Chapter 20
“Zach, why are you showing up this late in such a rage? I’ve actually been wanting to have a proper talk with you, but you keep saying things that hurt me. I’m really heartbroken…”
Queenie’s voice trembled and choked with emotion, as if she were utterly fragile.
“But I truly love you. I don’t want us to be apart.”
Zachary looked up at Queenie, realizing for the first time just how talented an actress she was. At least, she was talented enough to play him for a complete fool. “Queenie, why?” he asked quietly.
“What?” She froze, not understanding.
“Why did you target Yasmine? You knew all along, didn’t you?”
Queenie’s face changed drastically. Seeing Zachary’s unwavering stare, she forced out a smile. “Zach, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”
There was a loud smack as a stack of photos hit her in the face. The surveillance screenshots clearly showed her hiding the necklace.
“Explain this.” Zachary’s voice was hoarse, his expression ice–cold. “Now.”
Following his gesture, she looked down, and her pupils contracted sharply. Tears spilled from Queenie’s eyes almost instantly as she crawled tremblingly toward Zachary.
Her voice broke as she said, “Zach, I don’t know what these are. I never did any of this. Who sent these to you? Who’s trying to frame me? Zach, you have to believe me.”
But Zachary simply watched her cry, no longer feeling any sympathy. Only bone–deep coldness remained in his eyes.
“Ever since you came back, you’ve been finding excuses to make me spend time with you, seducing me into neglecting Yasmine. Then, at the banquet, you hid your own necklace and framed her for stealing it. You even tried to get those vagrants to assault her before hitting her with your car!
‘Do I need to continue, or should I just show you the surveillance footage?”
Queenie’s face grew even paler as she covered her swollen, red cheek, forcing her chin up defiantly. “Did you investigate me just for Yasmine? Zachary, when did you change?”
“I’ve changed?” Zachary unlocked his phone, and a recording of one of the vagrants‘ confession rang out in the living room.
“It was Ms. York who paid us to go there. She said that woman needed to be taught a lesson, and she told us we could do whatever we wanted with her…”
Zachary leaned down, gripping Queenie’s chin, his eyes flashing with icy light. “I should be asking you why you’ve become what you are now. Hit–and–run and orchestrating an assault–how many years would you get for all this?”
“You’re sending me to prison?” Queenie suddenly burst into laughter, her carefully made–up features twisting into a grotesque expression.
“So, is all of this my fault? Zachary, have you forgotten who was holding me tight when Yasmine got acid thrown on her? Who made her suffer public humiliation for my sake?”
She straightened slightly, moving closer to whisper in his ear. Despite feeling his grip on her chin growing tighter, she kept laughing. “What right does an accomplice like you have to play righteous here?”
Zachary’s pupils dilated in shock as he roughly pushed Queenie away, his hands shaking as he said, “No, that’s not-”
“What’s the point of your investigation now and this sudden show of concern? You didn’t trust Yasmine back then, either. I said one thing, and you bought it completely.
“Don’t you find yourself ridiculous? Even now, you’re just looking for someone else to blame. Let me guess what you’ll say next–it wasn’t really your fault. I manipulated you into hurting Yasmine over and over again, right?
“You were simply misled. How could the perfect Zachary ever be in the wrong?”
