—- Chapter 9 That day, when Daniel had taken Cheryl to the hospital, he’d casually told a few of his friends to scare Elizabeth, just to knock her down a peg. He thought they might make her drink some pepper in liquid form or rough her up a little. He never imagined they’d go that far, and never imagined they’d torture her. Cheryl, completely rattled by the disaster unraveling around her, bolted toward the control booth, frantically pressing buttons. “Turn it off!
Shut it down, now!” she screamed , her voice shrill with panic. But in her frenzy, she accidentally hit the volume button. The sound roared through the speakers – Elizabeth’s desperate screams, the men’s cruel laughter, the vile insults -all blaring through the hall like a nightmare made real. The engagement party descended into chaos and had to be shut down. Daniel ordered all the guests to leave, keeping only Cheryl and the men who had assaulted Elizabeth. —- Cheryl stood frozen, trembling.
The moment Daniel’s eyes swept over her, she flinched like she’d been slapped. Her voice cracked , full of fear. “I didn’t mean to frame Elizabeth! “T just heard you were being protective of her at school, and I was afraid you’d catch real feelings for her. As for the pepper in liquid form, I swear I had nothing to do with that!” The other men quickly jumped in, trying to back her up. “Yeah, Daniel. She didn’t know about that part.” “We just couldn’t stand seeing Cheryl get bullied.
We figured we’d help her get revenge.” “And come on, didn’t you hate Elizabeth too? We just did what we thought you wanted, to help you blow off some steam.” Before they could say another word, Daniel suddenly grabbed the heavy wooden chair next to him and hurled it at the wall. Without hesitation , he stormed over to Gerald Silva, the man who’d ripped at Elizabeth’s clothes the most, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him into the wall. Everyone froze in shock.
—- “Daniel, what the hell?” “Are you serious? Over a woman?” “Elizabeth went after Cheryl for years, and just because we helped get her back, you’re this pissed off? ” But Daniel didn’t hear a word anyone said. He slammed Gerald against the wall and punched him, each blow landing with brutal force, like he was trying to beat the rage out of himself. By the time he finally stopped, Gerald was barely conscious. He was all bloodied and limp. No one else dared move.
They’d all thought Daniel saw Elizabeth as nothing more than a tool for revenge, but seeing him lose control like this, they realized they’d been dead wrong. He hadn’t just cared; he’d cared deeply. Daniel planted his boot on Gerald’s smashed -in face, grinding it into the floor. Then, without a word, he pulled a knife from his belt and tossed it to the ground with a loud clang. “Whichever one of you laid a hand on Elizabeth, cut it off yourselves.
Don’t make me do it for you.” The room went deathly still. The others paled in
—- horror. Cheryl was so shocked she fainted on the spot, collapsing to the floor. When she finally came to, the men were gone. Only her parents, Samson and Wanda, remained by her bedside. And they were begging. “Daniel, are you going to call off the engagement just because of Elizabeth?” “She’s not some innocent victim. She staged that kidnapping to get revenge on Cheryl! If you hadn’t paid the ransom so quickly, God knows what could’ve happened! “Elizabeth bullied Cheryl for years.
What’s a little payback, really ? Isn’t that just what she deserved ?” Cheryl heard it all and forced herself upright, unsteady on her feet as she stumbled toward Daniel. She grabbed his sleeve with trembling hands, holding on tight. “Elizabeth schemed against me and stole your money. She manipulated everything, and you’re still protecting her? Why, Dan? Look at me.
I’m the one who’s always loved you.” Daniel looked down at her, his gaze landing on her tear-streaked face, and there wasn’t a trace of —- warmth in his eyes. Cheryl flinched under the coldness in Daniel’s eyes. She had known him for years and never once had she seen him like this. What had Elizabeth done to him? What kind of spell had she cast? Suddenly , Cheryl grabbed the glass on the table and hurled it to the floor. The glass shattered into pieces.
She snatched up a shard, pressed it against her wrist, and spoke with a trembling voice. “Dan, don’t push me. If you call off this engagement for Elizabeth, I’ll die right here in front of you!” The shard was razor -sharp, and thin trails of blood began to seep from her skin. For the first time, Daniel reacted. He stepped toward her, took the shard from her hand, and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. Carefully, he wrapped it around her bleeding wrist.
His gentle movements sparked a flicker of hope in Cheryl’s eyes. He still cared. He couldn’t really be that cruel to her. He still loved her. —- But then, Daniel leaned in, his voice low, almost a whisper against her ear. “You can’t die yet. If you die… who’s going to pay for what you did to Elizabeth?” Before Cheryl could respond , the door behind them burst open with a loud bang. Two men were shoved in with brute force, crashing to the floor at her feet with a heavy thud.
Cheryl looked down, and the moment she recognized their faces, every drop of color drained from hers. She went completely pale.
