Her Voice 2 [JENLISA]

Chapter 20

Lisa

My sweet myshka…

She loved me even when I wasn’t worth her love.

I used to think—what is love?

I used to believe I loved Irene. I used to think that was love.

Then my eyes fell on her.

She was sitting in her room, alone and silent…a beautiful mirage. She was knitting and the chandelier was glowing above her.

In that moment, my treacherous heart had started to really beat. My life found its real meaning—my real purpose.

I love you.

Fuck. My eyes clenched close.

I wanted to cradle her in my arms and take her far away from all of this.

But I was torn between the loyalty I had for my family and this woman in my arms.

I wanted to protect my family. My sister...my King. Her wife. Her children. I wanted to allow them a chance at happiness and to never experience the bitterness of loss. They had been through enough pain.

But I also wanted to protect Jennie. I longed to steal her away and be the right woman for her, be a better woman for her.

I couldn’t, though…

I fucking couldn’t, and it cut me deeper than any blade.

It hurt more than the bullet that had torn through my heart when Seulgi shot me.

After tonight, how could I make a choice?

My family or her?

I chuckled humorlessly. I used to be the trickster, but now life was playing its own joke on me.

How could I choose my King and leave my Jennie in the hands of a monster?

No.

The thought almost made me gag. Bitter bile made its way into my mouth, and I swallowed it back down again.

I looked down to see Jennie had fallen asleep in my arms. It was both the sweetest thing and the most painful moment. Her eyes closed, her breathing was even, and she settled deeper into my embrace.

Jennie trusted me.

She trusted me more than I trusted myself…

She believed in me more than I believed in myself.

Vows had been broken.

Promises were shattered.

The scars were deep rooted within, and I didn’t know how to mend them, how to unbreak our hearts.

My gaze fell on her pale face once again. Her lips were swollen, the wound was red where Jiyong had bitten her. The marks he had left on her body mocked me. And the Devil laughed. My shoulders curved inward at the heavy weight and my ribcage crowded my lungs, making it hard to breathe.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

The Devil wouldn’t leave. She made herself comfortable on my shoulders and continued her whispers in my ears.

It found ways to cut through my hardened skin, through my veins and finding its way into my heart.

My heart—an organ that was once steeled. A woman who once was heartless.

A merciless killer.

A woman with too much power in her hands.

She walked with shoulders straight. Her name came with money and power.