple Night

Chapter 229

Stephanie’s point of view

I took a deep, shuddering breath, pressing my hand over my chest. "Vincetti is driven by his sick pride... As long as I fight him and reject him, he’ll hold onto this blackmail to break me! But if he feels I’m easily handed to him on a silver platter if I pretend to surrender and want him the thrill of the chase dies, and the obsession fades!"

Instinctively, I wrapped both arms around my lower belly in a protective embrace, staring at Keira with eyes wide with raw pain and ruin.

"I’m doing this to protect Alexander... to protect my twins!" I choked out, pressing my lips into a thin, determined line. "I will act. I will play the submissive victim until he gets bored and throws that tape away, and only then will I take my freedom back. Nobody is changing my mind, Keira. This is my only way out of this hell!"

Keira stared up at me, her eyes brimming with helpless sorrow. A long, heavy silence fell between us as she realized that any further attempt to reason with me right now would just be screaming into a hurricane.

She let out a bitter, shuddering sigh and sat on the edge of the sofa. Raising her tearful eyes to mine, she asked in a low voice dripping with dread:

"And what if he doesn’t get bored, Stephanie?" She swallowed hard, searching my face. "What if his obsession with you goes way deeper than just a game of chase... what will you do then, when you’ve walked straight into his cage on your own free will?"

I squeezed my hands together so tightly my fingernails bit into my palms. Turning my face toward the dark window, an involuntary shiver ran through my core.

"It will go according to plan..." I forced out through gritted teeth, trying to fake a composure I didn’t feel. "...it has to. I don’t have the luxury of thinking about the alternative, Keira.. I have no choice but to bet everything on this."

Keira slowly rose to her feet. She stepped toward me, gently resting a warm palm on my shoulder with absolute helplessness.

"At least..." She murmured, her eyes pleading with mine. "...promise me you will never go to him alone, and that you’ll stay in touch with me every single step of the way. The second you feel things are spiraling out of control, you pull back immediately!"

I gave a faint, stiff nod, instinctively clutching my bag against my chest:

"I promise..." I took a step back, pulling away. "...Now I have to get home before Alexander starts getting suspicious about where I am."

Keira’s face paled with worry all over again. "Can you even drive like this? Let me take you home, Stephanie!"

"No... I’m fine. I can handle it."

I turned away, stepping over to her hallway mirror. Harshly wiping the tear tracks from my cheeks, I took a few deep, forced breaths, struggling to paint a calm, blank mask over my ghostly features.

I pulled Keira into a brief, tense hug before hurrying down the stairs to my car.

Slinking behind the steering wheel, I sat motionless for a few long seconds, trying to gather the shattered pieces of my soul. Squeezing my eyes shut, I rested my palm over my stomach, whispering to myself with dark, unwavering resolve:

"I will pay this price..." I opened my eyes, staring cold at the road ahead. "...I’ll play this damned role until the very end just to protect my family from that devil."

I turned the key, the engine roaring to life as I pulled out into the night counting every second and every breath as I drove home to face Alexander... and face the nightmare creeping over my life.

I slammed my foot onto the brake pedal, bringing the car to a halt in the empty courtyard of the estate. Releasing my tight grip on the steering wheel, I stepped out with slow, cold movements moving like an automaton, as if my body had completely severed itself from all emotion.

Pushing open the heavy main door, the house greeted me with its usual solemn, suffocating silence. Catching sight of one of the maids crossing the grand hall, I paused, asking in a low, flat voice:

"Are Alexander and Cedric home?"

The maid offered a brief bow, answering respectfully: "No, ma’am. They aren’t here right now."

I gave a silent nod without adding another word and made my way up the grand staircase toward the bedroom. Closing the door firmly behind me, I walked straight into the bathroom. I yanked my clothes off with frantic, furious movements, tossing them onto the floor as if they were on fire, before stepping beneath the shower and twisting the tap all the way to cold.

I stood there motionless as icy water cascaded over my head and body. My fingers scrubbed violently against my skin, scraping with a burning desperation.

Every time the ghost of those filthy, unwanted touches flashed in my mind, my hands dug harder into my flesh, turning it raw and bright red as if I could physically peel away the outer layer of my skin just to purify myself from Vincetti’s touch. I had no idea how long I stayed under the freezing stream, fighting off the sickening revulsion and hollow void tearing at me from the inside.

Eventually, I stepped out, wrapping a soft towel around my body before slipping into comfortable clothes and drying my hair. Stepping in front of the full-length mirror, my gaze slowly drifted downward to my lower stomach. A small, gentle bump had finally begun to show, curving softly beneath my skin.

I rested my palm gently over it. The harsh, rigid lines of my face softened for a fleeting moment, and a low, quiet breath escaped my lips:

"Ah... my sweet twins."

A faint wave of sadness washed over me. Even this small, simple joy was something I hadn’t found the time to fully live through. I hadn’t even had the chance to truly savor the news that I was carrying a baby girl. And Keira... I hadn’t even found the moment to share that news with her, nor what had happened the previous night between me, Alexander, and Cedric, all because of the nightmare that had suddenly crashed into my life.

I snatched my phone off the nightstand and dialed Keira’s number.

She answered on the first ring, her voice tightly wound with anxiety:

"Yes, Steph? Did something happen? Did that bastard Vincetti bother you again?!"