The Psychotic Girl’s Revenge

Light flooded into Paige’s eyes. She slowly opened them and saw the white walls. The pain was excruciating; her body felt as if it had been run over by a truck. She lifted her hand slowly and saw a clip on her finger and a needle in the back of her hand, administering an IV. The smell of disinfectant filled her nose. Was she in a hospital? She wasn’t dead? She wondered.

“Don’t bother looking around. With me here, your life and death aren’t up to you.”

A cold voice suddenly broke the silence in the room. Paige turned towards the sound and saw Enrico sitting on a chair beside her bed, legs crossed, arms folded, staring at her with a dark expression.

Enrico…? Paige was confused for a couple of seconds, then everything came rushing back. She was really alive.

“Impressive, you’ve even learned how to poison yourself,” Enrico mocked coldly.

“You knew?” Paige’s voice was raspy, her throat hurt, and her stomach ached terribly.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

“You drank poison without blinking an eye. Were you determined to die, or are you stupid?” Enrico continued to ridicule her relentlessly.

Paige was too weak to fend off his words and could only remain silent.

“What, now you’re not even going to talk to me?” Enrico pressed on.

“Thank you for saving me…” Paige’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“Grateful, are you? I thought you’d hate me for saving you.” Enrico’s tone was dripping with sarcasm.

Paige closed her eyes in resignation. Fine, let him mock. She wouldn’t respond.

“What kind of attitude is that?” Enrico frowned, displeased by her indifferent response.

Paige opened her eyes helplessly, licked her dry lips, and then used all her strength to sit up. Her face was still pale, and she looked utterly exhausted. The pain was so intense that she clutched her stomach but didn’t utter a sound.

Enrico’s eyes darkened as he watched her. “Fine, lean back,” he said, still cold but less irate than before.

Paige leaned back against the headboard, feeling like her stomach was being scratched repeatedly from the inside. The pain made her want to shiver. She gritted her teeth, trying to steady herself, and then slowly spoke, “I wasn’t trying to die. I just didn’t want to owe anyone. I want my revenge to be clean, without anyone threatening me.”

Enrico laughed coldly, looking at her like she was an idiot. “Using your life to repay? Brilliant move.”

Paige pressed a hand to her stomach as the pain intensified. “I thought I had some resistance to poison, enough to get me to the hospital. I didn’t expect it to act so quickly.”

“Resistance to poison?” Enrico sneered. “What do you think you are?”

“When I was adopted as a child, it was to give Molly blood transfusions. They pumped me full of all sorts of drugs, which wrecked my body. Maybe because of that, I developed some resistance to toxins. In the slums, I ate a lot of contaminated food. Others died, but I survived.”

Later, Paige became the island’s food scout. Every time new fruits or fish appeared, she was the first to try them. Many poisons had no effect on her.

“The Clarkes gave you those drugs?” he asked coldly.

“Yes. To alter my blood to suit Molly, they fed me drugs for years,” Paige replied. “So I wasn’t trying to die on purpose.”

“If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead already.” Enrico picked up a medical report and threw it on her bed.

She glanced at the report, seeing the extent of the poison Kathy had used. The fact that she had survived was a stroke of luck.

“Thank you for saving me. This is the second time you’ve saved my life. I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Repay?” Enrico slowly stood up from his chair, walking to her bedside. Leaning over, he placed his hands on either side of her body. “Didn’t you want to repay me by running away?”

Paige, sitting on the bed with her hand on her stomach, looked pale but composed. “Mr. Gustin, I didn’t plan to run.”

“Really?” His hot breath brushed her nose.

“If I wanted to escape, why would I drink poison?”

“Drinking poison was an accident. Besides, with your endurance, you could still run after having your stomachs pumped.”

The doctor had said that most people would collapse instantly from such a potent poison, yet she endured long enough to get help. Her resilience and determination were extraordinary. Besides, based on what she said, she didn’t believe the poison would kill her immediately, so it had nothing to do with any escape attempt.

Paige looked him in the eye. “You’re overthinking. I promised not to leave, and I’ll keep that promise.”

“Then why did you invite Olivia and Susan to dinner yesterday?”

“Yesterday, I took Malik down and felt happy, so I wanted to treat them.” Paige lied smoothly, sounding utterly sincere.

“Is that so?” Enrico grabbed her chin. “Little thing, lying to me won’t end well, understand?”

“It’s true, but if you’re determined to think I’m trying to escape, there’s nothing I can do.” Paige retorted.

“Fine.” Enrico suddenly laughed. “Anyway, I’ve sealed off the hospital. Guards are stationed everywhere. In your current condition, you’re just a bird in a cage, unable to fly.”

Hearing this, Paige’s expression remained calm, but inside, she felt a bitter taste. Even though he had saved her twice, he still made her feel uneasy.

“Alright, lie down and rest. I’ve got work to do, but I’ll check on you later.”

Enrico placed a hand on her head and leaned in to kiss her dry lips. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something and said, “You looked awful with that tube down your throat yesterday. Don’t do anything stupid like that again, or I might not feel like kissing you.”

He then kissed her again, more intensely, despite the lingering taste of medicine in her mouth. After a while, he finally let go, ruffling her hair like she was a puppy. He grabbed his jacket off the chair and walked out.

As soon as Enrico left, she collapsed back onto the pillow. She was already feeling terrible, and dealing with Enrico was like fighting another tough battle. Exhausted, she lay down, clutching her stomach. She hadn’t even settled in when the door opened again.

“Miss-”

Olivia and Susan rushed in, their eyes red and swollen from crying.

With Enrico gone, they could finally come in.

Paige forced herself to sit up again and noticed two bodyguards following them in, standing against the wall with their hands clasped in front, expressionless.

Their eyes were on Olivia and Susan, clearly there to monitor them, not her. Enrico was ruthless, trapping not only her but also keeping an eye on Olivia and Susan. Would he go so far as to imprison these two maids to threaten her?

“Miss, how are you?” Olivia cried as she reached the bed and saw Paige’s pale face.

“Our poor Miss, having to suffer like this. The Clarkes are truly awful people,” Susan said, wiping her tears.

“I’m fine.” Paige glanced at them, seeing their haggard faces. “Did you not sleep last night?”

“We were worried about you,” Olivia said, full of concern.

“We couldn’t get Mr. Gustin’s permission to come in and see you. It drove us crazy,” Susan added.

“Enrico didn’t let you in?”

“No, Mr. Gustin stayed here all night taking care of you and didn’t let us in to disturb you,” Olivia explained, wiping her tears and sitting down with Susan.

“He took care of me all night?” Paige was stunned. She thought Enrico came today just to scold her.

“Yes,” Susan nodded. “He must have some kind of sixth sense about you. He abruptly came back without finishing his business abroad. If he hadn’t been here, you might not have made it.”